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The Satyr in Bungalow D
"Touching and funny, a wildly inventive romp of a novel." -- Hilma Wolitzer
The resorts in the Catskill Mountains are struggling in 1963, but the town of Fleischmanns has a secret that keeps the tourists coming A hidden colony of satyrs.
Strikingly good-looking and differing from humans only because of their short horns and delicate hooves, it is easy for satyrs to pass. In the summer, when New York City ladies take solitary and hopeful walks up the mountain paths, they frequently do. That great-looking guy who gave a New York City college girl the best sex of her life behind the tennis courts and refused to take off his hat? Most likely a satyr.
Danny, a young satyr who hunts for books on hotel grounds when no guests are around, does not want to seduce every woman he meets. He wants the one great love he read about in “The Great Gatsby,” which he found near a hotel pool. Danny could not finish the book as the last chapters were ruined in a rainstorm, but he is certain that a passion as powerful as Gatsby’s can end only in one With Gatsby and the woman he loves together for the rest of their lives.
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"Beautifully written. Bawdy, funny, sentimental and highly original." -- Robert Klein, comedian, actor
"A stupendous read. Gloriously original." -- Sheila Weller, author "Girls Like Us"
The resorts in the Catskill Mountains are struggling in 1963, but the town of Fleischmanns has a secret that keeps the tourists coming A hidden colony of satyrs.
Strikingly good-looking and differing from humans only because of their short horns and delicate hooves, it is easy for satyrs to pass. In the summer, when New York City ladies take solitary and hopeful walks up the mountain paths, they frequently do. That great-looking guy who gave a New York City college girl the best sex of her life behind the tennis courts and refused to take off his hat? Most likely a satyr.
Danny, a young satyr who hunts for books on hotel grounds when no guests are around, does not want to seduce every woman he meets. He wants the one great love he read about in “The Great Gatsby,” which he found near a hotel pool. Danny could not finish the book as the last chapters were ruined in a rainstorm, but he is certain that a passion as powerful as Gatsby’s can end only in one With Gatsby and the woman he loves together for the rest of their lives.
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"Beautifully written. Bawdy, funny, sentimental and highly original." -- Robert Klein, comedian, actor
"A stupendous read. Gloriously original." -- Sheila Weller, author "Girls Like Us"
- GenresRomance
Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2025
8 people are currently reading
2050 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Wadler
11 books19 followers Joyce Wadler is a former New York Times staff reporter, who wrote the award winning ‘I Was Misinformed’ humor column for several years and today writes a humor column on Substack. https://joycewadler.substack.com/
Joyce was also the New York correspondent for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for New York Magazine and Rolling Stone.
Her best-selling memoir about breast cancer, ‘My Breast’, has been translated into several languages and was adapted by Ms. Wadler as a CBS television movie. Gloria Steinem called the book, “An irresistible and intimate story of defeating cancer with humor and self-respect.”
"Cured, My Ovarian Cancer Story", originally published as a cover story in New York Magazine, tells the story of Ms. Wadler's later battle against advanced ovarian cancer, as well as her discovery that she carried the BRCA-1 genetic mutation, which puts women at higher risk or breast and ovarian cancer. Like 'My Breast', it is a cancer book which will make you laugh -- and one with a happy ending.
Joyce was also the New York correspondent for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for New York Magazine and Rolling Stone.
Her best-selling memoir about breast cancer, ‘My Breast’, has been translated into several languages and was adapted by Ms. Wadler as a CBS television movie. Gloria Steinem called the book, “An irresistible and intimate story of defeating cancer with humor and self-respect.”
"Cured, My Ovarian Cancer Story", originally published as a cover story in New York Magazine, tells the story of Ms. Wadler's later battle against advanced ovarian cancer, as well as her discovery that she carried the BRCA-1 genetic mutation, which puts women at higher risk or breast and ovarian cancer. Like 'My Breast', it is a cancer book which will make you laugh -- and one with a happy ending.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 6, 2025
When I read the description of this book, I thought it would be a fantasy romance. It was really more of a finding yourself type book along with the romance aspect. Overall I enjoyed the book. I will say, I am a little rusty on my satyr mythology so I can't speak to the accuracy of the portrayal of the satyrs but I did like how they were presented. The story is about Danny, a young satyr who is just a little behind his peers on developing and finds himself to be just a little different from everyone else. Danny believes there must be something wrong with him. He lives in a satyr colony in the Catskills in the 1960's near the famous vacation hotels that are now in decline. Danny's father is a little over protective, always telling how to keep himself safe. The summer of the story, Danny finally gets his horns and thinks that now the nymphs will pay attention to him. A chance encounter with a human girl and Danny is smitten. He can't think of anyone but her and he spends his summer trying to get together with her instead of a nymph while avoiding being discovered as a satyr. Throughout the story Danny wonders about his mother who disappeared 2 weeks after he was born and that is father and no one else will talk about. Danny spends a crazy summer getting into trouble with his friends, mooning after a human girl, and trying to find out who he really is.
June 27, 2025
A Sweet, Tender, Bawdy, Comic Coming-of-Age Story.
Looking for a good read to distract you from obsessing about the Devil in the White House? Check out The Satyr in Bangalow D.
This book has everything. Nymphs! Satyrs! Mermaids! The Catskills! Joan Baez! Bob Dylan!
Trust me – you’ve never read anything like it.
Fantasy novels normally focus on ordinary folks dwelling in a fantasy world. Here, the world is a historically accurate Catskill resort circa 1963 – it is the protagonists who are fantastical. Wadler, who grew up in the Catskills, has created a hidden world of satyrs and nymphs living alongside the area’s human inhabitants. It’s an impressive – and entertaining – bit of world-building.
Satyrs, as Wadler writes them, are a race of randy dudes who adore women, whatever their age or shape, and live to give us pleasure.
A whole race of dudes devoted to sex that centers female pleasure? That IS a fantasy. And it’s a welcome one for women readers who are fed up with wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am lovemaking.
Danny, the hero of the book, is considered a weirdo in the satyr world. Why? Instead of wanting to make whoopie with scads of sexy nymphs, Danny is seeking True Love. With one woman. He falls hard for a Jewish college girl from the big city – who already has a boyfriend – and a highly mistrustful bubbe – and does everything he can to inspire her to move him out of the “friend zone.”
The result is a tale packed with sex, romance, heartbreak, heists, and some really good advice about how to be creative.
I was a fan of Joyce Wadler’s New York Times columns for years, as well as her three nonfiction books. The Satyr in Bungalow D is something else entirely – and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Looking for a good read to distract you from obsessing about the Devil in the White House? Check out The Satyr in Bangalow D.
This book has everything. Nymphs! Satyrs! Mermaids! The Catskills! Joan Baez! Bob Dylan!
Trust me – you’ve never read anything like it.
Fantasy novels normally focus on ordinary folks dwelling in a fantasy world. Here, the world is a historically accurate Catskill resort circa 1963 – it is the protagonists who are fantastical. Wadler, who grew up in the Catskills, has created a hidden world of satyrs and nymphs living alongside the area’s human inhabitants. It’s an impressive – and entertaining – bit of world-building.
Satyrs, as Wadler writes them, are a race of randy dudes who adore women, whatever their age or shape, and live to give us pleasure.
A whole race of dudes devoted to sex that centers female pleasure? That IS a fantasy. And it’s a welcome one for women readers who are fed up with wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am lovemaking.
Danny, the hero of the book, is considered a weirdo in the satyr world. Why? Instead of wanting to make whoopie with scads of sexy nymphs, Danny is seeking True Love. With one woman. He falls hard for a Jewish college girl from the big city – who already has a boyfriend – and a highly mistrustful bubbe – and does everything he can to inspire her to move him out of the “friend zone.”
The result is a tale packed with sex, romance, heartbreak, heists, and some really good advice about how to be creative.
I was a fan of Joyce Wadler’s New York Times columns for years, as well as her three nonfiction books. The Satyr in Bungalow D is something else entirely – and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
May 4, 2025
Come for the humor, stay for the romance...
"The Satyr in Bungalow D" is a novel by award-winning humorist Joyce Wadler, a veteran of The New York Times, The Washington Post and currently, Substack, as well as an author of numerous nonfiction books.
I discovered her weekly Substack column about a year ago, when I began writing one of my own. I knew I had found a fellow smart-ass, who could make me laugh anytime she wanted.
We gradually became friendly, and in due course she mentioned that she was working on a novel celebrating the Borscht Belt, the Catskills region where she grew up. That is where her heart lingered, long after she became a seen-it-all big city columnist.
For me, "Satyr" was something of a surprise. Beneath her smart-ass shell, Joyce is richly and unapologetically romantic. It isn't a spoiler to reveal the main character is Danny, an actual horned and hooved Satyr living near a Catskills Resort.
Danny has read "The Great Gatsby" except for the last couple of chapters, which are missing. He thinks it's a book about undying love, which therefore must end happily, and that’s all he wants for himself.
Woven in and around Danny's life are elements of Greek mythology, Greenwich Village folk clubs, Bob Dylan, romantic songs from the '40s, Yiddish culture, sexual adventures and so very much more.
"The Satyr in Bungalow D" is a novel by award-winning humorist Joyce Wadler, a veteran of The New York Times, The Washington Post and currently, Substack, as well as an author of numerous nonfiction books.
I discovered her weekly Substack column about a year ago, when I began writing one of my own. I knew I had found a fellow smart-ass, who could make me laugh anytime she wanted.
We gradually became friendly, and in due course she mentioned that she was working on a novel celebrating the Borscht Belt, the Catskills region where she grew up. That is where her heart lingered, long after she became a seen-it-all big city columnist.
For me, "Satyr" was something of a surprise. Beneath her smart-ass shell, Joyce is richly and unapologetically romantic. It isn't a spoiler to reveal the main character is Danny, an actual horned and hooved Satyr living near a Catskills Resort.
Danny has read "The Great Gatsby" except for the last couple of chapters, which are missing. He thinks it's a book about undying love, which therefore must end happily, and that’s all he wants for himself.
Woven in and around Danny's life are elements of Greek mythology, Greenwich Village folk clubs, Bob Dylan, romantic songs from the '40s, Yiddish culture, sexual adventures and so very much more.
April 26, 2025
Bawdy yet bucolic, with just the right balance of Bacchanalia – Wadler has created a world that readers of romance and fantasy will want to frolic through.
Set in a struggling Catskills resort town in the 1960s, The Satyr in Bungalow D blends coming-of-age innocence with clever wit and earthy mischief. Danny is an outsider in spirit—a Holden Caulfield with hooves and horns. Yet he’s clearly loved and cared for by many of his fellow satyrs (and a nymph or two) in their hidden enclave of woodland creatures. He’s also a hopeless romantic.
From all the books he’s digested (literally), Danny is enamored with the idea of one true love that does not waver… which makes his journey as heartfelt as it is hilarious.
Wadler’s insider look at the Jewish resort scene of old—with both its townies and summer folk—is rich with texture and nuance, and her prose and characters elevate the nostalgia into something timeless and magical.
The Satyr in Bungalow D genre-bends today’s popular “Romantasy” with a fresh, literary spin that is both soulful and satirical. I highly recommend this folkloric romp!
Set in a struggling Catskills resort town in the 1960s, The Satyr in Bungalow D blends coming-of-age innocence with clever wit and earthy mischief. Danny is an outsider in spirit—a Holden Caulfield with hooves and horns. Yet he’s clearly loved and cared for by many of his fellow satyrs (and a nymph or two) in their hidden enclave of woodland creatures. He’s also a hopeless romantic.
From all the books he’s digested (literally), Danny is enamored with the idea of one true love that does not waver… which makes his journey as heartfelt as it is hilarious.
Wadler’s insider look at the Jewish resort scene of old—with both its townies and summer folk—is rich with texture and nuance, and her prose and characters elevate the nostalgia into something timeless and magical.
The Satyr in Bungalow D genre-bends today’s popular “Romantasy” with a fresh, literary spin that is both soulful and satirical. I highly recommend this folkloric romp!
May 30, 2025
The joyous woodland satyrs of so many bucolic, romantic paintings come friskily to life in Joyce Wadler's funny and touching new novel, "The Satyr in Bungalow D." They frolic in the glades and groves of Upstate New York's Catskill Mountains, mingling amorously with the temporarily unattached city women whose hard-working hubbies join them at the resorts only on weekends. Back in the early 1960s, when the novel is set, the Catskills were filled with stylish urban vacationers, luxury hotels and entertainers ranging from the top stars of show biz to hungry young talents getting their start in the fabled "Borscht Belt." Wadler's charming tale zooms in on the sorrows of young Danny, an unconventional satyr whose romantic needs are a little different than the fast-moving, variety-seeking Romeos who are his buddies. Falling hard for a college girl from the big city, Danny has to navigate the tricky--and sometimes even dangerous for his kind--terrain of young love as an outsider unfamiliar with the peculiar customs of human dating. Danny's grand quest takes him from the arty town of Woodstock, where he's befriended by a young folksinger named Bob Dylan, to the secret mountain hideaways known only to the locals, to the wilds of that scary place known as Manhattan.
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May 31, 2025This Joyce Wadler’s book brought me to the summer 1963 portrayed in “Dirty Dancing”. The descriptions of the hotels, the mountains and the people who spent their summers in the Catskills were so well described that I knew them all.
And then there was the adolescent Satyr, Danny. He was so innocent and sweet that I forgot that he was not human.
This was a touching, funny read that captured me from page 1. I have been a fan of Joyce Wadler’s writing in The NY Times for many years. This book was a joy to read.
Do yourselves a favor. Step back in time, have fun with the characters, the situations and just read Wadler’s latest work.
And then there was the adolescent Satyr, Danny. He was so innocent and sweet that I forgot that he was not human.
This was a touching, funny read that captured me from page 1. I have been a fan of Joyce Wadler’s writing in The NY Times for many years. This book was a joy to read.
Do yourselves a favor. Step back in time, have fun with the characters, the situations and just read Wadler’s latest work.
July 27, 2025
This was a giveaway winner for me. I love the setting and the period, and I am always fascinated by the Catskills resorts of that era. What I found difficult was to buy into the word of the satyrs--it seemed a little silly to me. I know I needed to suspend my disbelief and enjoy rather than trying to find any reality.
If you're looking for something funny, fun, and relaxing, then this is the read for you!
If you're looking for something funny, fun, and relaxing, then this is the read for you!
May 23, 2025
Need a summer getaway? No better place than the borsht belt, where your neighboring satyr is having a universal “human” experience of love and longing. This funny, tender, poignant book about a bookish sweetheart longing for romance (and sex) will chase all your cares away. You’ll laugh as you root for the satyr who -- even if his love seems unrequited -- will capture your heart.
June 2, 2025
This was such a fun book that sucked me in from the very first chapter. The descriptions immediately transported me into the Catskills and I had so much fun reading about the hijinks Danny and his friends got into. I went in blind and was more than pleasantly surprised with the direction the story went.
Thank you Goodreads for the Kindle copy of this book!
Thank you Goodreads for the Kindle copy of this book!
May 19, 2025
This is a beautifully written fantasy. Engaging,beguiling, sexy, funny, the juxtaposition of the satyrs and the Catskills transports while anchoring you in reality so it’s believable and yet not. A wonderful trip away from today’s problems. Read and feel comfort. I loved it!
August 31, 2025
Pure pleasure - romantic, funny, very smart and well-written. Joyce Wadler's new novel is a delight and at times quite poignant. The imaginative leaps she takes, writing the POV of a young satyr - are fresh and surprising.
April 1, 2025
I had a lovely time with this book which was wonderfully inventive, constantly surprising (and funny) and ultimately movingly true to itself.
July 27, 2025
This was a Goodreads giveaway winner. Wonderful story of love in the mountains.
August 24, 2025
A fantastical love letter to the Catskills of an era gone by
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews