The Genius of Desire

Hopelessly drawn to the romantic notion of a double life, young Michael Bellman spends summers in Monsalvat, Michigan, coming of age in a loving tangle of highly eccentric relatives: Great Uncle Jimmy speaks to his dead wife during meals; Cousin Anne torments Michael beyond endurance; reckless Cousin Tommy secretly smokes cigars and can't wait to "kick butt in 'Nam" – and Michael watches every magical move he makes.

 

A few years and one driver's license later, as family alliances change and long-silent desires surface, Michael begins to understand his attraction to the double life because he's living one – at roadside rest stops, in library washrooms, and public parks. Coming out is the first step, coming to terms is the next …

 

A highly praised debut novel in 1993, this new edition includes a foreword by the author.

 

"A simply told story of a young boy growing into manhood and evolving into himself in the midst of the contradictions, deceptions, denial, ignorance, pretensions, confusions, prejudices, and all the other weaknesses that flesh is heir to ... In one way or another this is the same world we must all find our way through and/or out of. I'm certain many other readers will enjoy this book as much as I did." – Hubert Selby, Jr.

 

"Bouldrey writes beautifully and casts an intense and relentless light on the ... grandeur of human love ... remarkable." – Robert Boswell

 

"An engaging novel with a narrator you may already know – he's catholic, he's whimsical, he's contemplative and amusing. He also happens to be gay." – Sandra Scoppettone

 

"Bouldrey is both a fine storyteller – attentive, compassionate, witty – and a highly intriguing stylist. In The Genius of Desire everything is in balance, no one is predictable, and Bouldrey's narrator is the perfect host. I was never less than enthralled." – Dennis Cooper

 

"The Genius of Desire touches on oddities in life with a warm sense of reality ... Bouldrey's style evokes a reverence for the small epiphanies of youth." – Bay Area Reporter

 

"A fresh and moving tale ... The author is particularly skilled at humor but handles the serious moments with wisdom and care ... An impressive debut." – Lambda Book Report

1001864222
The Genius of Desire

Hopelessly drawn to the romantic notion of a double life, young Michael Bellman spends summers in Monsalvat, Michigan, coming of age in a loving tangle of highly eccentric relatives: Great Uncle Jimmy speaks to his dead wife during meals; Cousin Anne torments Michael beyond endurance; reckless Cousin Tommy secretly smokes cigars and can't wait to "kick butt in 'Nam" – and Michael watches every magical move he makes.

 

A few years and one driver's license later, as family alliances change and long-silent desires surface, Michael begins to understand his attraction to the double life because he's living one – at roadside rest stops, in library washrooms, and public parks. Coming out is the first step, coming to terms is the next …

 

A highly praised debut novel in 1993, this new edition includes a foreword by the author.

 

"A simply told story of a young boy growing into manhood and evolving into himself in the midst of the contradictions, deceptions, denial, ignorance, pretensions, confusions, prejudices, and all the other weaknesses that flesh is heir to ... In one way or another this is the same world we must all find our way through and/or out of. I'm certain many other readers will enjoy this book as much as I did." – Hubert Selby, Jr.

 

"Bouldrey writes beautifully and casts an intense and relentless light on the ... grandeur of human love ... remarkable." – Robert Boswell

 

"An engaging novel with a narrator you may already know – he's catholic, he's whimsical, he's contemplative and amusing. He also happens to be gay." – Sandra Scoppettone

 

"Bouldrey is both a fine storyteller – attentive, compassionate, witty – and a highly intriguing stylist. In The Genius of Desire everything is in balance, no one is predictable, and Bouldrey's narrator is the perfect host. I was never less than enthralled." – Dennis Cooper

 

"The Genius of Desire touches on oddities in life with a warm sense of reality ... Bouldrey's style evokes a reverence for the small epiphanies of youth." – Bay Area Reporter

 

"A fresh and moving tale ... The author is particularly skilled at humor but handles the serious moments with wisdom and care ... An impressive debut." – Lambda Book Report

7.95 In Stock
The Genius of Desire

The Genius of Desire

by Brian Bouldrey
The Genius of Desire

The Genius of Desire

by Brian Bouldrey

eBook

$7.95 

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

Hopelessly drawn to the romantic notion of a double life, young Michael Bellman spends summers in Monsalvat, Michigan, coming of age in a loving tangle of highly eccentric relatives: Great Uncle Jimmy speaks to his dead wife during meals; Cousin Anne torments Michael beyond endurance; reckless Cousin Tommy secretly smokes cigars and can't wait to "kick butt in 'Nam" – and Michael watches every magical move he makes.

 

A few years and one driver's license later, as family alliances change and long-silent desires surface, Michael begins to understand his attraction to the double life because he's living one – at roadside rest stops, in library washrooms, and public parks. Coming out is the first step, coming to terms is the next …

 

A highly praised debut novel in 1993, this new edition includes a foreword by the author.

 

"A simply told story of a young boy growing into manhood and evolving into himself in the midst of the contradictions, deceptions, denial, ignorance, pretensions, confusions, prejudices, and all the other weaknesses that flesh is heir to ... In one way or another this is the same world we must all find our way through and/or out of. I'm certain many other readers will enjoy this book as much as I did." – Hubert Selby, Jr.

 

"Bouldrey writes beautifully and casts an intense and relentless light on the ... grandeur of human love ... remarkable." – Robert Boswell

 

"An engaging novel with a narrator you may already know – he's catholic, he's whimsical, he's contemplative and amusing. He also happens to be gay." – Sandra Scoppettone

 

"Bouldrey is both a fine storyteller – attentive, compassionate, witty – and a highly intriguing stylist. In The Genius of Desire everything is in balance, no one is predictable, and Bouldrey's narrator is the perfect host. I was never less than enthralled." – Dennis Cooper

 

"The Genius of Desire touches on oddities in life with a warm sense of reality ... Bouldrey's style evokes a reverence for the small epiphanies of youth." – Bay Area Reporter

 

"A fresh and moving tale ... The author is particularly skilled at humor but handles the serious moments with wisdom and care ... An impressive debut." – Lambda Book Report


Product Details

BN ID: 2940163674787
Publisher: ReQueered Tales
Publication date: 11/29/2019
Sold by: Draft2Digital
Format: eBook
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Brian Bouldrey is the author, most recently, of Inspired Journeys: Travel Writers in Search of the Muse (University of Wisconsin Press, 2016). He has written three nonfiction books; Honorable Bandit: A Walk Across Corsica (University of Wisconsin Press, September 2007), Monster: Adventures in American Machismo (Council Oak Books), and The Autobiography Box (Chronicle Books); three novels, The Genius of Desire, Love, the Magician, and The Boom Economy (all three novels from ReQueered Tales), and he is the editor of several anthologies. He is recipient of Fellowships from Yaddo and Eastern Frontier Society, and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, as well as the Joseph Henry Jackson Award from the San Francisco Foundation, a Lambda Literary Award, and the Western Regional Magazine Award. He is the North American Editor of the Open Door literacy series for GemmaMedia. He teaches fiction, creative nonfiction, and literature at Northwestern University.
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews