Forth into Light

Peter & Charlie Trilogy #3

by Gordon Merrick

Book by Merrick, Gordon

Genres: Gay Fiction, Gay, Fiction, LGBT, M M Romance, Romance, Collections

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

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

[reed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Less fun than the first two . . . the misogyny and racism get harder to ignore.

[David Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1974, this concludes the gay trilogy that began with The Lord Won’t Mind. Painter Charlie and art-dealer Peter are spending another summer in their Greek island villa with Martha, by whom they have each fathered a child. Martha is not the only woman in their life: art historian Judy arrives to consult Peter about some paintings that may be fakes. She inspires a heterosexual hiccup in Peter.

The paintings have been bought by celebrated New York author Mike who is on the island visiting his friend George, a not-so-celebrated author with a drinking problem and a rocky marriage. George’s teenage son Jeff thinks he may be gay and develops crushes on Mike and our two heroes (and one of the natives).

Large dollops of sex are duly introduced as Jeff works his way through his crushes. And Peter consummates his heterosexual hiccup with Judy in scenes that veer between Barbara Cartland daintiness – “He opened his mouth, and she gave him hers” - and cinematic hardcore. Charlie is not simply well-hung; his endowment is “prodigious”. Graphic – not to say pornographic – sex is Gordon Merrick’s trademark, though I wonder if gay and straight porn belong in the same book: is there a demand for “bi-porn”?

Aside from the sex, which comes close to the “classic” turgidity of the Song of the Loon trilogy, the book consists of long – even tedious – conversations about love and fidelity. There’s a “MacGuffin” involving a missing wad of dollars which, with the extended dialogue, has echoes of one of Terence Rattigan stodgier dramas. The debate about the “openness” of many gay relationships is an interesting one, to which Merrick makes a thoughtful contribution. Forth Into Light brings his ultra-erotic trilogy to an uneven climax (if I may use that word).

[Jonty · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I have ever read.

I was told when I bought it that it was 'very much of its time'. It turns out that means misogynistic, racist, xenophobic and - ironically - homophobic. It also has characters that are both clichéd and unbelievable. The plot, such as it is, can be forgotten about; the author seems to dispense with it and anyway it's as thin as water.

Nothing, but nothing, rings true. Even the sex scenes are written as if by someone who's never had any. A woman who is supposedly a lesbian jumps into bed with a man. A boy who is supposedly in love with one man happily loses his virginity to another. We don't care about any of these cardboard cut out characters. And the 'worship of magnificent phallus' is laughable. The dialogue is unspeakable, as if it's been badly translated from an obscure language.

It's not just awful, at times it's deeply disturbing. At one point Peter, who is 40, spots his son, who is about 5 years old, peeing off the edge of the quay (or 'quai' as it's always called for some reason) into the harbour. He explains that it's not OK to do that and helps the boy to button up again. Then we get this: 'He was constantly amazed and delighted that paternal love could arouse him sexually.' What? WHAT?! It's not even explored as a serious theme, which might be interesting and valid if handled maturely; it's just a random line with undertones of paedophilia.

Really, avoid this dreadful trash. The only reasons I read to the end were to make sure I wasn't misjudging it... and because I had stupidly paid 35 Euros for a second hand paperback copy, thinking it was some kind of gay classic.

I am now going to burn it so there's one less copy in the world.

[Suzanne Stroh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The weakest of the three books about midcentury American lovers Peter and Charlie Mills-Martin, at least in terms of plot and character development, this one is the most interesting in other ways. Merrick was heading in a great direction, and you get the sense that had he lived, there would have been more Titans to come.

Still, if you liked the first two books (which I found hard to put down), you won't be able to resist finding out what happens to our boys. Set mainly in the Greek islands. Where else to go for the best romantic escape ever?

[ALEARDO ZANGHELLINI · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Lord Won’t Mind rather a long time ago and I recall thoroughly enjoying it, with a lingering sense of mild embarrassment— for surely (from memory) this wasn’t upmarket fiction? I have been putting off reading the sequels for no particular reason (maybe a sense of urgency about reading more ‘worthwhile’ authors first, because, you know, I could die tomorrow, etc). Now, I finally read in quick succession One for the Gods and Forth into the Light. I’m going to leave a joint review. For sheer enjoyment and the compulsive quality of the reading experience, these both score five. They’re quite different books. One for the Gods is very much about the evolving relationship between Charlie and Peter, and whether it can survive infidelity and Charlie’s heavy handed way of dealing with it. Forth into the Light retains these kinds of themes, but they stay comparatively in the background, before becoming central again towards the end of the book. Instead, centre stage is taken by other characters and their own fraught relationships and infidelities; it is also more plot-driven than One for the Gods (there are puzzles to solve, problems to fix, etc). The books are sometimes overwrought (hence my 4 star rating), especially the conceit of the ‘monumental phallus’. Yet, one must concede that Merrick does an improbably good job of integrating the idea of Charlie’s massive cock into the story (meaning that other people’s, as well as his own, obsession with it is the source of a lot of what happens and transpires in both books). The most remarkable aspect about the books, though, is that while so many elements, in different hands, would have resulted in a trashy piece of work, it never turns out that way in Merrick’s treatment. I suspect this is primarily due to the characters’ convincing psychology, and the depth in which Merrick looks into it, leaving no stone unturned. Personally, Merrick’s interest in the theme of fidelity resonates with me, and I love how he avoids easy answers (neither dismissing fidelity as a bourgeois hangover, nor condemning his characters for slipping; and finding silver linings even in the slips, without thereby justifying them). I was massively put off by Charlie’s behaviour towards the end of Forth into the Light, but whatever — it’s not like we hadn’t been told he’s messed up.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting read from start to finish but the characters really don’t date well...women are beaten, gay men fall in love at first sight, etc. However, there is a sophistication to the relationships that is clearly forward thinking and quite an expert analysis of sexual positions in relationships. Gordon Merrick was clearly ahead of the curve.

[Willo Font · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished the last of Gordon Merrick Trilogy. Very interesting reading. This came out in 1970 , was one of the first gay novels " with a happy ending". You will se ehe points of views we now take fro granted on how homosexuals deal with every day reading. Sometimes not totally politically correct in it's narrative gives us a glimpse of waht we where and what we have become.

[Jonny_Jinx · Rating 1 out of 5]

Generally, if I start a book or series, I go on to reading to the end but that was not the case with Gordon Merrick's 'Peter and Charlie trilogy.

I struggled to read "The Lord Won't Mind" but for some reason, I just could not get more than halfway through the second book "One for the Gods".

"Forth into Light" didn't even get a look in.

Mind you, I bought the series in December 2014 and from memory, it was the struggle to remain faithful and the influence of religion on the relationship, that put me off.

Now nine years later, I might give the series another go, however I have hundreds of books to re-read before I get around to them.

[Reader (Show me, don't tell me) · Rating 5 out of 5]

So it is the end of Peter and Charley's story. After all that soul searching throughout books 1 and 2, in the end, they turned out to be like many people- a couple of Selfish Frauds and Promiscuous Liars.

Still five stars though. Go figure ^_^