Given the Circumstances, by Brad Vance

[Ulysses]

Strong writing and compelling characters make this book a great read. The fact that Vance uses the “gay for you” trope that (until now) I thought only women m/m writers fell for lost it a star from me.

I’ve read quite a few sports-themed m/m books, which sort of intrigues me, because I don’t like sports and have always disliked jocks, frat boys, any of those obvious (and, I suppose, desirable) versions of manhood. Maybe it’s the gay thing – the idea of one of those testosterone-filled beasts actually yearning for another guy – that lowers my walls against jocks and let them into my head.

In Brad Vance’s case, the main characters of Roger Ehrens and Brian Rauch are followed over time, and develop before us as richly textured, fully 3-D young men. There is the requisite adoration of their size and their beauty and their substantial endowments; but it goes beyond that. We come to know their hearts and souls, what drives them, what causes them pain.

Part of what makes their portraits so vivid is the back-up player of Jacob Ehrens, Roger’s college-professor father. Jacob is the sort of gentle, loving, intuitive father that anyone would be lucky to have. His influence on his son’s life is incalculable. Brian’s father has a similar influence, but in a negative way. Part of what makes Brian’s character so interesting is his journey to find someone who will make him feel he is worthy of happiness.

Roger is a football player, and the description how he becomes one is adorable (and I know that doesn’t make sense, but that’s how it struck me). Brian is a baseball player, and his development as a star hitter is handled with equal care. For a book full of sports, Vance handles the descriptions very well, making them terse and journalistic, so that we can follow the games without drowning in details we don’t care about (which, for me, is a lot).

Somewhere out there is something called the Klein Sexuality Grid. It is a far more subtle and complex way to measure sexual orientation than the good old Kinsey Scale (on which I am a total six). I kept thinking of the Klein Grid as I read this book, trying to manage my negative emotions around Vance’s “gay for you” plot device. It almost worked, although I kept hearing cries of “bi-erasure” in the back of my mind. Gay writers need to write about bisexuality better.

By the end of “Given the Circumstances” I was genuinely moved to tears. There are so many good people in this book, and their support of Roger and Brian in the face of the ugly rigors of high level team sports was one of the most powerful narrative threads. Brian and Roger’s relationship is the bright center of this book. Whatever my qualms, Vance makes them an unforgettable duo, and with them builds a romance worthy of our devotion.