American Studies

Merlis, Mark. "American Studies: A Novel", Alyson Reprint, 2009. Looking Back Over 50 Years Amos Lassen After suffering a beating from a man he picked up in a bar, Reeve is recuperating in the hospital. As he rests there he reminisces about 50 years of gat life in America. His meditations take place on four different levels--he is considering flirting with the guy in the next bed, his friend who was driven to depression and eventually suicide because of McCarthyism, his own beating and why he is in the hospital and the outline of his own life. It is there feelings that draw us into the novel. Reeve thinks back to his friend and mentor, Tom Slater, who had been a literary-critic and driven to suicide after being hounded by a McCarthy witch hunt that wanted to expose his sexuality as well as his relationship with the Communist Party. Looking at this and other happenings in his life we see changes in gay life throughout the generations and his own identity. The book is a novel about healing and when Reeve realizes that he is a survivor, he begins to rebuild his life. What is amazing is that the actual book takes place in only four days; everything else happens in Reeve's mind. Merlis writes with a true command of the English language--his prose is rich and beautiful and while much of what he writes about could have been depressing and maudlin, Merlis uses humor and wit to prevent it that from happening.

American Studies is a boldly crafted debut novel about gay generational changes and connections, betrayal and loyalty, moving ahead, and individual identity. The novel revolves around the theme of healing on several levels. Reeve is 62 and hospitalized after a severe beating by a hustler. He feels his sex life, his dignity, and everything he held sacred - those very things which defined him - are all gone. Over the four day span of this novel, Reeve gradually regains his footing, adapts, and rebuilds his life. Most importantly he recognizes that he is a survivor. Much of this realization occurs in his detailed reminiscing about Tom, an early mentor of his who killed himself when his exposure as a homosexual as well as his betrayal by a lover combined to undermine his world. Reeve also gets a renewed zest for life by the hunk in the adjoining hospital bed. American Studies is a book of incredibly strong characterization abundant in insights and displaying a skilled interweaving of stories. It also contains interesting gay history, a strong narrative, and even some great laughs along the way. Merlis has created a real gem!

American Studies, very sadly out of print at the moment (but surely not for long), is one of the great gay novels of the 20th century. Narrated by a gay man in hospital after being beaten by a trick, the novel tells the story of F.O. Matthiessen, a great American literary critic who committed suicide in 1950 after being outed and ostracized at Harvard, where he taught for more than twenty years. Most importantly, though, Merlis writes like an angel, every sentence beautifully made, charming, amusing, and moving. It is as perfect as a novel can be.

There seldom comes into my reading life a book as fine as this one. I read a lot of books, and frequently try new authors being published for the first time. This book completely blew me away. The author has such a wonderful command of our language - using phrases and words to their best advantage. He exhibits such an intense ability to get inside his characters - to be able to give them feelings that are so easily conveyed to his reader. I laughed at times, I cried at times. This is one of those fine examples of books that you don't want to finish - you simply sigh at the end and wish for more.

Merlis' story is so beautifully crafted, that it can be read just for the appreciation of the language alone. The literary device he uses takes him from the present, where he is recovering from a vicious attack from someone he brought into his home, to the past, where he ruminates on his first romantic involvement with an erudite, but inhibited professor, battling the McCarthyism of the Fifties. At the center of the dilemma is having to live in a world that has no tolerance, let alone respect, for age, individualism or political integrity. This is a rare treat. Compelling story, mesmerizing language. You'll laugh out loud at times and at times you'll have tears in your eyes. Watch this writer.