Book Reviews

Book Blurb

In rural Pennsylvania, Theodore McCall lives on his family’s farm and works as a clerk at the local general store. While his best friend, Martin Fuller, thrives in New York City, Theodore trudges through life. But on New Year’s Eve, 1902, Theodore’s world is turned upside down, and big changes call for bold action.

Theodore, who has never ventured more than eight miles from home, undertakes the daunting journey to New York City to join Martin. But the Martin he finds in New York is a stranger, a different man, doing things Theodore finds shocking. After just two months in the City, Theodore’s world is upended again as he and Martin are swept up in the events at the Ariston Baths.

Haunted by his experiences in New York, Theodore returns home, wondering whether he’ll ever find happiness in life. When he meets Jasper Webb, Theodore must boldly risk everything for the love he so longs for.

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, April 2016.

Book Review

‘A Night at the Ariston Baths’ is not just a novel based on actual events in the history of gay men in the US, it is a fascinating personal perspective on what those events meant for one gay man in particular. Theodore MacCall may be a fictional character, but his living through two major police raids targeted at gay men in this novel gave the meaning of those raids a very personal flavor. It brought them to life for me, as well as making clear what the consequences were for a much wider group of people than Theodore in this story.

As the author points out in his informative “Author’s Note on Historical Events” at the end of the book, the very first acknowledged police raid on a business establishment in NYC took place in 1903 in the Ariston Baths - and the reaction was mostly shock. The turning point in the way gay people reacted to being ostracized and harassed for their sexuality came sixty-six years later, in the summer of 1969, with the Stonewall Inn riots. Theodore was present at the first event and witnesses the second in this novel. His reaction to the first news about Stonewall as a ninety-year-old man, with his partner at his side, was one of the most beautiful moments I have witnessed in my reading. My sense of satisfaction that justice might finally stand a chance that I felt on Theodore’s behalf was deep. And even though Stonewall was just the beginning of a new phase of a fight that won’t be finished until the rights of those with different sexualities from the heterosexual majority are no longer questioned by that same majority, for Theodore it was a tremendous signal of hope - one that he had spent most of his life waiting for.
   
Theodore’s life in rural Pennsylvania in 1902 is very different from what we are used to today, and that becomes obvious within the first few pages of the novel. He lives on his parents’ farm and walks several miles each way to and from the general store in town, where he works. Nothing ever seems to change, but when his employer makes significant changes, Theodore decides on a very bold course of action. Despite the fact that he has never been farther than eight miles from his home, he follows his best friend, Martin, to NYC in the hopes of a better life.

The time in NYC, although only two months in length, is filled with new experiences for Theodore. He discovers other gay men, is amazed at how bold they are compared to what he is used to, and finds out how freeing, yet still dangerous, that can be. The raids at the Ariston Baths, on the one night that Martin drags him there, shock and scare Theodore to the point that he ends up returning to his hometown. Yet they leave a lasting impression, one that comes full circle sixty-six years later. And even though Theodore still lives a quiet, hidden life when he returns, those two months in the big city gave him the courage to accept love when he finds it once he meets Jasper. Things aren’t easy for the two men, but they make it work.

If you like stories that are based on true events, if you want to find out more about the history of gay men in the US, and if you’re looking for a touching read that brings to life a period in the past, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I think that it is well worth reading!  

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 254 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	11-February-2021
Price	$3.99 ebook, $9.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WHDV385