Hadrian's Lover

Hadrian's Lover #1

by Patricia Marie Budd

"Hadrian's Lover is a stunning novel about a dystopian society disguised as a utopian one...it raises difficult questions about right and wrong, government control, and an individual's right to express himself freely and be accepted for his sexual preference, regardless of what it is." - Tyler R. Tichelaar, PH.D. and author of the award-winning Narrow Lives What if you lived in a world where homosexuality was the norm and all forms of heterosexual behavior were illegal? In the near future the human population has grown to such excess that the earth is no longer able to sustain humanity's astronomical numbers. Poverty, starvation, and disease are rampant. Only the country of Hadrian seems able to defend itself against the ravages of overpopulation by restricting its growth and encasing its country behind a defensive wall. Procreation does not happen by chance in Hadrian. There are no unwanted pregnancies. No accidents. All pregnancies occur through in vitro fertilization, and every citizen is responsible for rearing one of Hadrian's children. Heterosexuality is deemed the ill that has led humanity to the brink. In Hadrian, no one dares to express interest in the opposite sex; to do so would result in exile or reeducation. Hadrian's Lover tells the story of Todd Middleton, a teenage boy struggling to keep the secret of his heterosexuality. Read on, and feel with him as he suffers the indignities of a society determined to "cure" him of his plight. Patricia Marie Budd is a high school English teacher living in northern Alberta, Canada. She has been a safe zone for her LGBT* students throughout her twenty year career. Hadrian's Lover is her third novel.

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia

360 pages, Paperback

First published August 22, 2013

Reviews

[Ingrid Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I don't quite know where to start because Hadrian's Lover is perhaps one of the heaviest and most disturbing books that I have ever read. Set in Hadrian, a fictional futuristic country in what used to be Canada, Hadrian is a seemingly Utopian country created purely for homosexuals. Heterosexuality has been outlawed, the population is tightly controlled, all embryos are screened and any showing heterosexual chromosomes are destroyed. Perhaps most disturbingly anyone caught engaging in heterosexual relations are sent to government correctional facilities to make them see the error of their ways...

The book is centered around a young man, Todd Middleton a closet "straight" and the struggles that he faces in what is in essence a very chilling and seriously fucked up world.

Living within a stones throw from the real Hadrian's Wall, I was intrigued by her portrayal of life on the wall in the fictional world that she has created. The parallels between the real life ancient Scottish barbarians and her portrayals of the heterosexual barbarians attempting to breach the perimeters and defile their Utopian world was incredibly clever and well thought out. I also get that the author was on a rather bold mission to create and bring to life the polar opposite of the heterosexual, Utopian ideal so often preached by right wing extremists, and in this mission she was undoubtedly successful in showing how both end of the intolerance spectrum are as vile as each other.

The book is written in the present tense which jarred with me at times. I also found her style a little blunt and contrived in places and I think the book which is undoubtedly thought provoking and a must read would have been even stronger if the author had attempted to blur the lines and muddy the waters as in it's current form it lacks nuance.

[Christopher Moss · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a posited future a section of present day Canada has become a refuge for gay and lesbian persons. Christened Hadrian, after the Roman Emperor, it is a utopian project, not only providing sanctuary for sexual minorities but endeavoring to govern justly and to provide social and economic equality. In Hadrian it is illegal to be heterosexual.



What happens then if you are born heterosexual? The central narrative of this novel is just that, if homosexuality can't be "cured" could it be any different for heterosexuality? The novel attempts to show a country where heterosexual kids must go to reorientation prisons where they are in danger of sexual abuse by teachers and administrators. Couples who are not both gay wind up having the sort of fractured marriages today's couples face when one partner is not straight. Career and social opportunities are out of the question for those individuals who reveal or have revealed for them their membership in the scorned population of heterosexuals. Telling the story of one young boy trying to live successfully in the closet the author is able to show just how similar homosexual intolerance would be to heterosexual intolerance we know now.

That's the first problem I had with this book. It's an entertaining if often disturbing novel, well written and thoughtful. I guess where I get uneasy is that I think it is arguable what the point of it is. One assumes the author wanted to show heterosexuals how awful life must be like for gays and lesbians, but it does not seem to me that this would be the conclusion such folks would come to from reading this book. They don't see everyone as equally valid nor deserving of social justice. This isn't the Star-bellied Sneetches vs. the ones with None Upon Thars, after all. It's about those perverts who go against God's law and who deserve punishment or reeducation. If anything I wonder if readers of this ilk would feel more justified in oppressing gays because they would be as depraved as ever in their own country.

There are a lot of assumptions in the book, that heterosexism would eventually drive the world's populations into scarcity and war, but that gay people are naturally more just and peaceful. The social and environmental problems Hadrian is striving to solve were all caused by heterosexual injustice and habits. The only way to create a utopia like Adrian is to outlaw heterosexuality and kill everyone including homosexuals who try to cross the border.

As a transgender person I could not help but notice that biological gender trumps sexual preference in the book. One character is punished because she dated a cross dresser whom she at first believed was really a woman. I beg your pardon? The writing implies that the cross dresser does this intentionally to trip up closeted straights. I took offense at that, feeling relegated to the whole "but you aren't really a man" notion same as it is in binary gender and sexual culture.

I read this novel some time ago, a couple months perhaps, and I am glad I waited to put my thoughts about it together. With some distance I see less of the storyline and more of the agenda. I am confident the author meant well, but unfortunately she runs into the same problems as Superman's Bizarro World: you can't just turn a whole concept on its head and have it work. In this case you run into the danger of accomplishing worse than nothing, but actually stepping on your own feet politically. In the author's message she reveals her wish to provide a document that supports gays and lesbians. False assumptions make it a flawed crusade.

[Oriolidae M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars! Note, this book is not for the faint-hearted. Though not explicitly written, some things may disturb you.

In the year 21--, the planet is finally breaking under overpopulation, humans reaching a stunning twenty billion in numbers. In the midst of chaos and starvation, the newly founded country Hadrian invites homosexuals from all over the world to join their sustainable and ecological haven, since extremists threaten their lives. Here you need not worry about starvation, lack of resources, outside sicknesses and overpopulation. Hadrian regulates and keeps the balance. The only thing asked of you is, that you're homosexual.

When the minority is suddenly turned into the majority, how will society unfold and the social balance evolve? In Hadrian's Lover, we follow the Hunter's family and their acquaintances in this futuristic society. Will it turn out to be a Utopia or a Dystopia?

It takes some pages for the story to flow, but then it certainly begins to flow.
Already after the first couple of pages, you'll realize what opinion the author expects of you. Although this book is about ethics and morals, you are being held by your hand pedagogically the whole time, as if you would not be able to make any ethically valid opinions of your own without it being spelled out for you in neon letters. This part of the book frustrates me, since it would have given the story an edge, if we were allowed to come to some moral conclusions ourselves.

That being said, the last half of the book had me sitting on edge, needing to know what happens next. It is heart wrenching and sickening how the situation slowly deteriorates, the reader only being able to writher and squirm through the horrors. And that, I always love to experience! This part gives the book a much needed edge, that saves it from it's lack of subtlety. In the end, I had a good time reading this, and if you're ready for conscience-inducing nastiness, this might be your ride.

Summarising, the ethical aspect of the book is far too blunt and unrefined, as if not expecting much of the reader, but the heart-wrenching story somewhat makes up for it.

[Bilbo Baggins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hadrian's Lover wouldn't have found its way onto my Kindle if it wasn't for the fulsome praise it received on 'So So Gay'. It's actually the sort of book I contemplated writing - tables turned on sexual norms and all that sort of thing - although I hadn't taken the plot development any further. So I'm bound to say at the outset that the basic premise is a good one and it's hats off to the author for delivering the goods. I don't think I'd offer the same sort of praise to the publisher, though, as clearly some heavy-handed censorship has happened at various stages of the book's gestation. Some of this is only too apparent in the author's rather wordy and typo-ridden introduction, and the reality is that what could have been touching examples of burgeoning gay sexuality - including between early teens - has been scrubbed, leaving highly unpleasant brutality - anal rape and buttock beating, for instance - in its place plus a rather sour taste in the mouth. That left me puzzled whether the author had been obliged to accept that her utopian society was more doomed than she'd originally envisaged - a terminally dystopian utopia, if you like. I also found the book stylistically strange: much of the writing was matter of fact and blandly repetitive - particularly in the irritating missives from Melissa E - and the author seemed strangely averse to using contractions in her dialogue. She was also an occasional victim of the Apple inflicted automatic word substitution: 'exaggerate' instead of 'exacerbate' and 'nativity' in place of 'naivety', for instance. And I really didn't get why all the sexy boys of Hadrian couldn't be thought desirable without dolling themselves up in make-up and spending hours on their hair and clothes every morning - that's just not the sort of gay utopia I'd envisage. Actually, the best (meaning realistic) sections were those where teens were talking amongst themselves or in class with teachers, but at the expense of being dragged out far too long. And the transcripts at the end came across as yet more rather unsubtle slamming home of the message. 'So So Gay' gave it five stars, but I'm afraid that it's just two stars from me.

[Ryan Baron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy-hitting, poignant and deeply disturbing, this novel details the lives of several characters living with the xenophobic "country" of Hadrian, a homosexual "utopia." In a world where heterosexuality is shunned and illegal, budding youth must contend with their own desires and sexual awakenings. "Strais" must be wary not to be uncovered, for fear of being placed into brutal reeducation camps. A must-read, in my opinion, especially for an understanding of what life is like for a sexual minority, or indeed, any minority. The novel begins innocently enough, setting the stage for later atrocities, concluding in an entirely unexpected way as the action accelerates midway through the novel with the discovery and "rape" of a heterosexual adolescent. Most decidedly not for the faint-hearted, the graphic imagery and heavy nature of the novel is not to be taken lightly, but for those with the stomach, this is assuredly a great read.

[Dennis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I had to put it down quite often because of the strong emotions it invoked. Heartbreaking is a good descriptor.

[Geary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too long, too detailed, agenda driven

[Jean Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a world that has fallen into chaos because of overpopulation and global warming; according to many, this future is unavoidable unless drastic measures are taken to prevent it. Now imagine Hadrian, a land of peace and plenty in a newly-temperate zone in what was once Canada, including Hudson Bay. This country features gender equality, political stability, a “green” economy, universally-accessible health care and education. Who wouldn’t want to live there?

This is the setting for a fantasy novel that functions as a political allegory. The four founding principles of the nation are: “Hadrian’s chosen lifestyle is homosexual; Hadrian is a safe haven for homosexuals; Hadrian’s goal is to create and maintain a stable human population; Hadrian will create an ecologically sound balance between humanity and nature.” All babies result from officially-approved in-vitro fertilization, or else they are aborted. The logic behind this reversal of orthodox sexual morality in the world as we know it is that social systems run by heterosexual males are driving the human race to the brink of extinction through violence, including the rape of the earth. This argument is hard to refute.

Despite the apparent strangeness of a culture in which all children are raised by same-sex couples, and teenagers either date same-sex classmates or decide they are not “ready” for a sexual/romantic relationship, the characters are believable. Families consisting of two “papas” or two “mamas” and their one or two children are shown to be close and nurturing – except in exceptional cases.

The author is a high school English teacher, and high school students are in the forefront of a plot about sexual awakening and social control. The story of Todd, a neglected boy with a widowed father, is told partly in chapters by a traditional third-person narrator, partly in news clips by a journalist, Melissa Eagleton, and partly in court transcripts that reveal the flaws in a social system designed to eliminate “deviance.”

What happens to Todd, who at first appears to be a “late bloomer,” is heartbreaking, but the narrative style avoids melodrama. Todd’s dilemma is echoed in the lives of the two “papas” who take an interest in him, Geoffrey and Dean. The reader gradually learns that the relationship between the two middle-aged men began years earlier when Geoffrey rescued Dean from one of the “re-education camps” in which young people suffering from “sexual confusion” are “helped” to discover their latent homosexuality and become fully-functioning members of society. Unfortunately, a past that includes “re-education” is much like a past designation as a “young offender:” it carries a stigma which keeps the “re-educated” out of the most prestigious jobs for life. The alternative to a “cure” is worse: exile to the outside world, where disease, starvation and violence await, or assisted suicide.

What raises this tragedy above the level of a sermon is the richness of the secondary characters. Everyone involved with Todd has a recognizable motive, and most of the characters have good intentions. Even the camp administrator whose hatred and abuse of Todd are far beyond the guidelines of “therapy” in Hadrian is not simply a cartoon villain; he is a complex man with his own tragic past.

The nation-wide scandal with Todd at the centre results in the much-needed liberalization of Hadrian’s laws and culture. The novel ends on a realistically hopeful note, although the effects of a lifetime of social conditioning are shown to be impossible to shake off just because the zeitgeist has changed. The reader (like the viewer of a tragedy, according to Aristotle) is moved to compassion.

Although this novel works as it was clearly intended to do, I would have liked to know more about the lesbian citizens of Hadrian. In general, this novel doesn’t meet the Bechdel test (invented by the cartoonist, Alison Bechdel): there have to be at least two female characters who talk to each other about something other than males. On the level of style, this novel includes typos, dangling modifiers, imprecise word choices, and an excessive number of exclamation marks. Most of these are fairly easy to skim over, but they give the book an unnecessarily amateurish look.

Despite its flaws, this book is a must-read that bravely tells the truth about “underage” sexuality. As the author explains in the foreword:

“Out of respect for the LGBT [lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender] community I do not want to dull the edge of sexual discrimination created by the graphic nature of the sexual scenes in this book regardless of some characters being under the age of eighteen. I have turned the tables for a reason. I want the heterosexual community to understand what it would feel like to have the very essence of one’s being rejected by society. We need to understand what it feels like to have others HATE us just because the way we love is deemed abhorrent.”

Amen to that.

[Romel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine the world in a century’s time – there are many studies and scientists that say that our biggest problem as a global community is overpopulation caused by unsustainable and unregulated population growth. This, combined with environmental factors and food requirements, could potentially end the human race in the next generation or two. This is where Hadrian’s Lover suggests a way of making sure that the human race continues – a homosexual country, where heterosexual urges are removed from any bisexuals through genetic manipulation and behavioural modification, and a stable population of ten million. Sounds simple, right?

As people who have had to fight tooth and nail for equality, we need to be aware of the bigotry within our own community – racism being kept under the radar as ‘white-only because that is my sexual preference’; trans and bi-phobia being regularly ignored; and, ageism being huge in a youth-led society. Hadrian’s Lover brings to the fore the issue of being straight in a gay world, and the consequences of what life would be like if the situation was reversed and gay people were the norm.

Todd Middleton is possibly one of the most brutally attacked characters, and you can’t help but be moved as he is treated so badly that suicide is his only option. Patricia Marie Budd’s Hadrian’s Lover should be mandatory reading for everyone – not just for the equality of treatment of those of different sexual orientations, but because it reminds you that treating anyone badly for reasons that they cannot control is just plain wrong. And lest we forget that the behaviours demonstrated are happening in countries like Uganda and Russia today.

The only critique we have of Hadrians Lover is that the opening sections of the novel, the prologue and explanations from the author, go on too long and tip the plot of the first half of the book. Whilst we appreciate how hard Patricia Marie Budd worked to get Hadrian’s Lover through the editorial phase, and the sacrifices to her original content to make it ‘more palatable’ (even if we think that the sub-editing shows a remarkable amount of intrinsic homophobia), she tips a lot of what happens before Todd’s incarceration, unfortunately. Because this does not affect the way we feel about Hadrian’s Lover as a whole, we have not marked down the score as a result, because we would feel just as strongly about what Dean and Todd went/goes through, respectively.

Hadrian’s Lover is not a remarkable book because of its sexual content, but because it shows a mirror up to the worst of the attributes of the gay community and forces us to re-evaluate how committed we are to ‘equality’. A great example in recent times was the celebration of ‘equal marriage’ and how ‘now we finally have it’, according to politicians and gay people at large. The reality is that it is not equal – different-sex couples don’t have civil partnership; non-religious, humanist weddings are still banned; and, trans issues with the bill just start with the spousal veto. And yet apparently we are all ‘equal’ now.

Patricia Marie Budd did a wonderful job in an incredibly moving story to remind us to make sure that the pendulum does not swing too far.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Author was clearly inspired by her support of LGBT youth, but it failed to transcend into her writing in so very many ways. Not only was the dialoged unrealistic, insincere and riddled with exclamation marks but the story ended where it probably should have started. It wasn't until the last 60 pages or so that we began to address her reasons for writing the book.

This Author had a top notch concept and created a interesting and thought provoking world, and the person most lacking in seeing that was the author herself. I kept hoping for a twist about the real world outside of Hadrian and all the propaganda.Instead we were fed non-convincing media coverage which redundantly discussed the glory of Hadrians laws. I get point--Hadrians were fed this non stop; but it wasn't necessary to put the readers through it every 10 pages. Especially if you don't intend on doing anything with it. The Author is clearly a talented writer, and it was disappointing that more creative ways to describe settings or history were not used. I began Skipping through the 'HNN-Salve!' because it was sadly fluff. SO much of this book was just fluff.

The story came from a warm place, but unfortunately placed a dark grey cloud over the existing gay community; as if to assume that 'gay' is pink dog collars, make up and tight jeans. The book further argues the point that homosexuals ruling a nation would be so horrifying for closet straits, and that even our best friends would be trying to screw us at every opportunity. I gather that the ending was suppose to encourage a unified world with LGBT and Heterosexuals, but until stating the very obvious (in the last few pages) I began to wonder if she knew what she really wanted out of the book.


To kill Todd was to solve nothing and it was so completely uninspired. The story lacked a true climax, so in a few short sentences the main character is killed and Hadrian gets their happy ending. The time line from which Hadrian was founded to when they 'legalized' heterosexuals was all in a span of about a hundred years. Really?
We know from our own history that this is not a realistic timeline.

The Author could have done so much more with this book. The opportunity was there...these were all her ideas!
Good luck PMB. on your next book.

[Gino Alfonso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. One of the best dystopian novels I've read in the last 10 years. As important as George Orwell's 1984 and Ayn Rand's Anthem and Atlas Shrugged a book to be read by our generation and shared with our children. A huge undertaking on the surface, but a simple story of acceptance. Thanks for the read Patricia!

[Gerry Burnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and thought-provoking story.

See my full review at Gerry B's Book Reviews