The Fancy Dancer: A Novel

I am unsure how to begin to describe the remarkably detailed and conflicted world that Father Meeker lives in a small parish in Montana as a good-hearted, warm, dedicated priest who discovers, almost by accident, that he is gay and falls, tragically, for the one other gay guy in town that might be around his age and station in life. Once this revelation occurs, the bleeding starts in Father Meeker's mind about what this means to his faith, his appointment, his parishoners, and ultimately his life. The boyfriend, Vidal, is nearly equally as interesting and conflicted, and their relationship is both a joy to experience and ultimately somewhat painfully realistic. This novel was written in the '70s, but doesn't have as many allusions to the specific time period as The Front Runner: A Novel and therefore suffers less distraction from the differences in time and culture. I am sure that if you aren't familiar with "church things" then you might not fully appreciate all the tortured guilt and conflict between Father Meeker, his senior pastor, his boyfriend, his faith, and his community. As a (protestant) pastor's son, and gay to boot, this novel hit me like a ton of bricks. It's truly wonderful and interesting, the characters are real and developed, and the conflict is real and no less pertinent today than it was several decades ago. By the number of reviews listed here, I can surmise that this is an under-appreciated book. If you like religious themes, gay themes, or both, or if you just like Patricia Nell Warren or have enjoyed her other books, I strongly suggest you pick up a copy. I hope you relish the story and pay attention to all the layered details and rich desciptions of the beauty and the frustrations of human relationships, even among those who feel called to serve God. Enjoy.

Father Tom Meeker relishes his work at the little parish in Cottonwood, MT, listening to confessions, participating with the church council, feeling grateful to spread God's word. Then, a young Blackfoot Indian named Vidal Stump enters his confessional. A bit wild in his ways and comfortable with his homosexuality, Vidal takes Father Tom on a journey of discovery and reveals to him what he's been trying to hide for a long time. "The Fancy Dancer" is by no means a tawdry tale of homosexual love. The relationship between Father Tom and Vidal is played out very realistically, dealing not only with their interactions with others but with their inner struggles with themselves. They truly do love each other in every sense of the word. Warren makes Father Tom's struggles to reconcile his new-found self, tinged by his own feelings guilt, with his love of the Church the center of the novel, revealing insight into the attitudes of the Church toward homosexuality. Surprisingly enough for a novel from 1976, it is very relevant with the state of the world today. And, what I really liked is that this is a positive novel, without the stereotypical ending with death or suicide.

Harlan Brown is an ex-Marine and a track coach. In 1974, after he is dismissed from Penn State due to rumors of an alleged homosexual romance with one of his athletes, Harlan finds himself as the track coach at Prescott, a smaller university which he discovers is a more diverse than any other school in the country. Harlan's coaching life is thrown into turmoil when three young track athletes, kicked out of another university for their openness about their sexuality, want to join his team. One of the athletes, Billy Sive who looks to be a contender for the Montréal Olympics, piques his interest, and Harlan soon finds himself falling for the young man. Billy begins to have the same feelings for Harlan. Once they admit their feelings, they form a strong, positive relationghip face together the fear and hatred of the athletic world and society, determined to give Billy his shot at a gold medal.First published in 1974, this became a national bestseller. Patricia Nell Warren's depiction of two gay athletes in the 1970s is filled with so much that's positive about being gay: Harlan and Billy form a strong, monogamous relationship and don't hide it from the rest of the world. (They also don't flaunt it.) They tackle many issues that gay men and women are struggling with today: gay marriage, children, gay rights. The novel also handles the societal negatives regarding homosexuality with much humanity and empathy. You can either run and hide from it, or you can stare it down, be happy with yourself.I also liked the characters. Harlan has only recently come out and is trying to deal with his feelings and jealousies along with his memories of the past and society. Billy is calm, confident, knows who and what he is and is determined that no one is going to keep him from what makes him happy. The two of them together make a great and very realistic couple.While it is a gay novel, it's also a sports novel. Warren was a long-distance runner herself and draws from her experiences to give a realistic view of the amateur sports world, especially when it comes to the politics of jsut being able to compete. It's a world that I found very intriguing and want to learn more about.This is a remarkable book, one that should be read by everyone, gay and straight.

This book is a superbly crafted work. I (like so many others) first read this book when I was 18 years old. In my youthful naiveté, I kept wondering how a woman could see things from a gay male perspective with such clarity and reality. How COULD she know and understand so well what I felt? Ms. Warren used her descriptive powers and a truly warm honesty to draw us into this story like few others before or since. Imagine my astonishment when I found "The Front Runner" in a mainstream bookshop in Oklahoma City! I saw the cover art on the first paperback edition (not the current cover art, but certainly not "lurid" either) and I SNATCHED up the book. Standing between the book racks, I read the first page. I skipped forward and read more. I found myself shaking. Until I found this book, all I knew about being gay was a few brief glimpses I'd caught of truly ugly porn, what I'd heard from my father's pulpit, and a boy in my highschool (whom I avoided like the plague) who had pink hair and a sexy (and unfortunately, swishy) walk. I read this book from cover to cover three times that week. I laughed when Harlan set a seven-minute pace on the way to the clearing where they FINALLY made it. I ran 20 or more miles every day and so that little touch of my own world, that instant of wry humor just as they were about to "do it" made the book even MORE real for me.) I could SEE Billy and Harlan, and I could SEE that clearing! Reading this book gave me a much needed change in my worldview. The sudden discovery that I could be like Billy; that if I grew up and become the kind of man Ms. Warren described in Harlan (faults and all) it would be ok, was (to put it mildly) a revelation. Athletic "macho gay" men who weren't caricatures, LOVING each other! It was incredible, and it was DEFINATELY the positive influence that I needed in 1976. I remember the rumors that "The Front Runner" would be made into a major motion picture. "Redford has bought the rights." "Newman wants to do it, and he's gonna play Harlan." Too bad it didn't happen. Meanwhile, if my nephew grows up and discovers that hes gay, This is the first book I'll hand him. Hell, if he's straight, I'll give him a copy anyway, after he turns 18 and his parents can't kill me.

In 1954 I was stationed with the U.S. Navy in the Washington, D.C. area. While I was on duty one rainy evening in August, a captain in the Medical Corp. was billeted in the brig awaiting trial on charges of having sexual relations with an enlisted man. This medical doctor had been in the Navy for most of his adult life. He knew the consequences if he was caught in a homosexual act. Instead of waiting for the trial, the dignified doctor lay down on his narrow cot, poured lighter fluid over himself and lit a match. When I saw his charred body, brig personnel had carried his remains to the sidewalk where a damp summer wind carried the stench over the whole Naval complex. As I stood over the charred bones, I wondered what caused a man to commit an act that would cause him if caught to take his own life. Also, I made a vow that evening that if I could do anything to change public opinion that caused this decorated captain to take his life. I would. Patricia Nell Warren, authoress of the Fancy Dancer, has given me a keen insight into a young priest who risked being defrocked because of his touching love for a degenerate young man. This story appalled me at times, but yet I thank a writer who tells a touching story, in a manner that made it impossible to put the novel down before I read the last word. Patricia, thank you for giving me an understanding insight into the Gay lifestyle. Luther Butle