Funny, thought-provoking, historical novelette
(short novel) about a man, Clifford Ryan, who as
a teen had diffi culty deciding if he is gay, straight,
or bisexual. As a college student in 1970, Cliff and
his roommate, Ralph, see The Boys in the Band,
a movie about gay life that sways Cliff one way,
Ralph the other way. As a young adult, Cliff consults
a psychiatrist and learns about another sexual
orientation: sthenolagnia (pronounced stheno-lon?-
ya), a Greek word few Americans know but which
describes many, many Americans and other people.
Some people say sexual orientation isn't a "choice"
but Cliff and Ralph each must make a choice: date
a male, or date a female. Their choice is infl uenced
not only by The Boys in the Band but by people
and events Cliff and Ralph see and hear from age
8 in 1961 to age 72 in 2025: JFK, RFK, LBJ, MLK
Jr., Richard Nixon, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle,
the Vietnam War, The Graduate, The Godfather,
Herman's Hermits, women's liberation, and gay
liberation, all of whom or which are mentioned in
this novelette. At times hilarious and heartwarming,
at other times poignant and probing.