Looking After Joey by David Pratt

[Ulysses]

When I troll the review request lists for Brandilyn on the Prism Book Alliance, I realize that I’m looking for books that I might not otherwise find. In particular, I’m looking for books by men I’ve not read before. This is to satisfy my ongoing curiosity about what gay men are writing these days; and I’m trying to explore the boundaries of m/m literature (which is to say, step outside those oft-too-narrow parameters).

David Pratt’s Looking After Joey will either grab you right away and drag you along; or it will leave you cold. I am in the first category. It is unlike anything I’ve read in the past year, and given all the interesting books I’ve been finding through the Prism review lists, that’s saying something.

Pratt is a wonderful writer; arch, crisp, literate. There is no sloppy dialogue and no filler. It is lean and fast and to the point. In the space of a paragraph he can take you from laughing out loud to rolling your eyes to feeling tears starting to build.

Although the point of view shifts around a bit in the course of the story, the reader’s main perspective on the action is through the eyes of Calvin Hodge, a New York City accountant who’s pushing forty and yearning a little too desperately to be part of what his best friend Peachy Sniegowski refers to as the “gayristocracy.”

If that makes Peachy (real name: Leland) seem a bit too much, don’t worry. Peachy is a bit too much. The fact that Calvin loves him and sticks by their friendship is one of the crucial facts of the novel.

By turns surreal and farcical, the plot turns around Joey, about whom I cannot say much without spoiling things. Suffice it to say that Joey is Calvin’s dream boy, a porn star of such perfect beauty that he is the focus of every supercharged ion of Calvin’s frustrated loneliness.

And while there is sex in this book, it is not sexy sex. Well, it starts out sexy, but turns increasingly unsexy until it is, well, comical.

Existential farce? Dark comedy? Social satire? Yes.

This is a book that, like Edmond Manning’s “King” series, seems to be written specifically for gay men—or at least for anyone trying to understand what it is to be a gay man today. It seems to skewer every one of the anxieties that young urban gay men have. It pokes fun at the absurdity of the quest for endless youth and flawless beauty. It lampoons the anxieties and affectations of urban gay culture. Yet, it doesn’t simply mock; it empathizes with these men and their fears; it makes us feel for them—with them. Ultimately Looking After Joey illuminates the truth that life is only as worthwhile as the people you care about and who care about you.

There is an odd fatalistic optimism that permeates the book which is, I think, the source of its emotional power. A favorite line says it all: “One day we all lose everybody. ...We’re all just walking each other home. So you just give people the best walk you can, I guess.”

I have given this book five stars, but I give it a five with an asterisk, for one reason. Every gay man in the book who is older than the protagonists, however amusingly written, is either pathetic or repugnant. It is something I see all too often, and I have to confess, for a 58-year-old reader, it is disheartening. One of the deepest fears of the characters in the book is aging; and if the older characters here are any indication, that fear is justified.

I don’t think that’s what the author intended, and thus, like Calvin, I forgive.

[Jax]

Your review already had me sold and then I saw that it's by the author of Bob the Book so I'm definitely in!

[PaperMoon]

Sounds good Ulysses. I've got both books on TBR now.

[Charles]

I've gotten so weirdly picky about "offbeat" stories recently, that I hesitated putting this toward the top of my TBR list. However, with Jax and PaperMoon going for it, I'll probably give it a read. (But I still remember the "Slam" reccy! Some things are unforgivable.)

[Ulysses]

Slam was the JL Merrow book you hated so much? I think of that when I read her "plumber" books--which are heads and tales better. But "Looking After Joey" is very different...I won't guarantee you'll like it, but it is not the same old same old.

[Jax]

This was very funny! I actually laughed out loud. A lot. I love when characters are so fleshed out and distinct from each other. I especially loved Stuart who's really only a minor character. The scene at the party where he's stuffing his face and making comments on the food completely oblivious to the drama playing out around him was hysterical. And his way of answering "Fuck you, (insert any noun that was just mentioned)" cracked me up every time. Small details in a book that takes great care with every small detail to make a very satisfying whole.

My only complaint was that it felt a wee bit long. There were some subplots that could've been trimmed or maybe even cut completely.

But a very enjoyable read overall.

[David]

Jax, so glad you enjoyed the book. I like Stuart, too! I only wish I could do him in readings, but any scene he is in requires too much backstory. I agree there are a lot of subplots. I'm a little addicted to storytelling! Thanks for reading and rating and reviewing!

[Jax]

Hi David! I totally support your addiction. I think humor is very difficult to do well - and very underrated too. To be able to infuse it with such heart makes it even more special. Looking forward to whatever you write next.

[David]

Check out Bob the Book if you haven't already. A bit less zany but loads of fun, I think. And reflective, too.

[Jax]

I read it a few years ago (before I was active on Good Reads) & loved it . That's what made me trust you enough to read about a porn character come to life. You certainly have some unusual ideas!

[David]

For more unusual ideas see my short story collection, "My Movie." A very different thing from the novels. There you will find the original short story that gave birth to "Joey," plus a lot more.