JD: A Novel, by Mark Merlis
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JD: A Novel, by Mark Merlis
Best Ebook PDF JD: A Novel, by Mark Merlis
Jonathan Ascher, an acclaimed 1960s radical writer and cultural hero, has been dead for thirty years. When a would-be biographer approaches Ascher’s widow Martha, she delves for the first time into her husband’s papers and all the secrets that come tumbling out of them. She finds journals that begin as a wisecracking chronicle of life at the fringes of the New York literary scene, then recount Ascher’s sexual adventures in the pre-Stonewall gay underground and the social upheavals that led to his famous book “JD.” As Martha reads on, she finds herself in a long-distance conversation with her dead husband, fighting with him again about their rocky marriage and learning about the unseen tragedy in her own apartment that ended with the destruction of their son, Mickey. Mickey comes to life in the space between Jonathan and Martha’s conflicting portraits of him, while Martha and the biographer tangle over the continued relevance of Jonathan’s politics and his unfulfilled vision of a nation remade. Martha learns about herself, finally, through her confrontation with a man who will not let her go, even in death. Mark Merlis’s JD is a brilliant and harrowing view of a half century of the American experiment, acted out on a small stage by three people who cannot find a way—neither sex nor touch nor words—to speak their love for one another. Best Books of 2015: Fiction, Open Letters Monthly Finalist, Gay Fiction, Lambda Literary Award Finalist, Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction, Publishing Triangle “Many years after a ’60s New York writer's death, his widow confronts their tumultuous marriage and private identities through his journals. . . . JD’s most masterful element is its treatment of these two characters, both of whom spent their lives groping for contentment like one trying to find a light switch in a darkened room. A great writer offers not just tight prose but also insight, a series of probing questions that extend from the fictional world into the real one. JD asks who its characters were, and in doing so, forces the reader to confront the intricate and fascinating politics of identity.”—Shelf Awareness for Readers, *starred review “A truly impressive work of literary fiction, JD documents author Mark Merlis as an extraordinary novelist able to deftly craft a complex plot and populate it with a roster of inherently fascinating characters and memorable events. The result is an entertaining and engaging read that will linger in the mind long after the book is finished. Very highly recommended for both community and academic library literary fiction collections.”—Midwest Book Review/Reviewer’s Bookwatch “The fantastic JD (U. of Wisconsin), by acclaimed gay writer Mark Merlis (American Studies), is the writer's first novel in a dozen years. It's told in two voices. The first is that of the late gay writer Jonathan Ascher, and we hear from him through his journals. The second belongs to his widow Martha, who learns more about Jonathan than she ever imagined while reading the journals after agreeing to help a biographer of her late husband.”—Gregg Shapiro, Bay Area Reporter
JD: A Novel, by Mark Merlis- Amazon Sales Rank: #141126 in Books
- Brand: Merlis, Mark
- Published on: 2015-03-24
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.25" h x 1.10" w x 5.50" l, .95 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 272 pages
Review “An amazing novel: beautifully written, ingeniously structured, involving and dangerous. The two narrative voices here, a wife and a husband, are perfectly realized. Martha in particular is a remarkable character—I've never read anyone like her in American fiction. This is a chamber drama about one family, yet it’s full of windows that look out on the wider worlds of the Vietnam War, New York literary politics, and the gay revolution. Mark Merlis is a major writer and this is his best novel yet.”—Christopher Bram, author of Eminent Outlaws and Gods and Monsters“This is vintage Merlis: historical yet timely, intellectually rich, bracingly witty, unnervingly erotic, and, finally, deeply tender and affecting.”—Michael Lowenthal, author of The Paternity Test and Charity Girl“Powered by stunning emotional, intellectual, and erotic complexities, JD is a trenchant portrait of a marriage and its heartbreaking casualties and, at the same time, something far more ambitious: a disquieting meditation on how and why America’s best hopes went so stupendously awry during the 1960s and early 1970s. What emerges is an angry, loving hymn to a generation’s failure to create the world we so passionately believed we longed for. There is no better novelist at work in our troubled country right now than Mark Merlis.”—Paul Russell, author of The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov“An important novel that masterfully evokes the tensions and social upheavals of the 1960s and sheds a fresh and highly insightful light on gay liberation, family life, and American masculinity.”—Trebor Healey, author of A Horse Named Sorrow and Faun“Mark Merlis’s beautifully controlled and heart-wrenching novel JD . . . is narrated by aging New York widow Martha Ascher, whose husband Jonathan died from a stroke shortly after their son Mickey was killed in Vietnam. Jonathan was a writer on the anarchist left who believed in ‘an ecstatic blend of political and sexual liberation’ and who spiced up his home life with nocturnal prowling for willing young men. . . . But the novel’s tragedy lies in the relationship between Jonathan and Mickey, who meets his father’s rebellion with a destructive kind of rebellion of his own. Mr. Merlis unravels Mickey’s story with steely assurance and finely tempered prose. Like Martha, he is the victim of a man who ‘preached an ideal he couldn’t live up to.’”—Wall Street Journal“Yet again, Mark Merlis has written a deeply satisfying novel, one whose voices continue to echo in your head long after you’ve finished reading it. . . . It is a novel that weaves together the casualties of family and unaccepted sexual desires into a remarkable, if depressing, story of the U.S. in an era of huge social change.”—Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide“Read JD as a suspense novel. . . . Read JD as a family saga, a page-turner of truth born from lies. Read it as commentary on the effects our past has on our future. Read it.”—Bay Area Reporter“Both strands of Merlis’ novel—Jonathan writing from the past, Martha speaking to us in the present—are vibrant, tense and alive. Merlis has written a profound book about sex and identity and family, about the perils of artistic ambition, about radical longing and the changing social fabric of America. JD is a beautiful novel.”—Towle Road
About the Author Mark Merlis is the author of the highly praised novels American Studies, An Arrow’s Flight, and Man About Town, which have garnered awards including a Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Ferro-Grumley Award, and a Lambda Literary Award. He grew up in Baltimore and lives in Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.markmerlis.com.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful. An Arrow's Flight is a book I consistently recommend to friends By Hugh A compelling, disturbing, powerful read.I have long been an admirer of Merlis' writing. An Arrow's Flight is a book I consistently recommend to friends, and I recently backtracked to read American Studies, which I found enjoyable. No one does this milieu better than Merlis. His evocation of the jaded intellectualism of the late 50s, 60s and into the Vietnam era is flawless. And as a stylist, he can't be beat. His is a muscular, well-paced prose that a joy to read. Once you immerse yourself in the world of Jonathan Ascher, it's difficult to tear yourself away.What I found disturbing about the book is what I'd call the "darkening inevitability" of the story's progression. Perhaps it's more a reflection on my own dissatisfying relationship with my father, but I kept asking myself the "Doesn't he realize that....?" (an unfinished question) throughout the book. And of course, the answer almost always comes back "yes, he does....but". This is, finally, an emotionally taut novel that shows the unhealthy triangulation of many marriages during this period, especially when one of the points of that triangle is a closeted man, foundering in a backwash of denial. No one does it better than Merlis and this some of his best work to date. Read it.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A gay novel not so much about a gay man. By Dave Shumway A widow reviews the journals of her deceased gay husband and discovers not just him, but also herself and their marriage. Well written, introspective and solid. Unlike any "gay" novel you've ever read. A+
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Merlis's fourth novel is a worthy sequel to his first ... By Hastings Wyman Merlis's fourth novel is a worthy sequel to his first three, all of which received literary prizes or rave reviews. The plot has twists and turns that keep the reader turning the page. And there's nothing usual about the story. It is a perceptive look into the New York literary world in the 1960s and today. The characters are uber-human and if not uniformly sympathetic, are compelling in their coping with the stresses in their lives.
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