An Idol for Others

by Gordon Merrick

The path of self-discovery that a man married to a loving wife and with two sons embarks on when his attraction to another man becomes too strong to ignore.

Genres: Fiction, Gay Fiction, Gay, LGBT, Queer

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Son of a stockbroker, Merrick studied French Literature at Princeton before becoming an actor on Broadway. Prior to WWII he landed a role in Kaufman & Hart's The Man Who Came to Dinner and even became Hart's lover for a time. Due to a hearing problem he had a draft deferrment but served in the O.S.S. rising to the rank of Captain for his service in France. His first novel, The Strumpet Wind (1947), told of an American spy in France during WWII. "I have not imagined the world in which these people lived," he wrote.

Besides appearing on Broadway, he worked as a reporter on many newspapers. He also contributed book reviews and articles to The New Republic, Ikonos and other periodicals. In all, Merrick wrote 13 books, but it was his specialized novels that dealt with gay issues which became best-sellers. Merrick's works are rarely included in anthologies, and few discussions of American gay authors mention him. Some dismiss Merrick because of his obvious romanticism; others do so because he sprinkles explicit sex scenes in these later novels.

Merrick examines the likelihood of self-actualization, identity politics and the role that power plays in relationships. He rejected socially-imposed roles and labels, insisting that each gay person question the assumptions underlying their life. Gordon Merrick broke new ground that has only recently become fertile. Deeper probing into Merrick's works will undoubtedly yield richer understandings of the complex social dynamics that construct networks of control over human sexuality.

Reviews

[S.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like I already said, Gordon Merrick made me feel writing gay romance was OK. What the hell, a major publisher thought so back in 1977.

[Charity · Rating 2 out of 5]

The misogyny and queer-phobia were hard to take. The protagonist was horrible and the ending awful …. Not sure what the point was from the author’s perspective.

On the other hand, v. Readable and an interesting window into the mind of being gay in the 40s through 70s. The internal conflict felt real, it just often manifested as homophobia from a gay man trying to force himself straight in the repressive culture he lived in.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soap-operatic, erotic-romp through the life of theatrical producer-director Walter Makin and his cast of beauties both male and female. Published in 1977 and reflecting the psychology and issues one might expect from a writer who lived through times when being gay wasn't an easy-street of acceptance, that was pre-HIV, was burdened with an acceptance of racial stereotypes, misogyny, prevalent anti-semitism, and a kind of queer persona of self-hate only those times could produce. In terms of this, what it says about the production of a self out of this kind of muck and mire is far more revealing and optical in terms of the Hauntology a reader can find - and especially concerning a whole cast from the generation that was nearly wiped out resultant of HIV-AIDS, it offers for those who look an insight into what it meant to try and find a life, to try and uncover a self that was essentially non-existent when that self had been derided, shunned, and outcast with other minorities it labels and unjustly refers to.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read. Although there was lots of gratuitous sex, there was full character development of all the major characters. Everyone was fabulously good looking, wealthy and fell in love at first sight. I enjoyed the theatrical backgrounds as well as NYC in the 1930s-70s. There was one episode about the emotional breaking down of a challenged actor that was worthy of a more literary book. This book is now out of print and is now expensive to buy but you will get your moneys worth at any price.

[Mendes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm. 21 and I just discovered this book. I am broken right now that I just finished it - mourning. I had wished Walter not to have a happy ending because he's a real fcked up man but not this kind of ending which I kind of regretting I wished that right now . I also don't get some of the reasonings and logics of the characters bout love and stuff. It's weird. I don't don't like it, I mean it's good. Just not the ending because it corrupted me.