Writing a book review of Paul Rudnick’s latest novel is probably a fool’s errand. If you follow his Twitter feed or read his short pieces in The New Yorker, you know that the more outlandish and implausible the premise, the better.
I say all of this in a complimentary way. He skewers pop culture and takes down everyone in the process, including the gays. An entire novel written with those intentions might seem a bit reductive (and it is in some ways) but that seems to be the whole point. Take a scene, relationship, event, character, and ratchet up the absurdity. Then repeat.
The novel’s central character, Carter Ogden, is an Associate Event Architect working for a woman named Cassandra. Ridiculous job title and nothing positive will come from a character named Cassandra. While working on an event at the United Nations, Carter happens to meet the crown prince of England, Edgar. The heir to the throne is proudly out but not very savvy in personal relationships.
So we have Carter, a nice, gay, Jewish boy from Piscataway, NJ, working an event at the UN who meets not only a prince but the gay prince of England. It could happen. In a Rudnick novel.
There is no need to belabor our readers with further plot background and twists. The book offers more than the usual share of laughs. I will not refer to it by that unfortunate term for novels destined to be read between May and September while sitting in the sand by the ocean. Rudnick would not care if I did use that term. His writing is a bit more clever and subversive than cheap romances that beg to be taken more seriously. Rudnick encourages you to howl at the ridiculous “story.”
Since his novel is a quick read, this “review” should be the same. Put on some sunscreen, though.
Playing the Palace By PAUL RUDNICK https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com
Paul Rudnick is a novelist, playwright, essayist, and screenwriter, whom The New York Times has called “one of our preeminent humorists.” His plays have been produced both on and off-Broadway and around the world, and include I Hate Hamlet, Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Valhalla, Regrets Only, and The New Century. His novels include Social Disease and I’ll Take It, both from Knopf. He’s a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and his articles and essays have also appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Vogue, and Vanity Fair.
Review by STEPHEN COY Queerguru Contributor STEPHEN COY has been an avid reader all his (very long) life? and is finally putting his skills to good use. He lives in Provincetown full time with his husband Jim, having finally given up the bright lights of Boston and now haunts the streets mumbling to himself that no one reads anymore
Labels: 2021, book review, Paul Rudnick, Stephen Coy
