Books about primarily gay issues or in which the main characters are gay appeal to me. That is expected since I am a gay man. Especially interesting are those few, but increasingly more common, works of fiction aimed at the general reader population. The Dreyfus Affair is such a book. Lefcourt’s novel was published in 1992 and seems as current today as it was a decade ago.
Nothing heavy here, no serious soul wrenching angst-ridden whining. What we do have is really enjoyable reading, not without feeling or sensitivity, warm but more importantly genuinely credible. These characters are people you’d really like to meet, get to know, and date. (Fat chance!)
The plot is straightforward and focused. It is really a love story about a superstar shortstop on a fictional California major league baseball team who, over the course of weeks, falls in love with his second baseman. This even though the characters have known each other and worked (played?) together for a couple of years. Randy’s discovery that he is interested in a same sex relationship is described is crisp unpretentious dialogue. He certainly experiences anxiety, even emotional pain, as he grows to accept himself and his newly discovered sexual orientation. None of his feelings seem overblown or incomprehensible to the reader, but they sure are to Randy. Nevertheless, he seems to handle his changing self-perception well.
In the process of coming to grips with his gayness he sees a psychiatrist (shrink) who helps him get a handle on the new situation. Some of the best writing appears is scenes with the shrink. The dialogue is pretty realistic too.
As Randy’s new relationship grows and strengthens he deals with his wife and the impact he is having on her, his twin daughters and even the family dog. There is a lot of amusing action around the dog and the ambivalent relationship dog and owner have.
The plot progresses to include the actions and reactions of the whole baseball team, the team owners, the baseball commissioner, and even the President of the United States (portrayed as somewhat bumbling and politically vacillating).
The conclusion is wild…the kind of stuff you skip dinner to finish!
It’s pretty obvious that I really liked The Dreyfus Affair. First, I tire of reading serious, cerebral works as a steady diet. This book is pleasant summertime reading and would probably make a decent movie.
Second, the characters are believable and real. Randy, D.J., Randy’s wife, the shrink, the team owners…everyone seemed three-dimensional, known, and knowable.
Finally, there is enough suspense to keep the reader enthralled, enough feeling to keep the reader eager to learn more, enough action to make a not-too-bad movie.
I have no idea if the author is gay, but what is significant is that Randy and D.J. may well be. Some books with gay themes for the general public do not feature gay men. They feature straight men who have gay sex. Not so, in The Dreyfus Affair. It’s refreshing to read a gay themed novel that’s aimed at the broader reading population where gayness is not an alien lifestyle, just a different way of relating and loving.
The Dreyfus Affair is fun. It makes great end-of-summer reading. I’d bet you’d finish it in five days or less!