Man about Town: A Novel
A congressional adviser and habitué of a cozy circuit of bars inside the Beltway, Joel Lingeman never quite felt middle-aged. At least not until he was abandoned by his partner of fifteen years and suddenly thrust into a dating scene with men half his age and no discernible trace of love handles. But this unexpected hole in his life inspires Joel's search for a 1964 edition ofan Esquire-like magazine that contained a swimsuit ad that obsessed and haunted him throughout his youth. Determined...
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A congressional adviser and habituÉ of a cozy circuit of bars inside the Beltway, Joel Lingeman never quite felt middle-aged. At least not until he was abandoned by his partner of fifteen years and suddenly thrust into a dating scene with men half his age and no discernible trace of love handles. But this unexpected hole in his life inspires Joel's search for a 1964 edition ofan Esquire-like magazine that contained a swimsuit ad that obsessed and haunted him throughout his youth. Determined to find out what happened to the model shown in the ad, Joel slowly begins to understand what has happened to his own life. Sexy, smart, and deftly observed, Man About Town is a new twist on the idea that the personal is political and a must read for anyone who's ever wondered what happened to that first crush.The New York TimesIn his biting third novel, Mark Merlis deftly sketches two distinct societies in Washington: Capitol Hill, where lawmakers and their aides toil in ridiculous formality and futility; and the city's gay singles scene, with its triviality and treachery on display. — Chris Marquis
\ David Leavitt"A sorrowful, cathartic novel."\ \ \ \ \ Genre"Stunningly good…haunting, funny, and masterfully written, American Studies provides keen insight into our own history and our lives."\ \ \ New York Times Book Review"Merlis deftly sketches two distinct societies in Washington: Capitol Hill…and the city’s gay singles scene….compelling."\ \ \ \ \ The Advocate"Clever, perceptive and reader friendly."\ \ \ \ \ Book Marks"An uncommonly grown-up fiction by a writer with a keen, affectionate eye for gay foibles and failings."\ \ \ \ \ Chicago Tribune"Sharp and convincing."\ \ \ \ \ Gay City News"Brims with characters, events and ideas that, besides being greatly entertaining, stimulate discussion\ \ \ \ \ Washington Blade"A pungently insightful tale."\ \ \ \ \ Out Magazine"Uncluttered, intelligent…a compelling read."\ \ \ \ \ Los Angeles Times“A book that transcends genre in portraying the abyss that divides one ostracized human soul from all others.”\ \ \ \ \ Seattle Times"An unexpected kind of gay fiction, especially with its insider’s look at the legislative process...different and ambitious."\ \ \ \ \ Washington Post Book World"Merlis treats both his characters and readers as if they are smart."\ \ \ \ \ Los Angeles Times on American Studies“A book that transcends genre in portraying the abyss that divides one ostracized human soul from all others.”\ \ \ \ \ The New York TimesIn his biting third novel, Mark Merlis deftly sketches two distinct societies in Washington: Capitol Hill, where lawmakers and their aides toil in ridiculous formality and futility; and the city's gay singles scene, with its triviality and treachery on display. — Chris Marquis\ \ \ \ \ Publishers WeeklyJoel Lingeman, the protagonist of the third novel by Washington insider-cum-novelist Merlis (American Studies), is, at 45, a man in full, with a high-profile job as a health policy adviser to Congress, a long-term lover and a tightly knit circle of like-minded friends. Still, he is unable to avoid the eternal question of "what if?" His mind wanders off medicare and HMOs, drifting back to his high school years, yearning for another chance to correct his juvenile mistakes, to chart a different course in life. Change, however, is thrust upon him when Sam, his lover of 15 years, leaves him for a younger man. Lingeman's world implodes, and he is thrown back into the scene of Washington's gay bars, seeking reaffirmation and companionship. His sudden change of status propels him into an obsession with one of his boyhood fantasies, a model in an ad he saw in a magazine as a child. Lingeman is so engrossed by this ephemeral man that he misses a more obvious and tangible potential lover. Cleverly, Lingeman's career echoes his romantic life, as he finds himself disgusted with the opportunism and cynicism of Washington politics. Merlis's staccato style, stinging and insightful, puts the reader inside Lingeman's head as he treads the fine line between fantasy and reality, between the superficial and the meaningful. Merlis is able to move from describing a certain assistant's dress as one "an organ grinder might have chosen for his monkey" to the deepest contemplations of commitment, couplehood and the importance of candor. He creates a protagonist with broad appeal, proving beyond doubt that the personal is political and vice versa. (May 1) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalFor Joel Lingeman, life is pretty cushy, if a bit dull. At 45, he's an overpaid consultant to Congress on the healthcare industry. A typical day ends with a few too many drinks at a Capital Hill bar, then home to cook dinner for Sam, his partner of 15 years. It's a middle-aged holding pattern that Joel could have sustained to retirement, until the night that Sam takes off with a new boyfriend-a flat-stomached 23-year-old. It's a story we know well, albeit told with husbands and wives, but in Merlis's skilled hands it is somehow new again. Joel's reinvention of himself takes him in several directions. Some are expected and wryly comic, like dating again. But one direction is darker: the pursuit of a dazzling swimwear model from an advertisement Joel remembers from his youth-who is now surely an old man. It's all a fantasy and pretty destructive as well, but who can blame Joel? Not only has Sam left but Congress is considering a bill that would deny Medicare to people with HIV who engaged in high-risk behavior ("Personal Responsibility Act"), and the one guy he likes has a habit of stealing money from his wallet. Merlis is a skilled realist who employs an understated humor-especially in depicting the Washington bureaucracy. Not as ambitious as his earlier American Life or the boldly inventive An Arrow's Flight, Merlis's third novel is a more questioning and ultimately more disturbing work. For all popular fiction collections.-Brian Kenney, "Library Journal" Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsWhen his partner of 15 years leaves him, middle-aged gay Joel Lingeman is forced to come to terms with his past fantasies and reexamine things as they are. Joel has lived on autopilot for years, sleepwalking through a passionless relationship and working in a dull Capitol Hill job that would offend his political sensibilities if he took it more seriously. But when Sam, his live-in lover, walks out, Joel is jolted into consciousness. In fits and starts, he attempts to build a new social life and to speak up at work. It isn't easy to get back into the DC dating scene; he was never adept at meeting guys, and now-overweight, unkempt, and a bit long in the tooth-he's having an even harder time. Meanwhile, on the Hill, nasty antigay legislation inches closer to becoming law, but Joel fails to appreciate the danger until it's too late. Though he can't muster the moxie to fix his love life or come out to Congress, Joel shows surprising determination in tracking down a swimsuit model who appeared in an ad in 1964, fueling Joel's adolescent dreams and shaping his adult notions of physical desire. What he hopes to find by locating this man is a mystery, but the search itself helps him discover how he ended up where he did. Sometimes, Merlis posits, it's necessary to look backward and make peace with our former selves to move forward. Less insightful than his dazzling debut, American Studies (1994), and less ambitious than An Arrow's Flight (1998), but, still, this is carefully worded, with the author's flair for subtle introspection and keen observation. The characters' outward interactions may seem unremarkable, and the settings-Congress and gay bars-alternately comic and tragic, but Merlis reachesa level of thoughtful reflection that sings with poignancy. A small tale about an ordinary man-though one with unusual resonance for gay men who've outgrown "the scene."\ \
