A middle-aged gay man finds his settled life turned upside down when his partner of 20 years leaves him for a woman in ‘Back Where He Started.’
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By MIKE FLEMING
Friday, April 15, 2005
CHRIS THAYER THOUGHT he had it all: a partner of more than 20 years, three adult children they raised, a beautiful home in an upscale neighborhood and a dog named Beau.
But at the opening of Jay Quinn’s “Back Where He Started,” which lands on store shelves this month, Chris is in turmoil. His partner Zack, a businessman whose success allowed Chris to be a “stay-at-home mom,” is leaving him to marry a female co-worker.
Chris always knew Zack was bisexual. The couple came together as Zack was trying to raise two sons and a daughter who were born before his wife passed away. David, the oldest, was five. Schooner was just a baby.
They formed a new family, and after coming out and dating in his early 20s, Chris happily became “Mom,” a name the kids lovingly call him even in their adulthood. He is proud of the grown-ups they’ve become.
But now Zack is moving out and moving on. Chris is selling the house and using the settlement Zack provides to buy a beach home in another town. He’ll have to get a job. But he doesn’t know what to do with his life, other than to resign himself to the change.
Not that he isn’t a little bitter.
“A 48-year-old faggot who’s spent the best part of his life raising another man’s young ‘uns and washing another man’s clothes and dishes and sheets and towels and running to the dry cleaners and cleaning up dog shit and waiting on the furnace repair man doesn’t have a job skill in hell that anybody’d pay anything for!”
Quinn, whose previous books include the well received “Metes and Bounds,” is a deft storyteller. Even his minor characters are well rounded and complex, and their dialogue flows naturally.
The author finds a way to describe mundane daily details in a way that is never boring. We go along for Chris’ ride as he buys furniture, makes coffee, does laundry and metes out a new life.
Chris makes friends in his new town, has a brief sexual affair with the local veterinarian, and finally finds a job as an administrative assistant in a doctor’s office.
But his adventure has just begun. Can he love again?
As challenges arise, Chris begins to see that his initial crisis forced him to find an inner strength he didn’t know he had. Readers are sure to identify with how he digs deep and discovers what it takes to move on — even when change is the last thing he expects or wants.
The kids remain a big part of Chris’ life, and their trials and tribulations are fleshed out as strong subplots. They aren’t necessarily ready for him to change, but everyone in the book grows over the course of the story.
“Back Where He Started” won’t go down as one of history’s great literary feats. The book is more like a feel-good movie that keeps you company on a do-nothing afternoon.
At times, Chris’ luck comes a little too easily, and plot developments can feel a bit contrived. But the story is warm, inviting and thoroughly satisfying as light fare. Quinn’s laid-back writing style makes it fun to see what happens.
So open the windows, grab a blanket and curl up with this touching story about how life goes on.
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