SECRET LOVE
Bart Schneider, SECRET LOVEBart Schneider
The new novel by the author of Blue Bossa
is a story of two secret loves, of the kind that at the time the book is set—1960s San Francisco—were both afraid to speak their name. Hero Jake Roseman is a civil rights lawyer, high in the councils of the city, who falls hard for Nisa, a lovely young black demonstrator. Since he also has family troubles at home, with two kids trying to recover from their mother's suicide and an elderly, crankily racist father, he does his best to keep Nisa away from them, much to her annoyance. Meanwhile, Simon Sims, a bright young black man drawn to the new Muslim cause despised by his Baptist minister father, nurses a homosexual passion for a white actor, but is also drawn by furtive gropings in the park. The stories of these characters move in parallel, both coming to little climaxes and then fading away. The novel offers a relaxed, friendly read, with a great feel for its time and place and some moving and dramatic moments. But the lead characters, despite nice establishing touches and some well-turned speeches on themes of the era, never seem very convincing, and the lack of narrative drive and tension in the book make reading it ultimately a rather pallid experience. Author tour. (Mar. 3) FYI: Schneider is the founding editor of the
Hungry Mind Review, now renamed the
Ruminator Review.
closeDetailsReviewed on: 02/26/2001
Genre: Fiction
The new novel by the author of
Reviewed on: 02/26/2001
Genre: Fiction
