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Night Listener, The tie-in: A Novel |  |
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Night Listener, The tie-in: A Novel | |
When an editor sends Gabriel yet another book to blurb, he reluctantly opens the package to find a long, rending memoir by Pete Lomax, an HIV-positive 13-year-old survivor of incest, rape, and sexual slavery. The book is called The Blacking Factory, after the miserable London bottling factory where Dickens spent part of his poverty-stricken childhood. As Gabriel reflects:
Pete thinks we all have a blacking factory, some awful moment, early on, when we surrender our childish hearts as surely as we lose our baby teeth. And the outcome can''t be called. Some of us end up like Dickens; others like Jeffrey Dahmer. It''s not a question of good or evil, Pete believes. Just the random brutality of the universe and our native ability to withstand it.After Pete escaped from his parents and was adopted by a therapist named Donna Lomax, his slow recovery was helped along by his memoir-writing and by frequent doses of "Noone at Night."
Touched by Pete''s devotion to his stories, as well as the boy''s obvious need for a father figure, Gabriel finds himself drawn into an intense relationship with his young fan, involving long, late-night phone calls that begin to worry Gabriel''s friends. And, other than their mutual need, how much does he really know about Pete, anyway? As Gabriel begins to question his own motives, as well as those of the boy, The Night Listener transforms itself from an absorbing but quotidian story of loss and midlife angst into a dark and suspenseful page-turner with a playful metaphysical aspect and an un-Dickensian sexual candor. --Regina Marler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
The lines between reality and illusion are intriguingly blurred in this novel from the author of the Tales of the City series. Maupin also takes on various questions about how art imitates life, since there are many similarities here between author and protagonist. The deceptively simple story line concerns Gabriel Noone, a San Francisco radio personality whose "grabby little armchair yarns" have developed a cult following; indeed, the books based on these weekly NPR broadcasts "have never stopped selling." But Gabriel is experiencing severe writer''s block as he endures an emotional crisis triggered by the decision of Jess, his longtime male companion, to separate: "I lost a vital engine I never even knew I had." When a manuscript sent to Gabriel for an endorsement turns out to be a harrowing memoir of sexual abuse written by a 13-year-old, he is moved to contact the precocious youngster. It seems that Gabriel has been an on-the-air lifeline for Peter Lomax, who has been adopted by a female doctor with some pressing problems of her own. This vulnerable threesome embark on a pas de trois that envelops the reader in an increasingly absorbing puzzle. Providing a moving counterpoint to Gabriel''s growing attachment toAeven dependence onAPete is his inability to cope with his estrangement from Jess. As in his earlier works, reading Maupin''s prose is like meeting up with a beloved old friend; it''s an easy, uncomplicated encounter filled with warmth, wisdom and familiar touches of humor. But there''s pathos here as well, and sharp-edged drama with a few hairpin turns. As Gabriel cautions, "I''m a fabulist by trade, so be forewarned: I''ve spent years looting my life for fiction." And what splendid booty GabrielAand MaupinAhave compiled for readers'' enjoyment. 100,000 first printing; 16-city author tour. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Devastated by his breakup with longtime partner Jess, author Gabriel Noone is in a reflective and fragile emotional state when he is asked to comment on a manuscript. Written by 13-year-old Pete, the journal relates a horrific childhood of sexual abuse by his parents and paying customers, resulting in Pete''s contracting AIDS. Adopted by a supportive and loving social worker, the young man has been a loyal fan of Gabriel''s, who is a public radio storyteller with a large following. Pete and Gabriel begin communicating via telephone and become increasingly involved in each other''s lives. When Jess questions the authenticity of Pete''s writings and, indeed, his very existence, Gabriel embarks upon a journey both figurative and literal that explores his changing relationship with his partner, his childhood, and his current relationship with his blustery Charlestonian father. Celebrated for Tales of the City, Maupin is a master of character development, deftly weaving lives and creating intriguing, credible people who stay with the listener long after the story concludes. Although there are sexually graphic passages, including a disappointingly gratuitous truck stop scene, the author''s reading and overall handling of this compelling story is masterful. Coupled with an original, haunting musical score, this presentation will appeal not only to Maupin''s fans but to a wide audience. Susan McCaffrey, Haslett H.S., MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
From AudioFile
Fans of the author''s TALES OF THE CITY will find a few surprises in this novel. San Francisco remains the backdrop; the telling details and apt phrases still pertain, but the glibness is muted, and suspense and mystery take on a new prominence. The hero of this first-person narrative, a gay author not unlike Maupin, chances to strike up a long-distance relationship with a kind of prodigy--an AIDS-suffering, abused teen who has escaped and then written brilliantly about his ghastly childhood. Maupin calls this book his VERTIGO, but the Hitchcockian notes impress one less than the overriding themes of life, death, and love. Although the author clearly loves to read aloud, he does not do so with particular finesse. However, as he is impersonating a character who reads for an NPR series, his limitation proves a kind of asset. His voice and style would easily complement those of ALL THINGS CONSIDERED''s popular commentators. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gay novelist Gabriel Noone is blue since his spouse, Jess, decamped to pursue his bliss among San Francisco''s leather men. Indeed, Gabriel has writer''s block, necessitating reruns of his weekly NPR storytelling feature. Then he gets the manuscript of a book to blurb. Written by a 13-year-old boy, Pete, it is the story of his long sexual abuse by his parents, who also peddled him to other pedophiles, and his eventual escape and adoption by a psychologist, only to fall ill with ever severer bouts of AIDS-related pneumonia. Impressed by the book, Gabriel is enchanted when his expressed interest in contacting Pete reaps a series of nighttime phone calls from the boy and his adoptive mother, Donna. Moreover, Gabriel falls like the proverbial ton of bricks when Pete starts calling him Dad. Gabriel must meet Pete in person, and Donna holds out hope that he will, but attempts to do so are thwarted. Gabriel has to find out the truth, which, as is typical in Tales of the City creator Maupin''s work, isn''t necessarily what it seems and even flip-flops, seeming one thing and then another and yet another. Maupin''s squeaky clean style, seductive sentimentality, and gift for disarming patter make for a most appealing read, a kind of, not magic realism, but pretty, magical melodrama. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Philadelphia Inquirer
"For this, the audio format is all but a requirement...the whole book is an exploration of the power of voice. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
