Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style by Paul Rudnick

[Bob]

Screenwriter (Addams Family Values, In-And-Out) and author Paul Rudnick is a very funny guy. And a very gay one. Most specifically, a very fashion-forward proud 65-year-old New Jersey Jewish gay one. Even when he’s in Hollywood. Example:
“Here’s how excited I was: as we kept kissing and tugging at each other’s clothes, I only subliminally took note of the bedroom’s quarter-sawn golden oak paneling, high mullioned windows, the pair of classic Italian tubular chrome chairs, and the window seat with a cushion attached from an oriental rug…”
I have previously read and enjoyed his Playing the Palace and If You Ask Me (as Libby Gelman-Waxner). In Playing the Palace, a nebbish Jewish wanna-be writer (wink, wink) marries a prince. In his newest, Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style, he indulges in a different kind of wish fulfillment, combining it with autobiography, at least of people; places; experiences and decades he has known. His portraits of New York in the 1970s and Hollywood in the 80s, for example, are too specific and vivid to not be real. The names have been changed, but not enough to hide the familiar bios.
Meanwhile, the wish-fulfilling throughline is the fictional story of the decades-long romance of a nebbish Jewish wanna-be writer (wink, wink)and the beautiful and charismatic scion of a rich industrialist; an almost magically perfect gay man, or maybe just one seen through the eyes of the bewitched. And because Farrell is rich, he can have anything; all his dreams come true. Almost.
Not surprisingly, I think this is Rudnick’s best book so far: not only laugh-out-loud funny, but also incredibly insightful and ultimately sweet and wise, as it tracks the lives of gay men from before Stonewall to today. Though the energy flags a bit near the end, the ride is still worth it for people like us.

[Christopher]

I am currently reading, based on your recommendation, and I think it is wonderful so far (I'm in Chapter 8). Thank you for sharing.