The Catholic

This is a skillfully written account of a young man becoming sexually obsessed with another young man after one night of erotic love making. David Plante is very wise to spin a tale where one night of sexual joy can lead anyone into the wild world of speculation about the barely known lover and the pain of longing and obsession for someone we really do not know. Plante explores the components of sexual obsession which may include project onto the lover a range of concepts that are beyond reality. Yet in some ways the book is more hopeful and optimistic than most of Plante's novels in that eventually obsession fades, becomes less intense, is less painful, and finally disappears as sanity is regained. When I read Hollingshurst's The Folking Star, I was reminded of Plante's The Catholic. Both deal with sexual obsession and the way the mind eventually forgets the love object, which leads to the healing.