Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Black Swan (2001), Edition: New Ed, 368 pages
Description
"I'm a fabulist by trade," warns Gabriel Noone, a late-night radio storyteller, as he begins to untangle the skeins of his tumultuous life: his crumbling ten-year love affair, his disaffection from his Southern father, his longtime weakness for ignoring reality. Gabriel's most sympathetic listener is Pete Lomax, a thirteen-year-old fan in Wisconsin whose own horrific past has left him wise and generous beyond his years. But when this virtual father-son relationship is rocked by doubt, a desperate search for the truth ensues. Welcome to the complex, vertiginous world of The Night Listener.
User reviews
LibraryThing member stephenmakin
My first purchase from Amazon! This takes me back. I found this a haunting and engaging story. It's strangely autobiographical.
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
This book entranced me. I devoured it in a couple of days. Maupin is a born storyteller. He made me care about his characters and even identify with them despite my never having been a gay man. And he knows a thing or two about suspense and how to create it. Only when I was finished with the book
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did I find out it was based on events that actually happened to Maupin. What a trip. Show Less
LibraryThing member woollymammoth
A well written moving novel, the sort of book that catches your thoughts years later.
A gay author, shamelessly based on Maupin I think, recieves a book to review, which is an autobiography of a boy who was severely abused and is now dying of AIDS.
He strikes up a friendship with the boy, but
A gay author, shamelessly based on Maupin I think, recieves a book to review, which is an autobiography of a boy who was severely abused and is now dying of AIDS.
He strikes up a friendship with the boy, but
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eventually begins to doubt the situation. Show Less
LibraryThing member rosencrantz79
The great thing about the Christmas holiday is having ample time to read. When I glimpse the words "suprising twists" in the synopsis on the back of a book, I usually roll my eyes and expect NOT to be surprised. The Night Listener, however, delivers on this promise and kept me up late at night as I
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sped through the final chapters. My only beef with this book is that while it's understandable that main character Gabriel Noone wants mystery in his life and is therefore willing to suspend his disbelief in some instances, he seemed a little too gullible at times. I found myself looking up from the book and thinking, "Well, if he would just do this or that, he would know the answer..." The book is so well-written, though, that this is a small gripe in the face of a classic page-turner. Show Less
LibraryThing member BinnieBee
Loved the book! I'm still wondering what really happened. I had no idea this was made into a movie until I finished the book. Now I'm going to watch the movie (which didn't get very good reviews).
LibraryThing member mduffey6
The ending was spoiled for me when I realized I'd seen a 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' episode based on the story. Only it made me think that somebody would be murdered haha
LibraryThing member kinnerc
I read "The Night Listener" on my way to "Michael Tolliver Lives." Maupin's "Tales of the City" books had been part of my Gay childhood back in the 90s and the discovery that he'd written "Michael Tolliver Lives" led me to re-read all the "Tales of the City" books.
What does this have to do with
First, I have to say that the story taken alone, as it is, is very good. Maupin's writing and dialog remain superb, as does his pacing. There are twists here that you don't quite see, and that's good. The book's ending left me a little bit hanging, but not badly.
I deliberately saw the Robin Williams movie before I read the book, and that really gave me a unique experience. With movie/book comparisons usually the movie is so off from the book they only share a title ("Starship Troopers"), or the movie is the book, lite.
This was not that. The movie was the tale of Noone's search for Peter Lomax and the consequences of that search told reasonably straight-forwardly. The book was a story about Noone - his life, his circumstances, and his personality - while using the Lomax story as a vehicle to tell it. The best I can do is apply an astronomical analogy to it. The film was the book only seen in red light - you saw things, but you saw them only a specific way, and you missed other things completely. The book brought the whole spectrum into play.
The gimmick that I liked with regard to "The Night Listener" was the tie-in that Maupin made to "Tales of the City:" Anna, Noone's bookkeeper, is none other than Anna Halcyon-Day, DeDe Halcyon-Day's daughter. Edgar, Anna's twin brother, is also referred to and is part of the plot. Because of this, I put "The Night Listener" within the "Tales of the City" universe, right after "Sure of You" and before "Michael Tolliver Lives."
But Maupin took the tie-in too far, although he didn't mean to. Perhaps I shouldn't be critical because *I* don't have several books published, but Maupin disappointed me with a lack of...imagination...in some way. In sort, I began to feel that I had started to read "Michael Tolliver Lives" a little too soon - that Noone was Tolliver with just a name change.
"Tales of the City" includes one of the most famous letters in Gay literature - "A Letter to Mama" - in which Michael Tolliver comes out to his parents. In "The Night Listener" Noone does the same thing, except he does it via one of his radio characters writing the letter.
I also got the impression that this novel was far more autobiographical than I originally expected. Although it is based on an event that actually happened to Maupin to some degree, I really got the impression that there was far more of Maupin and Anderson in Gabriel and Jess than there would be normally.
In the end, perhaps, these are just nitpicks, but they're nitpicks that stayed with me. Beyond that, "The Night Listener" is certainly up to Maupin's usual level - and there are few that can reach it.
What does this have to do with
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"The Night Listener?" Well, Maupin did something with the book that I usually love, but I have end that with the opinion that he went too far.First, I have to say that the story taken alone, as it is, is very good. Maupin's writing and dialog remain superb, as does his pacing. There are twists here that you don't quite see, and that's good. The book's ending left me a little bit hanging, but not badly.
I deliberately saw the Robin Williams movie before I read the book, and that really gave me a unique experience. With movie/book comparisons usually the movie is so off from the book they only share a title ("Starship Troopers"), or the movie is the book, lite.
This was not that. The movie was the tale of Noone's search for Peter Lomax and the consequences of that search told reasonably straight-forwardly. The book was a story about Noone - his life, his circumstances, and his personality - while using the Lomax story as a vehicle to tell it. The best I can do is apply an astronomical analogy to it. The film was the book only seen in red light - you saw things, but you saw them only a specific way, and you missed other things completely. The book brought the whole spectrum into play.
The gimmick that I liked with regard to "The Night Listener" was the tie-in that Maupin made to "Tales of the City:" Anna, Noone's bookkeeper, is none other than Anna Halcyon-Day, DeDe Halcyon-Day's daughter. Edgar, Anna's twin brother, is also referred to and is part of the plot. Because of this, I put "The Night Listener" within the "Tales of the City" universe, right after "Sure of You" and before "Michael Tolliver Lives."
But Maupin took the tie-in too far, although he didn't mean to. Perhaps I shouldn't be critical because *I* don't have several books published, but Maupin disappointed me with a lack of...imagination...in some way. In sort, I began to feel that I had started to read "Michael Tolliver Lives" a little too soon - that Noone was Tolliver with just a name change.
"Tales of the City" includes one of the most famous letters in Gay literature - "A Letter to Mama" - in which Michael Tolliver comes out to his parents. In "The Night Listener" Noone does the same thing, except he does it via one of his radio characters writing the letter.
I also got the impression that this novel was far more autobiographical than I originally expected. Although it is based on an event that actually happened to Maupin to some degree, I really got the impression that there was far more of Maupin and Anderson in Gabriel and Jess than there would be normally.
In the end, perhaps, these are just nitpicks, but they're nitpicks that stayed with me. Beyond that, "The Night Listener" is certainly up to Maupin's usual level - and there are few that can reach it.
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LibraryThing member graemestone
My God how I love this book. From Maupin's unflinching portrayal of a mid-life gay man on the edge, to the story that drew me in like I'd been shot with a harpoon to be reeled in for the kill. If I were in San Francisco, I'd look him up and offer to buy him coffee. Hell, the whole coffee SHOP for
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that matter. I read this book in two days and wanted to go right back and read it again. It drove me mad. Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it there is some criticism out there of the book and especially the ending, but for me the ending was perfect and anything else would have spoiled the book for me completely.
LibraryThing member mattviews
*The Night Listener* is gripping from beginning to end. Literally I am glued to the page. Writer and radio storyteller Gabriel Noone just broke up with his partner Jess who battled with AIDS. Things take a sharp turn as Jess' viral load plummeted to zero. As Gabriel noted that he would "like to
13-year-old Pete Lomax was the "godsend" who stepped into Gabriel's life at the perfect timing. Gabriel was asked by his publishing agent to review galleys of Pete's book and write a blurb for it. Immediately hooked to Pete's story Gabriel began a series of phone conservations with Pete who lived in Wisconsin with his foster mother Donna. Donna came to his rescue after Pete sneaked out from his folks' house in a blizzard. His parents had physically and sexually abused him, and prostituted him with pedophiles.
Donna (a psychiatrist) was the first person Pete ran into at the hospital. She already knew about Pete's HIV status and decided to protect him from strangers and most importantly, his painful past miseries. When Pete finally let down his guard and spoke to her for the first time a few months after his escape, Donna encouraged him to overcome this fear by writing his memories down on paper. Afterall, Pete "trusts voices more than he can trust a face." As Gabriel and Pete talked more on the phone, their relationship become like father-and-son.
As the publisher had no means to legitimate Pete in order to publish his book, Gabriel began to have doubt about the existence of Pete. He began to think if Donna and Pete, who shared the same high-pitched Wisconsin accent, are the really the same person. When the book was dropped finally, Gabriel made a trip from San Francisco to Wisconsin to locate Pete.
This novel is extremely imaginative. Some might have thought Maupin has gone too far with the idea a middle-aged gay man making a last attempt of fatherhood with a 13-year-old dying of AIDS. But I find this book very appealing and gripping. At first Gabriel Noone seems really pitiful and pathetic. He always looks at life in a pessimistic eye. His relationship with Jess wrecked only because he never acknowledged his true feelings and emotions inside. The search for Pete after Donna disconnected phone service turns the book into some suspenseful mystery. Pete really taught Gabriel a lesson of love: to believe and let go. And what makes this book on my A list is the ending that comes with a twist. Good to the very last page. I have to say Armistead Maupin has become a favorite author of mine after *The Night Listener*. Literature window-dressed as mystery.
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believe there was a moment when I received this news with unalloyed joy...For the great love I'd longed for all my life had been a certainty only while Jess was dying." Anyway Jess moved out and found himself a new circle of friends and social etiquettes.13-year-old Pete Lomax was the "godsend" who stepped into Gabriel's life at the perfect timing. Gabriel was asked by his publishing agent to review galleys of Pete's book and write a blurb for it. Immediately hooked to Pete's story Gabriel began a series of phone conservations with Pete who lived in Wisconsin with his foster mother Donna. Donna came to his rescue after Pete sneaked out from his folks' house in a blizzard. His parents had physically and sexually abused him, and prostituted him with pedophiles.
Donna (a psychiatrist) was the first person Pete ran into at the hospital. She already knew about Pete's HIV status and decided to protect him from strangers and most importantly, his painful past miseries. When Pete finally let down his guard and spoke to her for the first time a few months after his escape, Donna encouraged him to overcome this fear by writing his memories down on paper. Afterall, Pete "trusts voices more than he can trust a face." As Gabriel and Pete talked more on the phone, their relationship become like father-and-son.
As the publisher had no means to legitimate Pete in order to publish his book, Gabriel began to have doubt about the existence of Pete. He began to think if Donna and Pete, who shared the same high-pitched Wisconsin accent, are the really the same person. When the book was dropped finally, Gabriel made a trip from San Francisco to Wisconsin to locate Pete.
This novel is extremely imaginative. Some might have thought Maupin has gone too far with the idea a middle-aged gay man making a last attempt of fatherhood with a 13-year-old dying of AIDS. But I find this book very appealing and gripping. At first Gabriel Noone seems really pitiful and pathetic. He always looks at life in a pessimistic eye. His relationship with Jess wrecked only because he never acknowledged his true feelings and emotions inside. The search for Pete after Donna disconnected phone service turns the book into some suspenseful mystery. Pete really taught Gabriel a lesson of love: to believe and let go. And what makes this book on my A list is the ending that comes with a twist. Good to the very last page. I have to say Armistead Maupin has become a favorite author of mine after *The Night Listener*. Literature window-dressed as mystery.
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LibraryThing member AramisSciant
Read it before watching the movie. It was as bad and disappointing as the movie turned out to be.
LibraryThing member presto
Gabriel Noone, gay and out, is a successful writer and networked broadcaster with a nightly radio slot where he reads from his writings. As we meet him he has recently been left by his lover, a man some of some ten years younger than Gabriel's fifty-something, and is struggling to come to terms
However Jess, Gabriel's ex-lover, begins to sow doubts as the the authenticity of Pete. We follow Gabriel as he takes us back over the year, and learn about his relationship with Jess, with his father, and with Pete and Pete's guardian; along the way Gabriel provides frequent glimpses into his past.
The Night Listener is highly accomplished piece of writing, thoroughly involving and utterly believable, such that I had to keep checking that this was a work of fiction and not fact. The enigmatic conclusion left me with a wry smile.
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with being alone again. He has also just received a transcript for his endorsement from a publisher; the work of a thirteen year old boy, Pete, how has endured in his short life a history of abuse. Pete is a regular listen and avid fan of Gabriel's, and impressed with the lad's writing Gabriel gets in touch with the boy, and quickly a regular telephone dialogue is established.However Jess, Gabriel's ex-lover, begins to sow doubts as the the authenticity of Pete. We follow Gabriel as he takes us back over the year, and learn about his relationship with Jess, with his father, and with Pete and Pete's guardian; along the way Gabriel provides frequent glimpses into his past.
The Night Listener is highly accomplished piece of writing, thoroughly involving and utterly believable, such that I had to keep checking that this was a work of fiction and not fact. The enigmatic conclusion left me with a wry smile.
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LibraryThing member HarryMacDonald
I am torn between shooting from the hip about this book -- and its factual background -- and reading what others have had to say about it. For now, I will just say a few words based on close knowledge of what can be called "endgame" to this particularly bizarre story. Let me right away dispose of
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the question of the film-version by saying that I cannot imagine how the finished film could have been quite as bad and unconvincing as it was considering Maupin's direct involvement in it. O well, these things happen. Perhaps he lost motivation on the way to the bank with his cheque for services yet to be rendered. Now, as to the book itself, it is most compelling, though in retrospect it might have been far more so had Maupin drawn back just a little bit and not forced his own sexual issues on the reader. Still, one cannot fairly criticize a book for not being what its author never intended it to be. Hey boys (and girls), we all get it by now. Meanwhile, as to what I regard as the core-story, namely the bizarre deception worked on the narrator, that too has been discussed in extenso by several people, most notably in the NEW YORKER article "Virtual love" several years ago. Suffice it to say that bizarre as it seems, it really is the honest-to-God truth, and the writing, at its best, well captures the slithering sinister karmic crime perpetrated not merely on the author/narrator, but literally on thousands of others. For those whose sense of justice is easily outraged, it gives me no pleasure to write that as of the last time I checked, the central villain of the peace (actually villainess) is alive and well and living in comfort in a posh suburb, though presumably still with a houseful of now-adolescents. OK: now I'll see what the rest of you have written. Show Less
LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz
A thoroughly entertaining and engaging book: the characters are very believable and beautifully developed while the story is well told with a suitable amount of twists and unpredictability. I was a little annoyed by the unnecessary linking back to Maupin's most famous series (give it up already)
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but that's a minor critique of an otherwise great read. Show Less
LibraryThing member susandennis
I'm not sure there is anyone who can tell a story like Armistead Maupin. I've seen him on stupid talk shows and he is so engaging, I just want to carve him out of the TV and into my living room so I can hear more. The Night Listener is close to getting that 'more'. I've heard it described and read
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reviews and nothing comes close to describing the experience of reading it so I'm not going to try. Just go get it and read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member ocgreg34
Gabriel Noone is a popular late-night storyteller on the radio, with his hit show "Noone at Night" playing nationwide. He spends many hours writing and recording stories to tell all his listeners, but lately, his imagination seems to be blocked. His recent breakup with Jess, his partner of 10
Something about Pet's tale -- the struggle of a young boy through such physical and sexual abuse that it's amazing he's still alive -- tugs at Noone's mind and heart. It doesn't hurt, either, that Pete's a fan of Noone's radio show. He reaches out to the young boy, speaking with him by phone while Pete waits for more hospital treatments to assist with HIV-related complications, and they form a kind of Father-Son bond. Even his talks with Pete's adoptive mother Donna make him feel as though he's connected with and been accepted into a loving family.
Noone shares his new-found joy with Jess who is happy at first. But when he finally has a chance to speak with Pete on the phone, he asks a simple question of Noone -- has anyone actually met Pete -- that Noone's anger is aroused. How dare Jess doubt his feelings, but that anger slowly turns to suspicion. Noone and Pete have only ever talked by phone; what if Pete's story is made up? Noone's search to uncover the truth forces him to step beyond his comfort zone, to burst through the emotional block he's created since his breakup with Jess, no matter the outcome.
I hesitated at first to read the novel because I enjoyed the film version with Robin Williams and Bobby Cannavale, and my experience with reading books after seeing a film haven't been too good. (I still can't bring myself to read "Dune" after David Lynch's film version.) But I'm glad I threw caution to the wind and started reading.
Armistead Maupin's novel is the perfect blending of mystery and thriller. With as much communications as we do via phone (and blogs, email, instant messaging, etc.), what if that person we're talking too doesn't exist -- especially if you've invested so much personal time into it? What lengths would we go to discover the truth? Gabriel Noone allows us to take that journey. After learning of Pete's childhood, I felt the happiness right along with Noone as he stepped into a father-figure role, trying to give Pete the love he never had from his own father. And when that relationship is threatened, Noone acts as I would expect any father to do. Even so, Jess' little question put a seed into my own head and while I was reading, I started wondering about Pete. Which in turn lead to my questioning Noone's motives and finally cheering him on when he decides to find out once and for all. I enjoy getting into a novel like that.
"The Night Listener" is a fine mystery/thriller, with great characters and enough twists and turns to keep you from putting the book down until you're finished. Highly recommended!
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years, may have something to do with it, putting up a wall that he can't seem to get through no matter what he tries. To bide his time while waiting for something to happen to the block or with Jess, Noone finally agrees to read one of the galleys from a young author named Pete Lomax.Something about Pet's tale -- the struggle of a young boy through such physical and sexual abuse that it's amazing he's still alive -- tugs at Noone's mind and heart. It doesn't hurt, either, that Pete's a fan of Noone's radio show. He reaches out to the young boy, speaking with him by phone while Pete waits for more hospital treatments to assist with HIV-related complications, and they form a kind of Father-Son bond. Even his talks with Pete's adoptive mother Donna make him feel as though he's connected with and been accepted into a loving family.
Noone shares his new-found joy with Jess who is happy at first. But when he finally has a chance to speak with Pete on the phone, he asks a simple question of Noone -- has anyone actually met Pete -- that Noone's anger is aroused. How dare Jess doubt his feelings, but that anger slowly turns to suspicion. Noone and Pete have only ever talked by phone; what if Pete's story is made up? Noone's search to uncover the truth forces him to step beyond his comfort zone, to burst through the emotional block he's created since his breakup with Jess, no matter the outcome.
I hesitated at first to read the novel because I enjoyed the film version with Robin Williams and Bobby Cannavale, and my experience with reading books after seeing a film haven't been too good. (I still can't bring myself to read "Dune" after David Lynch's film version.) But I'm glad I threw caution to the wind and started reading.
Armistead Maupin's novel is the perfect blending of mystery and thriller. With as much communications as we do via phone (and blogs, email, instant messaging, etc.), what if that person we're talking too doesn't exist -- especially if you've invested so much personal time into it? What lengths would we go to discover the truth? Gabriel Noone allows us to take that journey. After learning of Pete's childhood, I felt the happiness right along with Noone as he stepped into a father-figure role, trying to give Pete the love he never had from his own father. And when that relationship is threatened, Noone acts as I would expect any father to do. Even so, Jess' little question put a seed into my own head and while I was reading, I started wondering about Pete. Which in turn lead to my questioning Noone's motives and finally cheering him on when he decides to find out once and for all. I enjoy getting into a novel like that.
"The Night Listener" is a fine mystery/thriller, with great characters and enough twists and turns to keep you from putting the book down until you're finished. Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member Milwaukee_LGBT_Ctr
Gabriel Noone, a writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the home of millions, is in the midst of a painful separation from his longtime lover when a publisher sends him proofs of a remarkable book: the memoir of an ailing thirteen-year-old boy who suffered horrific abuse at the
Then, out of the blue, troubling questions arise, exploding Noone's comfortable assumptions and causing his ordered existence to spin wildly out of control. As he walks a vertiginous line between truth and illusions, he is finally forced to confront all of his relationships--familial, romantic, and erotic.
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hands of his parents. Now living with his adoptive mother, Pete Lomax is not only a brave and gifted diarist but also a devoted listener to Noone's show. When Noone phones the boy to offer encouragement, it soon becomes clear that Pete sees in this heartsick middle-aged storyteller the loving father he has always wanted. Thus begins an extraordinary friendship that only grows deeper as the boy's health deteriorates, freeing Noone to unlock his innermost feelings.Then, out of the blue, troubling questions arise, exploding Noone's comfortable assumptions and causing his ordered existence to spin wildly out of control. As he walks a vertiginous line between truth and illusions, he is finally forced to confront all of his relationships--familial, romantic, and erotic.
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Subjects
Awards
Stonewall Book Award (Honor Book — Literature — 2001)
Publisher's Weekly Listen Up Award (Fiction — 2000)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
368 p.; 5 inches
ISBN
9780552142403
Similar in this library
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |