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Able Was I
by Drew Banks
288 pages
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In 1985, 24-year-old Grey Tigrett happens upon the island of Elba where he recedes into an emotional exile. Fourteen years later, three pivotal events shatter his asylum, revealing to him whether Elba was his downfall or will be his savior.
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Category: Fiction:Gay
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(requires Adobe Reader)
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About the Book
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In reality Napoleon
Bonaparte never said, "Able was I ere I saw Elba," but the famous
palindrome persists and indeed, evokes myriad imaginings of his
1814 exile to the tiny island.
Grey Tigrett discovers Elba under different circumstances and in
another century. It's 1985: he's on a college graduation trip, a
vacation on which he hopes to transfer his sexual desire from Pete,
his best friend, to Miriam, his girlfriend. Nothing goes as planned.
A mishap sidetracks them to Elba where Grey's sexual desire is indeed
transferred - not to Miriam but to Antonio, a married Italian man
who opens his home to the threesome when they can't find a hotel
room. To avoid facing the implication of his actions, Grey retreats
to the exile of his dreamy, analytic mind.
Fifteen years later Grey is a successful computer sales executive
with a longtime boyfriend, living in New York's trendy meatpacking
district. On paper he has it all, but in truth he is more disabled
than ever. Grey and Scott have constructed a fabulous life that
is totally alien to Grey, and to escape it he withdraws further
into himself. In his rationalized world he is emotionally impotent,
yet he becomes intrigued with a few people outside his social circle
- a teenager who walks his dog, an addict who frequents his stoop,
and his Gen-Y temp secretary who refuses a permanent position -
and fantasizes them safe role models of an engaged, vicarious life.
During an annual sales conference cruise, the Mediterranean reawakens
Grey. He disrupts the comforting predictability of his business
life by challenging his boss and opening up to a colleague, something
he hasn't done since college. When a storm redirects the ship to
Elba, a second unexpected adventure on the island requires that
Grey retrace his steps and consider the repercussions of fifteen
years prior.
After his return to New York, three pivotal events transform the
lives of his vicarious trio and destroy Grey's psychological safety
net. Rather than meeting Scott for their millennium vacation, Grey
disappears to Elba. While on this third visit, Grey gets the opportunity
to recast his life. On the island he forges new relationships with
ties to the past that only he can understand. The compelling resolution
of his journey is as unpredictable as it is inspiring.
In the end - like Napoleon before him - Grey is forced to examine
the depths of his exile. For both men, Elba marks a critical turning
point from which they either exhaust or draw their power. Full of
beautiful imagery, interesting characters, cultural references,
and smart funny dialogue, Able Was I is more than a symbolic turn
of phrase; it is a satisfying read.
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About the Author |
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Drew Banks is a businessman and author who studies human interaction. While his business books, Beyond Spin and Customer.Community, examine organizational implications of various social psychologies, he is drawn to fiction as a more intimate medium for delving beneath the surface of the individual. He lives in San Francisco. |
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