Joseph and the Old Man

I read this book several years back and loved it. Recently, it came to mind again and I had to hunt it down. I was lucky enough to find a signed first edition. This story is so simple and heartfelt. The story of two men, their relationship, their friends and keen, sweet observations of their friend's relationships. The tragedy is unexpected and deepy moving. Davis prose is so captivating that I really felt as if I was there. Actually, I wanted to be there. I wanted to help these people and spend a sunny afternoon having cocktails on beach with them. I really do not want to say much about the story, it needs to be experienced by the reader. If you can find this and take the journey, you will be rewarded for your effort.

Christopher Davis is one of those authors who is not praised nearly loudly or often enough, and whom I discovered by accident. I first read his work in Men on Men. His short story in that collection, "The Boys in the Bars," is also the title of his own short story collection that came later. Joseph and the Old Man is easily read in one sitting. it is reminiscent in many ways of Isherwood's A Single Man. Joseph is the much-younger lover of a famous author whom he calls "The Old Man," and in this chapter-less story, it turns out to be the Old Man's story, but told in the third person. How they met, how they love each other, and how they become the center of a loving circle of friends on Fire Island, and what happens when tragedy (sudden, and not AIDS) strikes, is told with stunning simplicity. I read this book in two days. It was hard to put down.

I read this book a few years ago but the bittersweet emotions it evoked in me still echo in my heart. Even today I can feel the warmth of the relationship between the Joseph and the Old Man as clearly as if they were my dearest friends. The ending of the novel, both ambiguous and haunting, is one of my favorite literary passages.

This was a wonderful book. Davis writes a chapter-less story that lulls us into its beautiful world through page after page of a touching love story. Just as life can lull us, and just as life can deal us surprises, this book does too. I strongly encourage anyone to read this--gay or straight.