When you repeat a behavior and expect different results, experts label you insane. Perhaps the CGM book club is finally worthy of this diagnosis, as they continue to select novels by Michael Thomas Ford and expect that I’ll like them. I don’t!
Ned Brummel is in his mid-fifties, living a quiet life in Maine with his partner Thayer. Don’t get excited...this isn’t Pete Thayer from Looking for It, but just imagine the possibilities of that.
Ned’s idyllic existence is rudely interrupted by a phone call from Jack. Ned immediately gets retrospective and plucks a couple of old photos from a sentimental box. One shows Jack and Ned as young boys in costumes. The other shows Jack, Ned, and Andy in their late 30s. Thayer walks in and sees Ned in his reverie. Although they’ve been partners for 15 years in what appears to be mostly uncomplicated bliss, Ned has somehow failed to mention either of these men from his past. The remainder of the plot is “Ned’s youth.”
Unfortunately, Ned is the weakest of the trio, by far. He’s a whiny, self-doubting hypocrite who makes major life decisions based on the writings of Sartre and a dream from his youth, the details of which are not at all influenced by 25 years of life experience. Hence, he proceeds into adulthood with all of the maturity of a boy who won’t grow up.
The procession itself, though...now here’s a trip for you. I dare anyone to find a more comprehensive stroll through recognizable history than that presented here. I should give Ned some credit, he is a history teacher after all. But this gang has a knack for actually being there to bear witness history and it just seemed hokey after a while.
The passage of time is also marked by not-so-casual drug usage by all three main characters, but there are no bad trips, no addictions, and no withdrawals. This is reminiscent of Ford’s cavalier attitude towards unsafe sex in Last Summer. Ford must have taken some heat for that, because he overcorrects here, killing off one of Ned’s partners for one slip in a theater.
Despite authoring 50 books, Ford still has no handle on dialog. It’s adolescent at best. Usually it’s just painful.
All that said, this book does offer some improvements over past efforts. Fewer characters is always better, and his focus on 3 here is a relief. But damn, Ned as the storyteller? Imagine this book told from Jack’s point of view. Or Andy’s!
Also, Ford can spin a sexual encounter like almost no one else. If you decide to read this in the gym you best have some kind of plan in place to protect against wardrobe malfunctions. You know what I mean.
Another kudo: Ford depicts the ravages of AIDS with delicacy. I was particularly moved by the character John, who managed somehow to smuggle a roomful of costumes from the Metropolitan Opera. (I’ll refrain.) Here’s a character who has earned the right to be retrospective and whiny, but instead talks of the tragic love of opera. Beautifully, too. These passages are so good that I wonder if Ford’s stunt-double was actually writing them.
All in all, however, the book is more annoyance than enjoyment. I’m not likely to pick up another Ford book. At Amazon.com, the page for this book includes Ford’s “plog” in which he lets us all know that his next novel is coming soon. He also says this about Full Circle: “I’m really pleased with it, and I think you’ll like it. If you don’t, please don’t tell me.” Translation: “My writing style needs no constructive criticism.” Um...yes it does!