What do you think?
Rate this book
The Man on the Third Floor
Walter Samson is a successful book editor in post-World War Two New York. He has more than enough money, an interesting wife, Phyllis, two smart children and reason to believe he's leading the good American life. That is, until by chance he meets Barry Rogers. Barry is blue collar, handsome, single, and poor.
Walter is instantly drawn to Barry and, despite the considerable risks, installs him in the Samson's three-storey house on the Upper East Side, where the two men try to keep their amorous relationship secret.
Against a backdrop of McCarthy-era paranoia with its doleful consequences and society's pervasive homophobia, Walter manages to alter the direction and course of his life, losing much, gaining more.
Walter is instantly drawn to Barry and, despite the considerable risks, installs him in the Samson's three-storey house on the Upper East Side, where the two men try to keep their amorous relationship secret.
Against a backdrop of McCarthy-era paranoia with its doleful consequences and society's pervasive homophobia, Walter manages to alter the direction and course of his life, losing much, gaining more.
184 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
Anne Bernays
45 books6 followersAnne Bernays is a novelist and writing teacher. Her articles and essays have appeared in numerous major publications, among them The Nation, The New York Times, Town & Country, and Sports Illustrated. She lives in Cambridge and Truro, Massachusetts with her husband, Justin Kaplan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
October 8, 2012
I am a fan of writer Anne Bernays, so I was delighted to win a copy of The Man on the Third Floor from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
The book was extremely readable, despite the fact that the narrator's voice is cold, usually dispassionate (except with regards to his own passion) and judgmental. As may be obvious, I did not much like Walter Samson, the protagonist in this story, although I enjoyed his world-he is an editor for a small publishing house in 1950s New York, during the height of the cold war. Successful at work and home (more or less happily married with two children he loves), Walter is uninterested in the political pressures of the Cold War, brought home by the doings of the House of Un-American Activities Committee or the personal happiness or tragedies of his wife and co-workers, Walter is an amiable man who gets along with others without ever getting close to any, until he falls in love with another man.
Bernays manages to convince me that Walter would install his lover on the third floor of his house and that this arrangement would continue for several years. Walter has found his connection to the world in his love for another man.
Bernays' prose is beautiful-engaging, charming even when the character is not, and her portrait of New York in the 50s was enthralling. I never, however, cared about the characters which speaks to her power to keep me engaged in a book. My three stars says this is a book worth reading though not life-changing.
The book was extremely readable, despite the fact that the narrator's voice is cold, usually dispassionate (except with regards to his own passion) and judgmental. As may be obvious, I did not much like Walter Samson, the protagonist in this story, although I enjoyed his world-he is an editor for a small publishing house in 1950s New York, during the height of the cold war. Successful at work and home (more or less happily married with two children he loves), Walter is uninterested in the political pressures of the Cold War, brought home by the doings of the House of Un-American Activities Committee or the personal happiness or tragedies of his wife and co-workers, Walter is an amiable man who gets along with others without ever getting close to any, until he falls in love with another man.
Bernays manages to convince me that Walter would install his lover on the third floor of his house and that this arrangement would continue for several years. Walter has found his connection to the world in his love for another man.
Bernays' prose is beautiful-engaging, charming even when the character is not, and her portrait of New York in the 50s was enthralling. I never, however, cared about the characters which speaks to her power to keep me engaged in a book. My three stars says this is a book worth reading though not life-changing.
March 8, 2013
This slim volume covers quite a bit of territory in its 184 pages. Ostensibly, it's about the gay awakening of its narrator, Walter Samson, set against the backdrop of the 1950’s New York publishing world and the red scare of the McCarthy era. Drawing obvious parallels between the communist witch hunt and Samson’s justifiable paranoia over being outed as a homosexual, author Bernays sets herself an ambitious agenda. Unfortunately, in certain respects, her reach exceeds her grasp.
Strictly as an evocation of Manhattan’s publishing heyday, the book is a total hoot. If you enjoy the world of Mad Men where the executives pat the curvy bottoms of their secretaries before heading out for a smoke-filled, scotch fueled lunch on the corporate expense account, then this will be right up your alley. Bernays completely nails the glamourous atmosphere of late fifties/early sixties NYC. And she seems to have an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of publishing's bygone halcyon days - when wads of time and money was spent wooing potential authors, as well as keeping successful authors already under contract happy.
Almost all of the secondary characters are well fleshed out and believable, chief among them Walter’s left-leaning wife, Phyllis. As a matter of fact, the only character who isn’t particularly well defined is the titular man on the third floor, Barry Rogers, who is supposedly the love of Walter’s life. Walter meets the blue-collar Barry when he comes to install carpet in his office. For Walter, it’s lust at first sight. In short order, he hires Barry to work as his driver and installs him in an apartment on the top story of the brownstone he lives in with his family allowing them to carry on a covert affair for many years.
But as a love story this book completely failed for me. Despite assuring the reader, over and over again, how much Barry means to him, there are hardly any scenes between them and almost no dialogue. There’s a lot of telling, but very little in the way of showing. Usually, when Walter thinks of Barry, sees him or refers to him, it’s in a purely sexual context. For example (and most egregiously) when one of his children suffers a serious medical emergency, Walter emerges from the hospital to see Barry awaiting him in the car and reacts with lust. Somehow, the "love story" did not ring true. I had no sense that Walter esteems Barry in any way, but instead only views him as an object of desire.
Anne Bernays is an excellent writer. Every aspect of this book is complete delight except the central relationship. I think if she had expanded the book, focusing more on Barry and Walter and excluding some of the extraneous publishing storylines, this might have succeeded as both an indictment of persecution and an epic love story. As it is, you get a lot of the former and almost none of the latter.
Strictly as an evocation of Manhattan’s publishing heyday, the book is a total hoot. If you enjoy the world of Mad Men where the executives pat the curvy bottoms of their secretaries before heading out for a smoke-filled, scotch fueled lunch on the corporate expense account, then this will be right up your alley. Bernays completely nails the glamourous atmosphere of late fifties/early sixties NYC. And she seems to have an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of publishing's bygone halcyon days - when wads of time and money was spent wooing potential authors, as well as keeping successful authors already under contract happy.
Almost all of the secondary characters are well fleshed out and believable, chief among them Walter’s left-leaning wife, Phyllis. As a matter of fact, the only character who isn’t particularly well defined is the titular man on the third floor, Barry Rogers, who is supposedly the love of Walter’s life. Walter meets the blue-collar Barry when he comes to install carpet in his office. For Walter, it’s lust at first sight. In short order, he hires Barry to work as his driver and installs him in an apartment on the top story of the brownstone he lives in with his family allowing them to carry on a covert affair for many years.
But as a love story this book completely failed for me. Despite assuring the reader, over and over again, how much Barry means to him, there are hardly any scenes between them and almost no dialogue. There’s a lot of telling, but very little in the way of showing. Usually, when Walter thinks of Barry, sees him or refers to him, it’s in a purely sexual context. For example (and most egregiously) when one of his children suffers a serious medical emergency, Walter emerges from the hospital to see Barry awaiting him in the car and reacts with lust. Somehow, the "love story" did not ring true. I had no sense that Walter esteems Barry in any way, but instead only views him as an object of desire.
Anne Bernays is an excellent writer. Every aspect of this book is complete delight except the central relationship. I think if she had expanded the book, focusing more on Barry and Walter and excluding some of the extraneous publishing storylines, this might have succeeded as both an indictment of persecution and an epic love story. As it is, you get a lot of the former and almost none of the latter.
February 19, 2021
I'm rounding up from 2.5 stars...but that's being generous. There is an old-fashioned quality to the novel (published in 2012)--in subject, style, and point of view, it reads as if it was written in the era of its setting (primarily the late 1940s and '50s) without any hint of how the intervening years might impact the understanding and interpretation of the events and experiences depicted. To me, this is a missed opportunity, as is the first-person narration, which means we never hear from the most interesting characters directly and must suffer through the self-absorbed and even self-pitying recounting of the main character's life and trials without ever getting another perspective. The happy ending (I don't think that's a spoiler) also seems unearned--and highly unlikely.
December 27, 2012
I read this book thanks to my fiance, who won the book through a Goodreads giveaway. He spoke highly of the book and put it on the top of my 'to read' pile of books--that's high praise from him!
The Man on the Third Floor portrays the life of a book publisher in the early- to mid-1900's. This publisher, while married, is involved in a homosexual relationship with a man who lives in the same house the publisher and his family live in. However, the sexual orientation of the publisher, while an important aspect of the book, isn't treated in a lurid or erotic way. The author manages to convey the publisher's love and attraction for his lover without going into detail; she is able to put the publisher's thoughts on the page in a spare but effective way. I found that with a few well-chosen words, Ms. Bernays was able to capture the man's feelings for his lover in a way that I could relate to quite well.
However, this book isn't solely about the relationship the two men shared. There is much more to it: the publisher's marriage to his wife, his relationship with his children, his professional life, and the political climate of the United States during and after World War II. Living in the early 21st century it can be easy to forget the political and social strains of that time in our history. Communism, racism, homophobia, and classism all played a part in the life of the publisher in this story and Ms. Bernays' treatment of those times serves as a reminder of how far we have come since that time. While those social issues simmered or raged outside the home, other issues were just as pervasive within the home and family life of the publisher. Ms. Bernays created his character into that of a man who was well aware of all the issues facing him as well as how his choices in life could affect him and those around him. Ms. Bernays' creation of a character so conflicted, conscientious, burdened, and full of longing is masterful.
The Man on the Third Floor is a book that quietly affects the reader. There is nothing explosive about the plot, no final ultimatums or tragic endings but rather a well-written book that gently envelops the reader in a rare glimpse of a man struggling to do the best he can in the midst of two worlds that threaten to fall apart at any time. Ms. Bernays has written an outstanding book and I hope to read more of her work in the future.
The Man on the Third Floor portrays the life of a book publisher in the early- to mid-1900's. This publisher, while married, is involved in a homosexual relationship with a man who lives in the same house the publisher and his family live in. However, the sexual orientation of the publisher, while an important aspect of the book, isn't treated in a lurid or erotic way. The author manages to convey the publisher's love and attraction for his lover without going into detail; she is able to put the publisher's thoughts on the page in a spare but effective way. I found that with a few well-chosen words, Ms. Bernays was able to capture the man's feelings for his lover in a way that I could relate to quite well.
However, this book isn't solely about the relationship the two men shared. There is much more to it: the publisher's marriage to his wife, his relationship with his children, his professional life, and the political climate of the United States during and after World War II. Living in the early 21st century it can be easy to forget the political and social strains of that time in our history. Communism, racism, homophobia, and classism all played a part in the life of the publisher in this story and Ms. Bernays' treatment of those times serves as a reminder of how far we have come since that time. While those social issues simmered or raged outside the home, other issues were just as pervasive within the home and family life of the publisher. Ms. Bernays created his character into that of a man who was well aware of all the issues facing him as well as how his choices in life could affect him and those around him. Ms. Bernays' creation of a character so conflicted, conscientious, burdened, and full of longing is masterful.
The Man on the Third Floor is a book that quietly affects the reader. There is nothing explosive about the plot, no final ultimatums or tragic endings but rather a well-written book that gently envelops the reader in a rare glimpse of a man struggling to do the best he can in the midst of two worlds that threaten to fall apart at any time. Ms. Bernays has written an outstanding book and I hope to read more of her work in the future.
June 27, 2019
Post war times, famous publisher has an amazing wife, 2 kids and a male lover living in his house. Story is scandalous for the times but what I liked about it is actually not the plot necessarily, but how concise and insightful main character’s personality is described. His thoughts, dreams, fears. I enjoyed reading it.
October 23, 2022
Had potential but didn't deliver. The entire book was leading up to the "big reveal/scandal". In the end maybe 5 pages was delivered to it and we don't know how the daughter found out , if the cook knew or how the newspaper found out. Some will say that's probably not the point of the book but when 3/4 of the book is leading up to it and then doesn't answer any of those questions, that's a fail
October 22, 2012
Set in an earlier time of publishing, when editors sought out authors to earn their millions, when words were golden and books were beloved and heroes were seen enjoying martinis lunches in New York hotels… and the closet was closed… Anne Bernays’ The Man on the Third Floor tells the story of a successful gentleman whose money, home and lifestyle all hang by a thread. A stranger has entered that perfect life and suddenly the world’s satisfactions are not what they seemed, at least not for Walter Samson who tries to hold onto the myth of the past while delighting in a future of secrecy.
Life is filled with myths of course. Mythical love that’s never quite up to the test, mythical children who know much more that they should, mythical characters written a favored author who harbors no hint of sympathy, and the myth of a government determined to protect at the cost of sanctioning McCarthy’s witch-hunts. The man with too much sympathy never knows where his sympathies lie. And the man behind the window upstairs, the driver, the object of questions like “What does he do?” waves his individual thread of truth between and behind them all. But is he honest? A hero? Is he true?
Secrets hurt and secrets half-revealed carry heavy penalties. But when the curtain of myth falls away will anything remain, or was it just the danger that made it real? Truths tested lead to truths revealed in Anne Bernays’ starkly real and believable tale. Falling from the third floor or falling from grace, Samson faces the future and learns that nothing and no-one is complete, none fully known. But at least he can be true to himself, and in that gentle touch of hope the novel ends by looking forward to a future through eyes of honest human interactions. Maybe people are kinder than governments after all, and that’s as it should be.
Disclosure: I received a free bound galley of this novel from the publishers in exchange for my honest review.
December 31, 2013
In the post-World War II era of McCarthyism, Walter Samson, a very successful editor with a picture-perfect family (loving wife, adoring son and daughter) has little worry in the world. Until one day Barry Rogers shows up in his office and awakens a whole part of Walter he never knew existed. Spurred by his passion, he not only takes up a clandestine relationship with Barry, he goes so far as to move him into the servants' quarters of his home so they can be closer together. While constantly at risk of being found out, Walter tries to juggle his double life at home with his career.
I really enjoyed this book. The writing flows rather well - it's written in a first-person narrative style and it's easy to feel like Walter is right there telling you his story. There are some interesting twists and turns in the path the story takes and I think it's easy for the reader to find themselves conflicted between frowning on Walter's duplicity and truly feeling for the circumstances of the era in which he lived. Bernays has created a very believable world that makes the characters - to use her own words about one of the authors Walter discovered - "not so much realistic as real."
I would have personally liked to see more of the private moments in Barry and Walter's relationship, but what it lacks in that area doesn't detract from the story or what I see as the primary purpose of the narrative, so I can't fault the book at all on that front. Recommended for those interested in historical fiction, m/m romance, and stories focusing on LGBT issues.
I really enjoyed this book. The writing flows rather well - it's written in a first-person narrative style and it's easy to feel like Walter is right there telling you his story. There are some interesting twists and turns in the path the story takes and I think it's easy for the reader to find themselves conflicted between frowning on Walter's duplicity and truly feeling for the circumstances of the era in which he lived. Bernays has created a very believable world that makes the characters - to use her own words about one of the authors Walter discovered - "not so much realistic as real."
I would have personally liked to see more of the private moments in Barry and Walter's relationship, but what it lacks in that area doesn't detract from the story or what I see as the primary purpose of the narrative, so I can't fault the book at all on that front. Recommended for those interested in historical fiction, m/m romance, and stories focusing on LGBT issues.
April 14, 2015
Walter Samson is a married man with two young children. He is a senior editor at a Manhattan publisher. By chance, he meets Barry Rogers, who is laying carpet in his office. Barry is very blue collar, poor, and quite handsome. When Walter finds himself drawn to Barry, they meet repeatedly, with Walter finally offering Barry an apartment in the third floor of his home. Barry accepts, and acts as a chauffeur and handyman for the family. Walter and Barry covertly carry out a love affair, supposedly hiding this from his family and the household help. We watch Walter struggle between keeping his true love, and also trying to keep his family and his social standing. This is the era of McCarthyism, and Walter has seen many acquaintances lose everything for being Communist sympathizers. Interesting read, in that the feel is very dated, though written in 2012. The characters were very matter of fact and could have used more character development.
November 20, 2012
Received as a giveaway on goodreads.com first reads. Thank you for choosing me and I look forward to reading it. I read this book in a few hours. It had me captivated from the beginning. To me, the narrative was disconnected...well maybe detached would be a better word in a third person kind of way. It was almost as if this were happening to someone else and not him. The story line was true to the time period. I found bits of it comical in an ironic sort of way. I cannot believe he pulled this off with Barry in house as long as he did. Wifey and daughter got in a couple of sharp jabs that got a chuckle out of me. Overall, it was very well written and thought out. It was absolutely believeable but something I pray I will never have to experience. I wonder how authors come up with these things...
August 18, 2014
I had been craving a little gay fiction, felt it was needed, i stumbled upon this title through the local library. I found this book to be very telling of many closeted homosexuals stuck in marriages going about life through their occasional erotic gay encounters. Bernays captured with great certainty the protagonist struggles within himself to reconcile his true self while trying to create for others the image of a perfect home. At times I found Walter to be self serving and narcissistic yet can we place on him or don't we all have skeletons in our closet that keep us up at night, yet you sympathize with his struggles to conform with societies standards all the meanwhile being true to yourself. All in all I found this to be a goodread on a pleasant afternoon.
October 2, 2016
This book packs a lot into 184 pages, it portrays a moment in the main characters life without going through a lot of detail on how he got there. IT takes place in New York during the 1950's where paranoia regarding communism and the investigations into anti-American activities are being pursued. The main character works in a publishing house, and lives with his wife and two children in an upscale neighborhood. He also has a secret, his part time chauffeur is also his lover. The book comes to a conclusion when the main character is confronted with all these realities at the same time and is forced to choose one life over the other.
September 18, 2013
This was my first reading of a book by this author. I was taken by surprise. The writing style had a quality and kindness to it that I loved from the beginning. The author takes us on a journey without becoming tiresome. There are no long drawn out descriptions, but rather the gentle tale comes across as if a narrative between friends having coffee. Walter is likeable as is his wife Phyllis. The homosexual theme of the book is interesting and I found this to be an altogether pleasant reading experience. I intend to try other books by Anne Bernays.
April 30, 2015
Quick read and well done by Blackstone Audio. I found the story a little implausible considering the era, but maybe NYC and the publishing world were more accepting than one would imagine, not having lived in post WWII times. Hard to absorb the details of such deceit but good insight into the conflict that must've tormented people like Walt in the past (and sadly continuing today in some places/circles).
July 12, 2014
Such an easy read for an excellent book. Post WWII Walter struggles with his slowly dawning acceptance of his gay identity. At the same time while he tries not to get involved with J Edgar Hoovers war on "commies," he is finally forced into choosing sides. As in life, the right moral choices are often not easy.
July 14, 2015
Smoothly written, engaging and satisfying. Sets the period accurately and it's minimum of hysteria gives it an authentic feel. There's a piece missing though. I know very little about the title character and that's the narrator's most important relationship. Also though the resolve is non-clichéd and a relief, it has a lingering effect of anticlimax.
January 26, 2013
interesting and thought provoking
April 18, 2013
Well written for a first person narrative.
November 16, 2018
Anne Bernays' new novel "The Man on the Third Floor", will probably garner a wide range of review ratings. Already there's a well-written three star review that I cannot find fault with. I'm going with a five star review but I won't be surprised to see a one or two star review. The reason I am going to give it five stars is because I'm comparing it with Bernays' previous novels as well as other comedies-of-manner novels.
I think I've read almost everything Anne Bernays has written, other than her most recent novel before "Man". She's not a prolific writer; several intimate novels like "Man on the Third Floor", a couple of books co-authored with her husband, biographer Justin Kaplan, and a book on writing. My favorite novel by Bernays is an early one, "Growing Up Rich", published in the mid-1970's. That book was set in New York City and Boston, post WW2, and curiously, there were a few references in "Man on the Third Floor" to places and people in the earlier book, though it was in no way a sequel. For instance, Griffin House was the publishing house where the main characters in both books worked.
Bernays is a careful writer. Her novels are shortish and to-the-point. Characters are well-drawn without many personal flourishes. The plots - such as they are - unroll with simplicity. There's very little action in her novels; they are mostly character studies. In "The Man on the Third Floor", set in the mid-1950's, the married main character has a homosexual affair, installs his boyfriend in his house, and lives there with his family and boyfriend. He and his chauffeur-lover manage this affair for many years, until they're "outed". At that point, Walter Samson has to decide how he wants to live his life. (I'm not giving anything away here; Bernays establishes this relationship early in the book.) The reader has to remember that the novel takes place in the 1950's and Walter Samson is a man who lives a very orderly life. Wife and two kids, good job in publishing, excellent reputation, a "good" war, membership at the "Orange Club" (the exclusive German-Jewish city club in New York - also written about in "Growing up Rich")...and a male lover. Only the last is inexplicable for the time and place.
Bernays writes in such a matter-of-fact way about Walter Samson and his predicament that the reader has to "read into" the words and deeds of the main characters to find the emotions of these characters. Some readers will like this and others will be turned off by having to make more than a surface read of the book. I think it would make a very good book club choice because there are many possible discussion topics.
I enjoyed Anne Bernays new novel but I am hesitant about recommending it. Her other fans will enjoy it, but I'm hoping other readers will review it and give their reasons for either liking or not liking it. This is a book that needs a lot of reviews.
I think I've read almost everything Anne Bernays has written, other than her most recent novel before "Man". She's not a prolific writer; several intimate novels like "Man on the Third Floor", a couple of books co-authored with her husband, biographer Justin Kaplan, and a book on writing. My favorite novel by Bernays is an early one, "Growing Up Rich", published in the mid-1970's. That book was set in New York City and Boston, post WW2, and curiously, there were a few references in "Man on the Third Floor" to places and people in the earlier book, though it was in no way a sequel. For instance, Griffin House was the publishing house where the main characters in both books worked.
Bernays is a careful writer. Her novels are shortish and to-the-point. Characters are well-drawn without many personal flourishes. The plots - such as they are - unroll with simplicity. There's very little action in her novels; they are mostly character studies. In "The Man on the Third Floor", set in the mid-1950's, the married main character has a homosexual affair, installs his boyfriend in his house, and lives there with his family and boyfriend. He and his chauffeur-lover manage this affair for many years, until they're "outed". At that point, Walter Samson has to decide how he wants to live his life. (I'm not giving anything away here; Bernays establishes this relationship early in the book.) The reader has to remember that the novel takes place in the 1950's and Walter Samson is a man who lives a very orderly life. Wife and two kids, good job in publishing, excellent reputation, a "good" war, membership at the "Orange Club" (the exclusive German-Jewish city club in New York - also written about in "Growing up Rich")...and a male lover. Only the last is inexplicable for the time and place.
Bernays writes in such a matter-of-fact way about Walter Samson and his predicament that the reader has to "read into" the words and deeds of the main characters to find the emotions of these characters. Some readers will like this and others will be turned off by having to make more than a surface read of the book. I think it would make a very good book club choice because there are many possible discussion topics.
I enjoyed Anne Bernays new novel but I am hesitant about recommending it. Her other fans will enjoy it, but I'm hoping other readers will review it and give their reasons for either liking or not liking it. This is a book that needs a lot of reviews.
May 30, 2024
Have you ever read a book that is so relatable in it’s portrayal of humanity that it makes your heart hurt? I just finished The Man on the Third Floor, by Anne Bernays. It’s a wonderful book, almost impossible to put down once started. In it, the protagonist (Walter) is an editor for a publishing company in NY and he describes the first novel written by a new author (Edgar Fleming) as “rare…a luminous unforgettable work of fiction, achingly truthful, profoundly revealing”. I would use those same words to describe Bernays's The Man on the Third Floor.
Walter 'buries his head in the sand' when he moves his lover, Barry, into the building occupied by Walter's wife and children. He functions in one world and escapes to another when he visits Barry. Of course reality will eventually cause his two worlds to collide and as you might imagine, the collision is cataclysmic for all involved. I was surprised at the responses of Walter's friends and colleagues when his sexual orientation and alternate life world was exposed. Given American puritanical culture I was grateful that a few people in Walter's life accepted his new reality and didn't abandon him.
I can’t imagine the life Walter and Barry lived; before the Love is Love culture, before legal gay marriage, before men walked on the moon. I was so happy Walter finally found a life with no unfulfilled desires.
Beautifully written and beautifully narrated.
Walter 'buries his head in the sand' when he moves his lover, Barry, into the building occupied by Walter's wife and children. He functions in one world and escapes to another when he visits Barry. Of course reality will eventually cause his two worlds to collide and as you might imagine, the collision is cataclysmic for all involved. I was surprised at the responses of Walter's friends and colleagues when his sexual orientation and alternate life world was exposed. Given American puritanical culture I was grateful that a few people in Walter's life accepted his new reality and didn't abandon him.
I can’t imagine the life Walter and Barry lived; before the Love is Love culture, before legal gay marriage, before men walked on the moon. I was so happy Walter finally found a life with no unfulfilled desires.
Beautifully written and beautifully narrated.
June 23, 2023
Narrator Paul Michael for the win! So perfectly matched with this Madmen-y story that I can't believe was written so recently (because it felt so of its era).
I loved the brevity of this story, its emotional intensity, its portrait of inaction -- and didn't mind that Barry was a little less full than all the others. There's nothing experimental about the form and I loved even that (which for me says a lot).
I loved the brevity of this story, its emotional intensity, its portrait of inaction -- and didn't mind that Barry was a little less full than all the others. There's nothing experimental about the form and I loved even that (which for me says a lot).
June 2, 2024
I read this book because it was said to be the best novel written on the publishing world. It did provide a glimpse via the first person narrator into working for a publishing company in Manhattan in the 1950s. I did find myself wanting to learn what happened to the main character in his relationship with his male lover hiding from his wife who lived on a lower floors with him, however, the writing style was pedestrian and that often made the book tedious
April 8, 2019
Good look at Fifties era homosexuality when so many men ignored their true selves and married. The central story seemed a little far fetched and the fact that there are really no consequences for anyone feels false. In a way, it's good to have a story about gay lives of that era that doesn't end in tragedy and punishment, but is it real?
April 20, 2019
The narrator just didn't work for me. There was something too flip in the way he handled every aspect of his life. I also didn't think the whole McCarthy angle worked. Thomas Mallon's book Fellow Travelers does a much better job of showing the whole McCarthy/homosexuality angle during the 1950's.
November 22, 2024
this book felt like reading an excerpt from someone’s diary. it was just engaging enough for me to keep reading but nothing really hooked me or took me by surprise. a very slow-paced, almost relaxing account of a man’s day-to-day as a gay guy working in publishing post-wwii.
May 29, 2019
An accurate picture of LGBTQ life mid-20th Century in NYC.
The story did not grab me. It almost had a documentary feeling for me. It is pure fiction but it felt clinical, not engaging.
The story did not grab me. It almost had a documentary feeling for me. It is pure fiction but it felt clinical, not engaging.
October 9, 2021
Well written, and a page turner. I'm looking forward to reading more from this writer!
October 9, 2022
An interesting love story in a time when gay love had to be much more hidden. I enjoyed the complexity of these relationships. Much more realistic presentation of the reality many face.
August 6, 2023
Outstanding Manhattan story of sexual and social mores in the 40's and 50's. A revealing glimpse into a different time illuminates the trends of today. Timely and provocative.
February 11, 2013
As I've said a dozen times this month, I received this book from a GoodReads drawing.
My last several reviews have reflected an increasing level of cynicism about books, which is a polite way of saying that I've waded through quite a bit of mediocrity. This one, however, was good enough to make me throw out quite a few books as "suspected unpleasantness" and refocus on reading quality literature rather than wasting time on junk. No matter how invigorating it may be to write a scathing review of someone's 400-pages of fetid tripe, the fact remains that one read 400 pages of fetid tripe.
The above is simply a long-hand way of saying that Bernays' contribution is a wonder. Her portrayal of character and local historical color is gripping and real and makes me want to go back to reading real classical literature. Her story of a gay book editor in the 20s-50s is not only refreshing but eruditely executed.
I tend to judge a book most on just to whom I plan to pass it along next. At this point I'm in a quandary as I rather wish I had half a dozen copies to hand out.
My last several reviews have reflected an increasing level of cynicism about books, which is a polite way of saying that I've waded through quite a bit of mediocrity. This one, however, was good enough to make me throw out quite a few books as "suspected unpleasantness" and refocus on reading quality literature rather than wasting time on junk. No matter how invigorating it may be to write a scathing review of someone's 400-pages of fetid tripe, the fact remains that one read 400 pages of fetid tripe.
The above is simply a long-hand way of saying that Bernays' contribution is a wonder. Her portrayal of character and local historical color is gripping and real and makes me want to go back to reading real classical literature. Her story of a gay book editor in the 20s-50s is not only refreshing but eruditely executed.
I tend to judge a book most on just to whom I plan to pass it along next. At this point I'm in a quandary as I rather wish I had half a dozen copies to hand out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews