Faster than the Speed of Light, Lucius Parhelion

[Ulysses]

Lucius Parhelion is the kind of pseudonym a gay author would have used in 1948, the year in which "Faster than the Speed of Light" begins. I think it roughly translates into "the light of the sun," and I can't help but think the author is purposely hiding in a way that reflects the world of his characters, Frank and Collis.

Frank Mackenzie is a veteran, having survived World War II with some bad scars and a battered soul. Collis Courtland is a prodigy, guilty over his involvement with the creation of the atomic bomb, and at 23 finds himself newly hired as a professor of physics at the same small California college where Frank is a 32-year-old senior under the GI bill.

Both men love numbers and the cerebral world of physics; and both of them struggle to hide their homosexuality to protect their burgeoning careers in a post-war world increasingly paranoid about communism and national security. Frank can use his late wife as camouflage, while Collis has his rich family's Pasadena money and reputation to protect him. Then they meet, quite by accident, during a police raid at a fairy bar they both thought was safe.

The world of gay men before Stonewall is a topic not familiar in contemporary gay lit, and Parhelion's novel is a surprisingly deep exploration of that world through two fascinating, smart men and a cast of secondary characters who are as real as figures in a 1940s movie. Parhelion portrays the realities of the closet - which was the only way to survive for these men - with a warmly detached eye; not seeking pity, but demanding compassion for his two heroes, who must make their way in a world that will destroy them if they're found out. It seems like an infertile patch in which to plant a love story, and yet Parhelion does it with remarkable grace and realism.

Parhelion works very hard to create an authentic world of the late 1940s, mining history for pop-culture details, as well as its language and mannerisms. He mostly succeeds, but a few awkward bits of language and an overall slight feeling of "look how much I know about this period" kept this, for me, from being five stars.

But that is a fairly small quibble. I was very moved by the story of these two men, anxious for them to find some happiness. But one of the chief feelings I had when I read the last line, full of Collis Courtland's wry humor, was one of tremendous relief that, because of men like this, I didn't have to live the life they did.

[Aussie54]

Good review, Ulysses.

Parhelion is my most liked author, and this is one of his/her longer books. I did enjoy the fact that we managed to see a lot more of the main characters than we usually do with Parhelion's stories, which makes this a real favourite.