Dupont Circle

by Paul Kafka-Gibbons

A comedy of contemporary manners chronicles the May-December romance between Bailey Allard, a District Court of Appeals judge from a prominent family, and Louisa Robbins, a young law student, and the subsequent turmoil wraught on his concerned children.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Emily Crowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sat down somewhere last month (I won't say where) and started reading this book again. I'd read it when it first came out and I remembered enjoying it. When it was first published in 2001, no states had approved gay marriage yet, so it felt fresh and funny and edgy. Now that we're more than a decade removed from the pub date and the country is becoming more accepting of legalizing gay marriage, some of the legal scenes in the book feel a little forced. Then again, maybe that's the luxury of hindsight, talking, paired with the benefit of living in a state where same-sex marriages are not just legal, but welcomed.

But part of me wonders my feelings toward the book have changed because I'm now a better, more critical reader than I was 10-12 years ago. Something that struck me as clever back then might now feel more contrived.

I have only the most passing of acquaintances with Washington, D.C, so I can't say with authority that DuPont Circle is an apt metaphor for the book, but I would like to think that it is.

Anyway, I enjoyed my reread of this book--it's a quick read and I'd like to see some of these characters again. Or more precisely, now what I wish is to read the same book with these characters, but I'd like to see the issue serve the story, not vice versa, which seems to be this book's greatest problem.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strong points are the different characters’ internal dialogues and the DC details. Many characters to keep track of. As a longtime woman lawyer, I liked the positive portrayal of law student / ingenue Louisa, but then I was p.o.ed by a blatant anti-daycare / anti-career mom bit near the end of the book. Also the family at the heart of the story is extremely wealthy, so their child care options are not the norm.

[Ande Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about people doing normal people stuff.

[Madisyn Priestley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I imagine this was a more taboo book when it came out 23 years ago. A book about people doing normal people things with unimpressive writing, unfortunately. short and not so sweet

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book about a modern, three generation DC family: judges, law students, the mentally ill, babies, gay marriage, etc. As other readers have noted, there was too much minute detail about gay marriage legislation. The book attempts to weave stories of diverse couples in love into an argument about why gay marriage should not be treated differently. If a rich, beautiful, meticulous woman can fall in love and marry a poor slob, why can't gay men marry? If a sixty-something man can marry a twenty-something woman, why can't gay men marry? If there are no laws preventing a mentally ill woman from having two children, why are there laws preventing gay men from adopting children? Kafka-Gibbons wrote this book about gay marriage and smacked the reader over the head w/ arguments from the courts rather than allowing the reader to come to conclusions based on experiences of the characters.

It was a pleasant read but there was no real conflict and it thus fell a little flat. jon and Peter struggled to decide whether to become caregivers of baby Sam but it read like a foregone conclusion. Bailey argues for gay marriage, but it reads as if it is something the country will come to eventually on its own. No one has issue w/ Louisa hooking up w/ their father/grandfather? They accept her for herself out of the box? Not convincing.

[alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a book to read, this one was on sale and having recently moved back to DC I was intriqued by the description of Dupont as the place ... "where old meets young, gay meets straight, rich meets poor and past meets present." Its a good book - nothing profound or earth-shattering but an easy, pleasant read. And full of interesting legal details about the history of same-sex marriage in this country.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was cool to recognize places, such as restaurants and landmarks in the DC area. However, just as I started getting involved with the characters, the story gave way to a court battle over gay marriage. The characters seem to struggle internally about their romantic relationships, but suddenly they find themselves married or expecting children. And I HATED the law clerk characters. I would only recommend this if you have time to kill and are interested in recognizing some local aspects.

[Colleen Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this for $1 at my local bookstore, so I picked it up.
It's a nice comedy of manners, including a male gay couple and children. It's a little dated (published in 2001) because part of the story is of the father of one of the gay men, who is a federal judge on a case involving gay marriage. The whole public conversation about what is possible and what is desirable has certainly changed - for better and worse - since this was written before George Bush II was elected.

[Christina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has interesting subject matter, especially if the reader has been to Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. but overall it is not very well written. Not much is left to the reader's imagination and the old "show don't tell" motto is bulldozed through into telling. It is a good sketch of Dupont Circle but with a weak plot for a story.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this would be a light fun book to read after the marriage heavy Committed. Unfortunately, a legal battle over marriage for gay people is interwoven heavily into the storyline. After skimming the legal arguments, I still found the book lacking; the romantic storylines were not compelling and one couple was beyond boring - I dreaded their chapters.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Modern Family" in an artsy/intellectual milieu. There's a 66-year old widowed judge, his 29-year old girlfriend, his gay son, his gay son's partner and adopted daughter, his two daughters, grandchildren, etc. There's a lot of talk about gay marriage--the judge is hearing a case on it--and parenting. It's a pleasant read, but nothing outstanding.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book years ago when I was in DC and promptly forgot about it. I finally sat down to read it and was pleased. It is a sweet, charming book about family that remind me a great deal of Cheryl Mendelson's Morningside Heights. The weakest spot of the novel is the main romance, but it does little to take away from the charm.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this as a transplanted Washingtonian because of the setting. It was fun to recognize locations, the relationships were interesting and the plot moves quickly but all in all the writing, while good, wasn't spectacular.

[Lori Anderson]

I couldn't even finish this. It just plodded along. Which is too bad since I love shopping in Dupont Circle. I expected better. Didn't get it, though.

Lori Anderson:The Store

Lori Anderson:The Blog

[Joje]

Suggested by Jessica. I fear I left the copy she lent me in Philly, so she's probably given it away by now in one of their moving cleanups. Too bad I didn't have room. If lucky, I took it to Seattle and it's still there. Hm. Busy lives. She read it because her friend lives there and enjoyed it.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A gift from a friend after I visited her while she was living in Dupont Circle... sort of an obligatory read, I guess. I liked all of the references to DC culture and atmosphere, but mostly I just liked that it wasn't longer.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bad writing. Bad editing. Shallow, unrealistic characters. Terrible dialog. A very shallow look at a subject (gay marriage) that he's trying to cram down your throat. And, I agreed with his view.

Ummmm... yeah, don't recommend it.

[Lauren Tivnan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need a funny read after the experience of the last few books I've read...we'll see if I get a laugh!

This book was ok--it was great to read about all of tge DC locations since I live in the DC suburbs--but other than that, it was kind of flat.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read a story set in DuPont Circle. I recognized some of the restaurants and stores from my visits to Washington, D.C. I'm not sure how I feel about a 60 year old man being involved with a 20 year old.

[Ted Haussman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I liked it. Having lived a few blocks from Dupont Circle for 4 months, the book captured my attention. Not overly long, a kind of Modern Family love tale which revolves around a high profile court case. Perfect read for the beach.

[Mary Magellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky gay and young girl/old guy romance.

[srk · Rating 3 out of 5]

charming with a lowercase "c."

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, nothing memorable.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh. it was ok. fun to read when you live in dupont circle, but not exactly a can't-put-it-down...

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book takes me back to my former life living in dupont circle.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite enjoyable -- a fun, if not deeply serious, read. And unsurprisingly, I especially enjoyed the parts about law and/or being a law clerk.

[Elysabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem. I loved every last word.

[Rebecca Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was pleasant but unremarkable. Its regular mention of DC locations (Kramerbooks, Luna, etc.) went from fun to annoying pretty quickly as it got more and more gratuitous.

[Christopher Dionesotes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun and frivolous. I liked it