The Collected Novels

Four novels dealing with a broad range of gay experience-from the gifted author of Gods and Monsters, the basis for the Academy Award-winning film (The Advocate). Whether Christopher Bram is writing about the director of Frankenstein in Gods and Monsters or the characters in the four novels collected here-a sailor who goes undercover in a gay brothel to catch Nazis, a teen coming into his sexual awakening, a group of Manhattanites dealing with a friend lost to AIDs, and a bookstore owner accused of murdering his conservative Republican lover-what is most impressive in Bram's fiction is the psychological and emotional accuracy with which he portrays his characters . . . His novels are about ordinary gay people trying to be decent and good in a morally compromised world. He focuses on the often conflicting claims of friendship, family, love and desire; the ways good intentions can become confused and thwarted; and the ways we learn to be vulnerable and human (Philip Gambone). Hold Tight: In a spy thriller that breaks new ground set during World War II, Navy sailor Hank Fayette visits a gay brothel in New York City only to be arrested during a raid (Kirkus Reviews). Facing a dishonorable discharge-or worse-he is given another option: return to the brothel, near Manhattan's West Side piers, and work undercover as a prostitute to trap Nazi spies. A World War II story Hollywood never filmed . . . entertaining, sexy, and touching. -Stephen McCauley Surprising Myself: In Bram's superb debut novel, seventeen-year-old Joel is spending the summer at a Boy Scouts camp in the United States after four years of living with relatives in Switzerland (Booklist). There he meets nineteen-year-old Corey, a fellow counselor who's the only person Joel wants to be with. Soon, Joel's distant CIA father shows up and whisks him away to live on a farm in Virginia. But everything changes when Corey returns to his life, bringing with him the discovery and excitement of reciprocal love. Captivating . . . Funny, moving, and totally absorbing. -Newsday In Memory of Angel Clare: A year after the AIDS-related death of filmmaker Clarence Laird-known to friends as Angel Clare-his young boyfriend, Michael, is still deep in mourning. Clarence's older, sophisticated friends-male and female, gay and straight-find themselves the reluctant custodians of Michael, a callow kid they never liked much to begin with. What follows is a dark, intimate comedy about real grief and false grief, misunderstanding, friendship, love, and forgiveness. Bram's characters are candidly, truthfully observed. . . . It is the common humanity of these Manhattan sophisticates that triumphs quietly in a surprising, dramatic climax. -Publishers Weekly Gossip: Ralph Eckhart, a bookstore manager and gay activist in the East Village, meets Bill O'Connor online and they agree to get together during Ralph's weekend visit to Washington, DC. The two start a heated, long-distance sexual relationship. But Ralph discovers that Bill is a closeted Republican journalist, whose new book trashes liberal women in Washington-including Ralph's speechwriter friend, Nancy-and angrily breaks off the affair. When Bill is found murdered, Ralph becomes the prime suspect in this complex psychological and political thriller. A tantalizingly wonderfully told tale of human misadventure. A superior piece of literary entertainment. -The New York Times Book Review