Young, Gay and Searching for Selfhood in 9/11-Era New York
IN TONGUES, by Thomas Grattan Those who say that youth is wasted on the young ought to read a coming-of-age novel. “In Tongues,” Thomas Grattan’s second book, would cure any unwarranted nostalgia. “In Tongues” follows the adventures of Gordon, a gay 20-something who, after a bad breakup, impulsively flees Minnesota for New York City.
Grattan nails what it’s like to be so lonely, broke and without purpose that you weep on the subway. “My self-pity was large then,” our narrator tells us, “though maybe it was fear, the call and response of those two feelings so seamless it was difficult to distinguish follower and leader.” It’s a novel of quest, Gordon in search of remedy for youth’s various ills.
The pace is brisk; in mere pages, Gordon has found a bad job, a grim apartment and a friendly barkeep called Janice. Chosen family is one bulwark against solitude available to the queer; the other is sex.
Gordon seeks this in the park, under cover of night or on the street, with passing strangers. The author’s frankness is welcome respite from the poetry too many aspire to: “As he moved into me roughly and without warning … I breathed deeply, working to feel what was good underneath that pain until good won out.” It’s not hard for a comely young lad to find sex.
