Andrew & Joey: A Tale of Bali

by Jamie James

In his impressive first novel, Jamie James vividly captures the essence of love in the twenty-first century as he tells of an affair in which neither partner is willing to hold on tightly -- or completely let go. "Andrew and Joey" is the story of a gay couple's romance and trial separation, which unfolds through a series of e-mails to each other and an assortment of colorful friends and family.What on earth can a hot-blooded Cajun choreographer and a perpetually unemployed, upper crust, all-American Asian possibly have in common? Absolutely nothing -- except a college alma mater, and fourteen tranquil years of gay marriage in an antique-filled Greenwich Village apartment. But that's about to come to an end now that rising star Joey Breaux has landed a sought-after grant to fund a year of study and dance in Bali-with his reluctant lover in tow.

As Andrew obliviously sets up housekeeping in Bali, Joey plunges into a whirlwind of dance and debauchery, convinced that Andrew will understand and overlook his indiscretions. The trouble is, Joey isn't quite ready to trade his new, young, uninhibited Indonesian lover for steadfast Andrew. Nor is Andrew willing to forgive the shattering betrayal.

The only solution seems to be to separate, figuring that sooner or later, they'll find their way back to each other. . .or find the courage to say goodbye.

From Bali to San Francisco to the New York apartment where it all began, Andrew and Joey pour their hearts out to far-flung confidantes -- even occasionally, to each other. As their electronic messages criss-cross the globe, the two men edge even closer to the surprising truth about the relationship they'd both taken for granted, assuming --perhaps foolishly, perhaps not -- that it would last forever.

Genres: Gay Fiction, Fiction, LGBT, Gay

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get used to the style of the book - a collection of e-mail correspondence between a group of people - but boy was I gripped once I had! This kept me guessing until the very end about the outcome.

[Yui Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful blend of classical puns and conscious typos illuminates non-natives' path of learning English primarily through reading. The author's prose, effortlessly suited for the informal nature of email correspondences, is as engaging today in 2024 as it was at the time of its initial publication in 2002 (I feel so, at least). Having personally visited Bali twice, once in 2019 and again in 2023, I can attest that the dynamics between tourists and locals strayed no further from what was in the book. Although my knowledge of the Big Apple is limited, the contrasting cultural landscapes presented in the book seem to approach reality in a pleasantly asymptotic fashion.

[Franca · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me some time to accept a pile of emails as a book, but it did work and I liked it. The course of the lives of Joey and Andrew from different perspectives. The lives of gay men - not just Joey and Andrew - described. Liked it more than I expected.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than I thought it was going to be in the beginning. I liked the emails among the characters as the basis for the text. Besides changing the narrators, it also changes the audience or recipient, so that the things said to one character will change when said to another character by the same sender. I also liked the character arcs of Andrew and Joey. In the end, they arrive at conditions that reflect their natures. I can't be too specific about that without spoiling the ending. There is a lot of humor. The sex scenes and references are able to convey the various activities involved without making the reader (at least in my case) feel uncomfortable. The cultural contrasts sounded believable.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an experiment in me picking a book off the shelf at the library and reading it without knowing literally anything about it. Imagine my surprise when this was actually not a random middle book in a wannabe Tales of the City type series but actually a standalone and also the author appears to have published exclusively pop nonfiction in the last 20 years- and nothing since 2011. Anyway, this was fun and frothy at first but aggravating after a certain point- the TTYL for adults vibe can only do it for me for so long these days. I think my favorite character was Andrew's older brother Eric, who seemed just as tired of these people as I was.

[Steve Castley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I've read it before and reading it again this time was even better. It's told through emails from about 8 characters. The characters are brilliantly developed. The story line is believable and often dramatic. Definitely worth a read.

[Theresia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I own the Lontar's copy, so the cover is very much prettier than this one shown.

Old-skool-inclined and prejudiced, but it's witty. A fun read.