reviews_and_ramblings | In the Spotlight: Mark Merlis

The Book: Joel Lingeman has been set adrift. Until recently, life was 'relative contentedness'; working for Congress, frequenting the Hill club a little too frequently, cooking dinner for two every night and routine sex on Sundays. Now Sam, his lover of fifteen years, has left him for a stunning twenty-three year old and he cannot score a trick in the sleaziest pick-up joint in town. Joel's revulsion for the politics around him has dissipated into mild amusement at the 'social Darwinists' ready to snatch the last cents from the hands of the old and ailing. And he is increasingly obsessed by the different lives he could have led. When a teenage fantasy reasserts itself, the blond haired demi-god his eye once fell upon modelling swimsuits in the back of an old magazine, Joel is overcome by a pervasive sense of loss and embarks on a quest to hunt down 'the Santa Fe boy'. Astutely observed and resonant with dark, sardonic undertones, Man About Town is an unforgettable novel about losing your way, your self-esteem and your security.

Amazon: Man About Town: A Novel

The Author: "I am a health policy consultant, with 30 years of experience in providing policy and data analysis on a wide range of subjects, including Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurance reform, long-term care financing, and international comparison of healthcare systems. Recent clients have included the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund, the National Health Policy Forum, and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

I am also a novelist and occasionally write book reviews or other ephemera.

I live in Philadelphia with my partner of 26 years, Bob." Mark Merlis

Booklist: Man About Town: A Novel; An Arrow's Flight: A Novel; American Studies: A Novel

http://www.markmerlis.com/

Top 100 Gay Novels List (*)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (simple - without photos)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (wanted - with photos)

*only one title per author, only print books released after January 1, 2000.

Note: I remember to my friends that guest reviews of the above listed books (the top 100 Gay Novels) are welcome, just send them to me and I will post with full credits to the reviewer.

Other titles not in the top 100 list:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top50MM