The Linguist by
Sebastian Beaumont
Review by Fiona Glass
This book sounded absolutely wonderful when I first
picked it up off the library shelf. "A chilling story of
the aftermath of a love triangle and the complexities of self
discovery, therapy and reconciliation", it beguilingly said.
Or how about, "Howard, 32, a translator, interpreter and
prostitute, fell in love with Corinne. Her husband Matthew fell
in love with Howard." And that was just the first few lines
of blurb. How could I resist?
Unfortunately, to me at least, the book didn't live up to its
billing. The triangle only appears in flashback, since the book
is set at the time of Matthew's illness and subsequent death.
This means that all the action is in the past, and Beaumont adds
to the effect by using a 'reportage' style past tense which gives
rise to passages such as, "They'd often conducted long conversations.
On one occasion, they discussed Erich Fromm's philosophy and
he'd laughed about how completely Matthew was subscribing to
irrational workaholism....". It's dry, it's distancing,
it's dull - yet this is supposed to be two vibrant characters
caught up in a passionate love affair. It's also horribly 'tell
not show'. Imagine the same passage done in real time, in dialogue,
with Howard teasing Corinne about her husband's workaholism and
Corinne laughing.... It could all have been so different, and
so much more involving.
The whole tone of the writing seemed overly dry and cautious
to me. What little dialogue there was seemed to be used to speak
the author's thoughts rather than to develop the characters or
give any real indication of their daily conversations. When was
the last time you heard a woman saying "If only love could
be as rational as that....", for example? The fact that
the dialogue is "murmured' doesn't help; I've yet to meet
a woman who murmurs, except perhaps in her sleep.
That was another niggle, if a rather more minor one - there
seemed to be too much use of recurring 'prop' or 'buzz' words
which neither the author nor the editor had spotted. Characters
murmured their lines on every other page, and the word 'institutional'
was used three times to describe furniture or settings in the
space of a few pages. It's minor stuff, yes, but it was irritating
enough to take this reader outside the story.
The biggest surprise of all was the lack of gay content. This
is a book written by a gay man, published by Gay Men's Press
and stacked in the gay and lesbian section at the library. Yet
the only reference to homosexuality was Matthew's reported love
for Howard, which was only reported and never described or displayed.
True, Matthew had a boyfriend who appeared briefly in the pages
and seemed never to be referred to again. True, Howard mentioned
a homosexual encounter from his time as a prostitute—but it
was a passing reference used to explain why he didn't like men.
And the much-hyped love triangle trumpeted on the cover was merely
a straight man falling in love with a married woman, with all
the consequences that brings. I found myself longing for Matthew
to make a pass, or Howard to realise that he'd fallen for the
wrong one, but no—the situation remained the same from
page one to the book's bitter end.
An end, sadly, I have to admit I never actually reached. I read
the first few chapters with growing disillusionment and boredom,
then flipped ahead to see what happened next. When I found that
the only 'self-discovery' Howard made was that Corinne killed
herself, I gave up. I have a weakness for gay writing, and gay
romance in particular, and I badly wanted to like this book, especially
after the build-up on the cover. But it wasn't to be. In the end
I cast it aside and took up Armistead Maupin instead, and you
know what? I couldn't find it in me to care!
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Fiona Glass has been writing homoerotica for
about ten years and had stories published by Torquere Press, Chippewa
Publishing, Sultry Heat Publications, Velvet
Mafia, and Sigil: Volume 2. One Degree of
Separation, an e-book collection of eight poignant gay love
stories, is available from Torquere Press and a short standalone
fantasy e-book called Elfmeet from Chippewa Publishing.
In her spare time she edits the online homoerotica magazine Forbidden
Fruit. She lives in Birmingham, UK.
Website: Through a Glass Darkly
http://www.tavaran.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/fionaglass
