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Whistling in the Dark
by Tamara Allen
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$18.00 |
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$15.39 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. |
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Paperback
Publisher: Lethe Press
New York City, 1919. His career as a concert pianist ended by a war injury, Sutton Albright returns to college, only to be expelled after a scandalous affair with a teacher. Unable to face his family, Sutton heads to Manhattan with no plans and little money in his pocket but with a desire to call his life his own.
Jack Bailey lost his parents to influenza and now hopes to save the family novelty shop by advertising on the radio, a medium barely more than a novelty, itself. His nights are spent in a careless and debauched romp through the gayer sections of Manhattan.
When these two men cross paths, despite a world of differences separating them, their attraction cannot be denied. Sutton finds himself drawn to the piano, playing for Jack. But can his music heal them both, or will sudden prosperity jeopardize their chance at love?
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Head and shoulders above the typical M/M romance novel |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Absolutely delightful! WHISTLING IN THE DARK is romantic, exciting and funny with just a soupçon of sexiness (but LOTS of love and friendship).
Somehow the author perfectly captured the mood of the roaring twenties and what I imagine it might have been like to be gay men in the big city during those post-WW1 days. Yes, that life (even for heroic returned veterans who happened to be gay) could be harrowing but there had to have been joys and validations as well - validations that we've built upon as the decades have gone by.
The excitement of the early, amateur-driven days of radio only adds to the fun herein and makes for a perfect framework for the love story that unfolds so naturally in these pages.
With so much of what passes on Amazon for gay male romance being - in actuality - cliché-ridden Craigslistian porn, it was truly a pleasant and welcome surprise to come across this novel. I treasure it.
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| Relevant to anyone who has been misunderstood |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Reviewed by Patricia Berliner for Rebecca's Reads (7/09)
I loved the cover of the book. The sepia shade immediately sets us in a former time. The expressions on the faces of the two men, hugging companionably, invite us to join them on their emergence from darkness into light.
The story opens in the shadow of World War I in the City of New York in the year 1919. Sutton Albright meets Jack Bailey, both war veterans, both musicians, both poor and virtually homeless, both gay.
Sutton has just come back from the war, discharged because of serious injuries, wounded in body and spirit. Sutton is a man with secrets. Jack, also a veteran, orphaned when his parents died of influenza, seems to have no secrets, but does have a lot of friends. He runs the local novelty shop, not too great a business man, a great gathering place, always filled with people-a motley and haphazard crowd who come for companionship, but not to buy much, a great place to visit but not too great if you need to earn a living. In his spare time, Jack fiddles with repairing radios and, eventually, starts his own radio program.
Sutton, a concert pianist before the war, stopped playing during the war and refused to play after his return. The war, and other personal reminders of failed relationships, haunt Sutton, who can or will not let go of his secrets. But he cannot let go of his love of music. Cajoled by Jack and the motley assortment of neighbors, venders, shopkeepers and friends, Sutton agrees to do an on the air concert. The rest, as they say, is history...as Sutton attains success, fame and, most important, grows in trust and self-acceptance. At the end, he is "a new man." And Jack, too, has changed.
This book is gay themed and gay friendly. However, because it is a universal story of friendship, trust and healing, it is relevant to anyone who has been misunderstood, hurt, abandoned, or felt like an outsider looking in.
My one complaint, and it is an important one, is that the book filled with too much description, more than its share of redundancy and, after a while it started to seem like overkill. A good editing job would have resulted in a sharper, smoother flowing, and more readable story.
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| One hell of a lovely book |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Whistling in the Dark is one hell of a lovely book. Possibly one of the best m/m books I've ever read. Definitely the sweetest, most engaging romance I've ever read.
I don't even like historical m/m novels, because they're usually set when homosexuality was a crime punishable with severe penalties. Since the story opens with Sutton being picked up (wrongly) for public indecency and forced to spend the night in a police cell, it's clear the author doesn't intend to gloss over real world consequences. But even so, I loved this story and am torn between shouting about it from the virtual rooftops and getting you all to buy it, and sitting down and reading it all over again, even though I really don't have time for that right now.
Let me tell you about the bad points of this novel.
...
Right, now let me tell you about the good points. In short, everything.
The writing is engaging, well-edited and literate. The author gives us a lovely feel for New York a few months before the start of Prohibition, with so many young men back from the War to End all Wars, and a society still terrified by the ongoing flu pandemic which took millions of lives. Yet she does so lightly and deftly, so we never feel we're being subjected to a history lesson, but rather a peek into the real lives of real people. She skilfully gives us a wealth of period detail, along with dialogue that is both natural and authentic. Even without the characters and the plot, this novel would stand out for the handling of its setting.
But the characters and the plot are also masterly. We are introduced to Sutton and Jack, so very different in background and approach, but both broken and grieving after their war experiences (and for Jack, losing his parents in the flu epidemic as he was on his way home from France.) Both are delightful. Jack is cocky and brash, broke, charming, queer - and suffering shell-shock, with crippling insomnia and nightmares. Sutton, one of nature's true gentlemen, his dreams of a musical career dashed by injury and shame, emerges from his privileged cocoon and the rejection he faced when his sexual proclivities were discovered, and finds his true place in the precarious yet engaging world of Jack's emporium and his fledgling radio shows. He too has scars from the war, more than he even realises. It's a reminder of what terrible things we do to young men when we send them abroad to kill and see others killed.
The story's a bit country mouse and city mouse, for sure, but it's not belaboured, and the growth happens for both of them, as does the healing. This is a story about friendship, and love between friends, as much as that between lovers. The other characters shine with goodness and their own quirky natures - Harry, the emporium's manager, acting in loco parentis to the unstable and perpetually indebted Jack; Ox, their faithful and sweet-natured man of all work; Esther, the waitress who gives Sutton his first break, and comes to play an important role in their lives; Theo, the doyen of the gay scene, falling in and out of love with ease, but with always with a good heart; Gert, the gangster's sister with more than enough charm to make her way without him; and even Woodrow, the five-foot long crocodile who lives in the yard and makes importunate and ill-timed appearances in the store, but whom no one can bear to get rid of. They're all part of a vividly drawn, tightly woven web of relationships which sustain and enrich those within them. The employees and friends of the emporium intersect with the criminal underclass, and the secret but vibrant world of gay New Yorkers, skating under the law's attention and looking for love wherever they can and with whoever will have them. An unfamiliar world comes alive, where the characters aren't actors in a movie set, but living, breathing humans we come to care about, and remember.
The plot is on one hand a straightforward tale of a young man finding fame and love, and on the other, a story about loss, sorrow and dealing with the horrors of war. True love doesn't fix everything, and Jack and Sutton have to deal with the horrors in their past before they can hope to build a life for themselves and with each other. It sounds trite, writing it out like that, but I swear, this is not a trite book, or a simple romance. There's so many layers here, so many subtle themes and resonances. I need to read it a few more times to extract them fully.
The pace is sprightly, and the twisting and turning plot kept my interest all the way through. The dialogue is realistic, often funny, and never sappy. No mushy declarations here, or weeping lovers. Just manly men with fragile souls and brave hearts, women who are friends and sisters and as sympathetically drawn as our heroes, and villains who are all too believable in their petty greed and jealousy.
This is the kind of novel I keep looking for, and so rarely find. It's a love story without sap or even overt sexual content, while still keeping the sexual tension high. It expects the reader to be intelligent and never talks down to them, has a tight plot and characters that you could imagine sitting down and sharing a Manhattan with. There's redemption and tension and plenty of humour to leaven it with.
Whistling in the Dark is a real, honest to goodness keeper. Highly and unreservedly recommended.
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| Tamara Allen does well in crafting a novel that will intrigue many a curious reader |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Attraction is one of those things which is just hard to explain. "Whistling in the Dark" is a gay historical romance following Sutton Albright and Jack Bailey as their very different walks of life cross and they find love in the early twentieth century. Exploring the historical gay community of New York during this era, author Tamara Allen does well in crafting a novel that will intrigue many a curious reader.
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| Whistling in the Dark-A Joyfully Recommended Title!!! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Sutton Albright's life is in shambles. He returned from the war injured, his career as a concert pianist destroyed. Then he is expelled from college for having an affair with a professor. Now Sutton is jobless and nearly broke in New York, with no idea how to remedy his situation and no desire to go home.
Jack Bailey came home from the war to find his parents dead from influenza. Determined to preserve their memory, he struggles to keep their novelty shop open. His latest plan, to advertise on the radio, isn't working out as well as he'd hoped. When Sutton loses his job, Jack gives him a place to stay, and they soon discover that Sutton is able to play the piano again. Men who love men aren't accepted in 1919, however, and they both have a lot of problems to deal with. Can they save Jack's business and find a way to be together?
Whistling in the Dark is one of the best books I've read in a long time. I adored both lost, honorable Sutton and rakish, trouble-making Jack. They made a wonderful pair, in spite of (or perhaps because of) their differences. The conflicts they had to work through in order to be together, including war trauma and the illegality of homosexuality, were believable and difficult. Throughout the story, I rooted for Sutton and Jack. There is a large cast of interesting secondary characters--friends, enemies, and lots of others. Tamara Allen did a wonderful job of portraying New York just before Prohibition. The setting was vivid and richly detailed. With a compelling story, great characters, and an unusual and well-drawn setting, you can't go wrong with this one! I am pleased to Joyfully Recommend Whistling in the Dark, and I can't wait to see what Ms. Allen comes out with next.
Cassie
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
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