This is a difficult book to praise. However, despite finding plenty of fault, I also find it a difficult book to diss. Well, I will release the floodgates in a moment, but I wanted to be cautious at first. All of the principal characters are HIV positive, and the 2 youngest are showing symptoms that are clearly full-blown AIDS. The mental ravages of this disease are well documented, and no doubt much of the painful aspects of personality shift and mood swings are attributable to it. However, I did not sense that these were high-caliber characters prior to infection. Despite that, I still was sympathetic to each one’s fate. Is this a function of good writing, or just this hellish disease? What makes this book difficult to praise is that this question need be asked at all.
The character of Julien, the beautiful man with the partially covered up, partially rewritten past, who never laughs in humor and who’s in love with the good life more than with the man who’s providing it, is all too familiar. Still, you’d think that a thank you note or flowers every now and then would be called for, in gratitude. Nope. However, if he dislikes you, watch out. Hate is no problem for this one.
These are not overly serious flaws in the eyes of Austin, the character who is the lucky recipient of Julien’s affections. Nothing quite like a twenty-something who’s into you, right? According to this book, reciprocity becomes less important as one gets older. Is that true? Is beauty the last thing that matters? Next, how does Austin actually provide Julien with these weekend and month-long getaways? Just how much does an article in Vogue pay? Or a first year professorship? Shouldn’t he be concerned about his own potential health care problems which loom on the horizon?
Caught on the outside is Peter, Austin’s ex. Austin promised Peter that he would take care of him, but Peter complains of getting short shrift, despite twice weekly overseas phone calls and money still coming in from Austin. Although not much glimpse of pre-infection Peter is given, ravaged Peter is a constant emotional wreck.
The good characters in the book are the friends whom the single Austin entertained (and the coupled Austin dropped without goodbye). Gregg should have been allowed to linger, if for nothing more than his good humor. The women in the story are well developed and amusingly neurotic, although they too suffer personality shifts (but without the help of the virus). The men much older than Austin are also excellent.
The Paris scene is described lovingly and stands in stark contrast to Providence, Montreal, and Marrakesh, which are given heavily negative treatment. Perhaps deservingly, perhaps not. The voice is third-person, personal, through the eyes of Austin. Austin is an American, expatriated in France, which might excuse the heavy use of French throughout. Or does it, in third person? No matter; whether you like French or not, you might want to have your French/English dictionary handy. You’ll need it!