David Leavitt

The Lost Language of Cranes

While England Sleeps

 
 

My Synopsis My Notes Related Titles Purchase this Item Visit Amazon.com Return to Home	The Lost Language of Cranes David Leavitt Penguin USA: 1998 My Synopsis Young, gay, in love, and in New York.  Seems perfect.  Except, Phillip is not feeling too perfect.  Something is simply not clicking the way he expects it should.  He has a job he loves, an attractive boyfriend he adores, and parents that dote on him.  But, everywhere he turns, there is tension and it is really starting to mount.  Phillip is progressing in his relationship with Elliot, his somewhat rebellious boyfriend, and now he wants Elliot to meet the parents.  Elliot sees this as a major step up in the relationship and is not too sure he is ready for the consequences.   Elliot convinces Phillip that telling his parents he is gay might not be the best idea. Soon after, Elliot announces that his adopted parents will be visiting New York, and Phillip desperately wants to meet them.  Elliot was raised by two gay men, one of which is a semi-famous children’s-book writer who Phillip admires.  When the meeting occurs, Phillip dominates the attention of he group and asks a great many questions regarding Elliot’s past.  Elliot rebukes Phillip for his inquisition and the relationship starts to show major fault lines.  Whether Elliot is really upset about the questioning, or whether he simply is trying to look for a (somewhat) graceful exit from the relationship is not really that clear.  Nevertheless, as the fault opens wider, Elliot disappears and Phillip is devastated. In the meantime, Phillip changes his mind about informing his parent of his lifestyle, and in a very dramatic scene, confesses his homosexuality.  This sends the family into chaos.  The strong-as-an-ox father seems floored by the news and weeps uncontrollability while the mother dresses down her son on his lack of desecration.  She claims somethings are simply better left unsaid.  At first the reactions are completely out of character based on the novel to that point, but the reasons become all too apparent very quickly. Owen and Rose, Phillip’s parents, have plenty of problems of their own.  Living in a rent controlled apartment that is converting to condos, the couple is faced with finding a new place to live in downtown New York.  Owen seems unwilling to find a new place, and Rose is frustrated by his apathy for the situation.   Added to that are some subtle problems with the couple’s marriage.  Owen spends his Sundays by himself and Rose is contemplating an affair with a co-worker.  But it is Owen’s life that is particularly complicated.  Each Sunday, he journeys to the seedier areas of the city to watch gay films and socialize with possible ‘dates.’  After Phillip’s announcement, the Owen seems to undergo some change.  He no longer appears to be upset about Phillip being gay, and discusses aspects of Phillip’s life with his son over dinner.  In fact, his curiosity about his son’s homosexuality becomes and uneasy subject around Rose. Shortly after, Owen meets a man he is interested in and after a few drinks they find a hotel to explore the situation.  The tension between Owen and Rose increases dramatically when he doesn’t come home till the wee hours of the morning. Finally, Owen admits his problem to Rose, who is devastated by the news.  While she is not necessarily homophobic, she feels betrayed by her husband’s years of secrets and duplicity.  Fearing he might upset her more by staying, Owen calls Phillip and when they meet, explains the situation.  Phillip, now very much over Elliot, has found a new love, and whether or not it will last, we don’t know, but it starts off well.  Neither do we find out how Rose and Owen cope with the situation, or indeed, what the two decide as far as living arrangements and their marriage.  The novel leaves a number of loose ends, but as Leavitt often does, we are left with a satisfying feeling about the outcome of the characters lives.   My Notes David Leavitt often writes about family relationships.  In The Lost Language of Cranes this focus on the interaction between a gay son, his devastated mother, and his newly out-of-the-closet father.  What makes this story moving and emotional is not the fact that the son and the father come to terms with homosexuality, but that the relationships among the family members are constantly changing.  I felt sorry for Rose when she found out her was gay, but I felt a sense of lose due to the evolution of the relationship between the two.  The early scenes of the mother kissing her son, or placing the blanket over him when he feel asleep, or when she discussed his childhood demonstrate a protective and intimate relationship.  Later, after his revelation, the bond between them became more mature and less innocent.  While I am sure she still loved him as much as before, she treated him different and that was demonstrated in their discussions.  This same theme can be seen in all of the relationships in the book:  between Phillip and Owen, Phillip and Elliot, Phillip and Rose, and Rose and Owen. I have listed this book on my page of Most Influential Books not as much because of the book as much as the film.  There are only two films that I feel were better than the books on which they were based.  The Lost Language of Cranes and Psycho are those films.  When I first read the book, I was moved by the characters and the story, but more so by the author.  I read everything I could find by David Leavitt.  Shortly after my first encounter with The Lost Language of Cranes, the film was aired on Channel 4 (or was it ITN?) and I watched with bated breath.  At first I was extremely disappointed.  It began with all of the characters reversed and the setting was London rather than New York.  After the first thirty minutes, though, I fell in love with the film.  While the scenes and general plot are basically the same, the characters are much more believable in the film.  Perhaps this is because Owen and Rose are so English in their attitudes, and Phillip is the arch-typical young neurotic Englishman.  I do not know, but I re-read the book frequently, and I re-watch the film almost as often.  Both are excellent, and I strongly recommend you read/see both.   Related Titles While England Sleeps By: David Leavitt  The Lost Language of Cranes««« By: David Leavitt  Maurice««« By: E.M. Forster The Beautiful Room is Empty By: Edmund White   Search:Books Popular Music Classical Music Video  Enter keywords...
My Synopsis My Notes Related Titles Purchase this Item Visit Amazon.com Return to Home Return to Top	While England Sleeps David Leavitt Ballantine Books: 1986 My Synopsis David Leavitt attempts to extend his range with While England Sleeps.  Set in 1936’s London, the novel explores the relationship of two gay Englishmen who could not be further apart in nearly every aspect of their lives.  The narrator, Brian Botsford, struggles to complete his first novel and in the time not writing, laments over his lack of romance, and more specifically sex.  Like many young men of the time, Brian knows he likes men, but thinks it is something he will out grow.  Wealthy, and from a good family, he certainly one of the privileged in English society.  In order to generate mental stimulation for his writing and to further his search for love, Brian attends a (somewhat) Communist meeting of volunteers to aid Spain in the fight against fascists.  While fairly left-wing himself, he meets and falls in love (or perhaps lust) with an attractive London Underground worker.  The object of his affection, Edward Phelan, is a working class young man from East London.  Edward still lives with his parents, is very idealistic, and is gay. A short courtship ensues and soon the two are living together in Brian’s flat.  At first, the relationship offers everything the two young men want, but that is to be short-lived.  Brian grows evermore unconformable with Edward’s social standing and finds himself embarrassed when they are seen in public.  Edward, on the other hand, misunderstands Brian’s actions as a sign that Brian is only after sex and really has no feeling for Edward.  After Edward discovers Brian has an ongoing affair with a young woman – and has even proposed to her - he leaves London, and Brian, to help his comrades in Spain. Once Edward is gone, Brian comes to some realizations about the nature of the relationship as well as his sexuality, and decides that he really does love Edward.  Setting aside his social prejudices, Brian heads to Spain to confront Edward with his feelings and pronounce his love.  Upon arriving in Spain, Brian is distraught to find that Edward has been imprisoned and greatly mistreated.  Using his connections with an English Judge (who is also gay), Brian is able to free Edward and the two rekindle their love.  Edward, as a result of his imprisonment, is suffering from typhoid and dies in Brian’s arms as they cross the Channel on the way back to London.     My Notes David Leavitt is an excellent writer.  Not only are his stories compelling, but his prose is almost lyrical.  This is a person with a passion for his subject that makes the characters and events seemingly pop-off the page.  With While England Sleeps, I was pulled into the novel at once and found that I could not stop reading.  I have read the book several times and only wonder why someone has not made it into a film. Clearly the plot is very similar to E.M. Forster’s Maurice, and explores the same relationship between classes in the English society.  Unlike Maurice, Leavitt does not give a happy ending (or least the opportunity for a happy ending.)  This is definitely a tear-jerker, I recommend a box of tissues when you near the end of the book.   Related Titles The Lost Language of Cranes By: David Leavitt  Maurice««« By: E.M. Forster The Beautiful Room is Empty By: Edmund White   Search:Books Popular Music Classical Music Video  Enter keywords...
Return to Top

 

Copyright © 1998-1999 Mark James.  Page design and graphics by Ann Stretton.