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That Was Something
Bobby Quinn has been haunted by two enigmatic people for most of his adult life: Ben Morrissey, a sexy Don Juan who becomes a famous photographer in late 1990s Manhattan, and Monika Lilac, a beautiful cinephile femme fatale who is consumed by her love for silent-era films. This is a story about romantic obsession and cinematic obsessiveness, and a portrait of young people falling in love and trying to make their mark before the party is over.
“That Was Something—a profound, delicate, emotionally involving novel—gripped my attention by accurately evoking certain lost moments in queer urban life. I admire the book’s taut structure and tenderly direct diction: The Great Gatsby on poppers. In high-contrast, horny chiaroscuro, without clutter, Callahan documents the chemical reaction that occurs when gayness and bi-curiosity greet each other in the dark room.” —Wayne Koestenbaum, author of The Queen’s Throat and Jackie Under My Skin
“Known for his superb books about the art of acting, Dan Callahan brings all his piercing insight to the tale of Robert, who yearns for photographer Ben Morrissey, who in turn has a yen for Monika Lilac—sometime blogger, silent-film devotee, and mistress of self-dramatization. That Was Something itself takes on the wild comedy and vivid emotions of a silent movie, as the characters swirl through the bars and parties and screening rooms of Manhattan 20 years ago, a world of artists and others obsessed with ‘the important things: Love, Death, Love again.’” —Farran Smith Nehme, author of Missing Reels
About the Author: Dan Callahan is the author of three books. This is his first novel.
“That Was Something—a profound, delicate, emotionally involving novel—gripped my attention by accurately evoking certain lost moments in queer urban life. I admire the book’s taut structure and tenderly direct diction: The Great Gatsby on poppers. In high-contrast, horny chiaroscuro, without clutter, Callahan documents the chemical reaction that occurs when gayness and bi-curiosity greet each other in the dark room.” —Wayne Koestenbaum, author of The Queen’s Throat and Jackie Under My Skin
“Known for his superb books about the art of acting, Dan Callahan brings all his piercing insight to the tale of Robert, who yearns for photographer Ben Morrissey, who in turn has a yen for Monika Lilac—sometime blogger, silent-film devotee, and mistress of self-dramatization. That Was Something itself takes on the wild comedy and vivid emotions of a silent movie, as the characters swirl through the bars and parties and screening rooms of Manhattan 20 years ago, a world of artists and others obsessed with ‘the important things: Love, Death, Love again.’” —Farran Smith Nehme, author of Missing Reels
About the Author: Dan Callahan is the author of three books. This is his first novel.
- GenresFiction
ebook
Published November 4, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 3, 2020
As with many (most?) debut novels, this is fairly clearly thinly disguised autobiography (as interviews with the author attest - as with the protagonist in the book, he also worked at Kim's Video and had an awkward encounter with S. Sontag), but that doesn't diminish the pleasure I found in reading these reminiscences of NYC circa 1998-2004. Although I didn't live there then, Callahan strongly evokes the period and the foibles of being a young gay man finding himself in an uncertain time and culture. I also enjoyed the mixture of real personalities (Jeanne Moreau also makes a memorable cameo) with the fictional characters. It's not destined to be a classic of the genre, since very few people have evidently read it, but I very much enjoyed the brief time it took to ramble through it.
February 10, 2019
if you're looking to read a lot of awkward sex between a straight guy and a gay guy.... and listening to the gay guy be hopelessly in love w/ the straight guy this is for you. the only thing i enjoyed were the nyc references from times that i lived in the city.
February 6, 2024
Certainly an interesting insight into the life and loves of one young gay man, but also very sad at the same time. Bobby falls for Ben at college and starts modelling for him. He loves Ben, and in a way is loved in return but it remains largely platonic since Ben is straight. In New York Bobby becomes enthralled with classic cinema and encounters Monica. Monica is rather larger than life and the two share their love of cinema and Ben. Bobby has never seen himself as Ben sees him in his photographs and seems to attract less than suitable partners for his sexual encounters. He seems to always be alone even in a crowd. Ben too seems to never find someone to cling to. In many ways these three characters seem like ships in the night coming close but never connecting.
May 14, 2019
A finalist for the Publishing Triangle's Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction
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October 11, 2022IT CerTaiNlY waS sOMETHinG HaHaHaHA (I didn't understand much of the author's intent)
February 6, 2024
Ugh. It's not even that it's badly written - I think it's maybe beautifully written, in its way - it's that it's so phenomenally self-absorbed and self-satisfied it feels like it must be.
April 10, 2021
Love the blunt story and raw emotion of the characters. And bizarre formation of their personalities and how they intertwined.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews