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A review by anthroxagorus
Our Young Man by Edmund White
5.0
I've been duped!
Edmund White, please see this and acknowledge me!!
I have a mess of feelings attached to this book. This is the first novel I've read from Edmund White, but certainly not the first book. I've been pouring through his biographical and autobiographical works this year. Obsessively. As much as I liked them, I was afraid I wouldn't like this book.
And, indeed, I was more than halfway through the book, wondering what exactly we're supposed to get out of the story. My first impression was perhaps it was a nod to Wilde, by creating a far more raunchy version of Dorian Gray, esp. in light of the uncensored release. Mayhaps. In another vein, it's obviously about gay culture in the 80s and in the time of GRID/AIDS. Some of it could act as a gay sex manual. After all, White is an expert in the matters! It's also White's time to shine and bring forth all of his love of France - the intricacies of the language, the culture, his breath of knowledge, etc.
For all those things, it is wonderful. Alas, it's much more than that! How could I ever doubt the gay master storyteller?
It was at that moment I was entirely in love with this book.
I mean, the Dorian Gray metaphor was certainly never shied away from, but then there's a bit of that wonderful unreliable narrator section (White's love for Nabokov maybe?), in which we always were routing for "our young man." And yet, the young man may well have been Kevin, as Guy names him at the very end: "You are the Perfect Young Man: honest, clean, virile." (HELLO! And the cover makes sense!!) Speaking of Kevin, what a wonderful nod to Wilde's duplicity and White's use of twins. Speaking of Dorian Gray, it seems that while Guy is Dorian, perhaps Pierre-Georges is Lord Henry? And who is Basil? Well, who had to die? Fred? Well, let's not stretch the metaphor.
So what do we really think of Guy by the end of the novel? Couldn't he have spared more money toward his mother than her pittance? She shouldn't have required government assistance!! And how was he with his lovers? He cheated on every one of them! And might've done more so if AIDS hadn't been a thing! He was more intelligent than one would assume a model to be, we're given an okay to like him, but gradually we learn about the rituals and routines he goes through in order to maintain his looks. It's Kevin that clues his in that Guy isn't as intelligent as he seems. It's through Kevin's eyes we watch Guy use cocaine to get onto a photoshoot that Pierre-Georges encourages, however clearly it affects Guy's health. The spell is broken as we watch Guy's train of thought, "hear" him babble incoherently. (Seriously, what a heartbreaking scene!)
And yet part of us was endeared with him when he rushes to the Baron's side, asking if he's okay. On reflection, we might note what an absolute idiot he was being for not comprehending the scene. And whereever he makes bad decisions, we find his reasoning valid. That is, he accepts the Baron's attentions when he gets to smooch on the hot guy, when he reasons to himself to be building income when his modeling career ends, as it should.
Now that I think about it, perhaps Guy was someone worthy of us to root for, but later we watched him get corrupted, certainly let it happen. Like how Kevin reverts to a different self when he visits home, so too do we see Guy revert. Like Guy, we've forgotten the plight of his poor family, but when he's home, we celebrate him feeling guilty, purchasing his mother a car, and think of him as a "good person." We know he sends money back home to his mother, and doubles it after the visit. Before this visit, there's little contact it seems. Guy visits with Fred in the hospital and visits Andrés in the hospital - to this, we owe respect, but we know, also, he is more motivated by guilt than love. When we think about him taking in Vince, we were told he was motivated by "keeping things interesting" rather than genuine concern or loyalty to Andrés (besides, not making a scene.)
But at the same time, I'm not even sure if I blame Guy or if it would be fair to blame him.
And maybe I'm getting some things wrong, mixing up the second half with what happened in the first half of the book. What I can say is that I feel this book deserves to be read over and over again. So catch me revising this review on the reread!
Edmund White, please see this and acknowledge me!!
I have a mess of feelings attached to this book. This is the first novel I've read from Edmund White, but certainly not the first book. I've been pouring through his biographical and autobiographical works this year. Obsessively. As much as I liked them, I was afraid I wouldn't like this book.
And, indeed, I was more than halfway through the book, wondering what exactly we're supposed to get out of the story. My first impression was perhaps it was a nod to Wilde, by creating a far more raunchy version of Dorian Gray, esp. in light of the uncensored release. Mayhaps. In another vein, it's obviously about gay culture in the 80s and in the time of GRID/AIDS. Some of it could act as a gay sex manual. After all, White is an expert in the matters! It's also White's time to shine and bring forth all of his love of France - the intricacies of the language, the culture, his breath of knowledge, etc.
For all those things, it is wonderful. Alas, it's much more than that! How could I ever doubt the gay master storyteller?
Spoiler
"[Guy] was sick of his beauty, his 'eternal' beauty. People thought he was purer, more intelligent, kinder, nobler than he was because they ascribed all these virtues to him. What if he were stripped of his looks, if he stabbed the grotesque painting in the attic? If they saw him for what he really was--empty-headed, vicieux (how did you translate that? "Riddled with vices?"), narcisse? Used to being indulged and pursued, terrified he'd outlive his fatal appeal and yet longing to be free of it?"
It was at that moment I was entirely in love with this book.
I mean, the Dorian Gray metaphor was certainly never shied away from, but then there's a bit of that wonderful unreliable narrator section (White's love for Nabokov maybe?), in which we always were routing for "our young man." And yet, the young man may well have been Kevin, as Guy names him at the very end: "You are the Perfect Young Man: honest, clean, virile." (HELLO! And the cover makes sense!!) Speaking of Kevin, what a wonderful nod to Wilde's duplicity and White's use of twins. Speaking of Dorian Gray, it seems that while Guy is Dorian, perhaps Pierre-Georges is Lord Henry? And who is Basil? Well, who had to die? Fred? Well, let's not stretch the metaphor.
So what do we really think of Guy by the end of the novel? Couldn't he have spared more money toward his mother than her pittance? She shouldn't have required government assistance!! And how was he with his lovers? He cheated on every one of them! And might've done more so if AIDS hadn't been a thing! He was more intelligent than one would assume a model to be, we're given an okay to like him, but gradually we learn about the rituals and routines he goes through in order to maintain his looks. It's Kevin that clues his in that Guy isn't as intelligent as he seems. It's through Kevin's eyes we watch Guy use cocaine to get onto a photoshoot that Pierre-Georges encourages, however clearly it affects Guy's health. The spell is broken as we watch Guy's train of thought, "hear" him babble incoherently. (Seriously, what a heartbreaking scene!)
And yet part of us was endeared with him when he rushes to the Baron's side, asking if he's okay. On reflection, we might note what an absolute idiot he was being for not comprehending the scene. And whereever he makes bad decisions, we find his reasoning valid. That is, he accepts the Baron's attentions when he gets to smooch on the hot guy, when he reasons to himself to be building income when his modeling career ends, as it should.
Now that I think about it, perhaps Guy was someone worthy of us to root for, but later we watched him get corrupted, certainly let it happen. Like how Kevin reverts to a different self when he visits home, so too do we see Guy revert. Like Guy, we've forgotten the plight of his poor family, but when he's home, we celebrate him feeling guilty, purchasing his mother a car, and think of him as a "good person." We know he sends money back home to his mother, and doubles it after the visit. Before this visit, there's little contact it seems. Guy visits with Fred in the hospital and visits Andrés in the hospital - to this, we owe respect, but we know, also, he is more motivated by guilt than love. When we think about him taking in Vince, we were told he was motivated by "keeping things interesting" rather than genuine concern or loyalty to Andrés (besides, not making a scene.)
But at the same time, I'm not even sure if I blame Guy or if it would be fair to blame him.
And maybe I'm getting some things wrong, mixing up the second half with what happened in the first half of the book. What I can say is that I feel this book deserves to be read over and over again. So catch me revising this review on the reread!