Out of the Whirlwind

by Bevis Longstreth

Overview

Out of the Whirlwind is the story of a young man coming of age in the 1950's in the New York metropolitan area,. He struggles with growing ambiguities about sexual identity and stern, unyielding expectations of a dominant father, braided together to form an apparent life of brilliance at law school, clerkship for a Justice of the Supreme Court and practice at a prominent New York City law firm. Adam Hudson's life appears charmed, with professional success and a loyal and loving wife and child. In truth he is a man deeply tormented, hiding his homosexual longings in a closet of privilege. The book poignantly captures this torment, through its childhood whispers and growth, followed, ultimately, by the triumph of finally breaking out, falling in love and building a new life with a man-a life tragically cut short by AIDS.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798218103972
Publisher:	bevis longstreth
Publication date:	11/09/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

BEVIS LONGSTRETH is the author of four historical novels: Spindle and Bow, Return of the Shade, Boats Against the Current, and Chains Across the River, and one contemporary novel, Out of the Whirlwind. He is a retired partner of the international law firm, Debevoise & Plimpton, where he practiced for his entire legal career, except for Government service in Washington as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission from 1981‑84. He authored Modern Portfolio Management and the Prudent Man Rule (Oxford University Press 1987), a book arguing for interpretative change in the legal standard of care exercisable by fiduciaries responsible for other people's money to reflect current developments in finance economics. He lives in Manhattan, New York with his wife, Clara, and their dog, McKenzie. They have three children and nine grandchildren. See bevislongstreth.com for further information about the author and his writings.

Editorial Reviews

Bevis Longstreth has given us a beautifully told and deeply moving story about fifty years of Adam's life, as he discovers and comes to terms with his sexual identity. As he does, we see Adam evolve into a more fully realized human, able to embrace many more of life's joys and possibilities. Adam's story is told not only by Adam's own telling of his interior struggles, but also through his relationships with other authentic and unforgettable characters-his domineering father, his school classmates and girlfriends as a young man, his wife, his partner and his law firm colleagues. All of these characters are realistically and sensitively rendered in a way that reflects the author's keen observation and deep understanding of real people and how they experience life. This wonderful novel is much more than a "good read". It is a gift. Highly, very highly, recommended.

-Ralph Arditi, Retired Partner in Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Lecturer-in-Law, Columbia Law School

More than anything else, Out of the Whirlwind is the story of a young man coming of age in the 1950s in the New York metropolitan area, struggling to meet the stern and unyielding expectations of a dominant father. Like so many of his generation, he must suppress his homosexuality and take on the trappings of heterosexual life, even as his attempt to gain the respect of his father ultimately fails, and he is driven to furtive sex in the baths of 1970s New York. Under Bevis Longstreth's tender pen he finds a path to freedom, but pays a heavy cost. Out of the Whirlwind is a reminder that the gains of the LGBTQ community are recent and came at a dear price.

-Erik Kulleseid, Commissioner, New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

A deeply felt yet unflinching, honest account of AIDS, Out of the Whirlwind is set in the Ivy League and Wall Street. Its realism is unquestioned, its humanity profound. This fiction, more than many histories, offers a clear-eyed picture of varied American attitudes to the fact of gay life and the crisis that took so many lives. The protagonist, Adam Hudson, lives as his father's son until he becomes his own man. This is the story of a soul finding and affirming its true self, of those he loves, and those who love him.

-James Engell, Gurney Professor of English Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University

From the Publisher