juna 1.2001 »
He says: “It had nothing to do with the
heart or feelings; it was just, ‘Let’s get really
fucked up and get our rocks off.’ It always
seemed so empty to me.”
He adds: “I’m not saying that it’s bad; I’m
just saying that there’s more. And I’m always
looking for more.”
One way that Spanbauer is look
ing for more is in the develop
ment of his spiritual life. As in
his previous novel, In the
City o f Shy Hunters
explores Native Ameri
can mysticism and spiri
tual transcendence.
“I’m very interested
in my relationship to the
divine or whether there
is a divine,” he says.
“W hen I got AID S, the
lights went off for me as far
as faith went ’cause I really
thought that if I believed hard
enough I wouldn’t get it...b u t then I
catch myself praying.”
But after 14 years of writing and the
breakup of an 11 -year relationship, Spanbauer
finds himself facing a blank page in both his
writing and his life.
“How does a 55-year-old man with AIDS
begin dating .r ’ he asks. “All I can wish for is that
somebody with a spirit will see my spirit in some
way.” Like the characters who populate the city
in his latest novel, Spanbauer is once again a
shy hunter— a mild, gentle soul yearn
ing to reach out to make a con
nection and find a new place
for himself in the world.
“I’m still trying to
come back to life,” he
says. “I think I might
just write a love story
next.” j n
M i. M in ' s ( leaning
Second Nature
H O M E S> GARDEN CENTER
503 - 892-8227
mrmans<leaning@aol.«om
’B ring in this ad and receive !0%OFF
all perennials through June 30,2001
T om S panbauer will
read from In the City of
Shy Hunters June 21 at
Twenty-Third Avenue Books,
June 26 at Broadway Books and
July 9 at Powell’s City o f Books.
W e fe a tu re
M a r c A c it o was raised in an Italian Catholic
enclave in N ew Jersey surrounded by morons. He
is writing his first novel.
Annuals
Perennials
Roses
Shrubs & Trees
Garden Accessories
Hanging Baskets
European Baskets
Statuary
Vases and Lamps
Cut Flowers
Pottery
Keepsake Gifts
REVIEW
I n
the
C it y
of
your sex
S h y H u n ter s
by Tom Spanbauer. G rove/A tlantic, 2001; $26 hardcover.
T
en years ago, Tom Spanbauer’s second novel, The Man W ho Fell in Love with the M oon, slid qui
etly onto bookshelves, into readers’ hands and onto favorite book lists across the country.
The story of a group of outcasts turned family in the mountains of Idaho at the turn of the
century, it never has gone out of print. Part J.D. Salinger, part Tom Robbins, part Louis L’Amour,
The M an W ho Fell in Love with the M oon was listed in the Advocate among the Top 100 Gay and
Lesbian Fiction of all time.
Spanbauer’s first novel, Faraw ay Places, about a curious rural Idaho boy and the volatile
landscape around him, retains a cult following that
keeps used copies of the out-of-print book hard to find.
Anyone expecting Spanbauer’s newest, In the City o f
Shy Hunters, to be a letdown after a decade’s impatient
anticipation will be in for a shock. He completely has
outdone himself, creating a novel of sophistication,
humor and pathos to rival, if not top, his earlier novels.
William Parker arrives in New York City just as two
cataclysmic monsters rear their ugly heads: society’s
meltdown concerning the homeless and the sudden rise
of the AID S pandemic. The novel weaves his past life
growing up in the ruthless lands of Idaho with his pre
sent and mythological life in the Big Apple.
In the course of searching for forgiveness, Will col
lects about him an assembly of intricately drawn charac
ters who become friends, lovers and, ultimately, co-war
riors. Ruby Prestigiacomo, Charlie 2Moons, C hef Som
Chai, Bobbie, The Art Family, Two Shot, Fiona, Daniel
the boss’s brother, Mack Dickson T he Perfect Homosex
ual, etc.— no character is left without dimension and
humanity. The ultimate center of the novel is New York
City itself, portrayed with more balls-out honesty than
any novel in a long, long time.
Spanbauer tells stories better than anyone around. There is an intimacy in the telling that
recalls friends sitting around a campfire or around a bar table, giving up the hopes and fears of a
life lived with conviction.
T h e first-person voice is visceral, colloquial and fully engaging. Spanbauer employs ele
ments o f magic realism with the same masterful hand he used in T he M an W ho Fell in Love
with the M oon. T h e novel, to the bitter honest end, does not fail. Tom Spanbauer is, in fact, a
most dangerous writer. Open any o f his three novels with an open heart and a willing ear
and you just might have your life altered.
His work barrages you like a pyroclastic flow— battering and burning like the first time you
read Kurt Vonnegut or Carson McCullers or Carlos Casteneda. He is an indigenous writer— origi
nal to the ground he covers, authentic in memory.
Spanbauer writes about dangerous things— astrologically speaking, Fighth House issues like
death, sex, taboo and the exchange of power. Few have the moxie to take on these topics with
such frank intensity and lack of sentimentality as he does. No one else does it as beautifully and
personally as he. Simultaneously eloquent and perverse, Spanbauer creates a personal form of sto
rytelling that breaks any mold to which one wishes to assign him. Comparisons ultimately fail.
W e’ve waited 10 years for this novel to come to press. It was damn well worth the wait. And
now the only thing left to say is...encore, encore.
— Glenn Williams
and treatment
STD screen
HIV testing
. or withoutyiames
A/B vaccination
M
ul t no m a h
C
ounty
H
D
ealth
8601 SW Tervvilliger Blvd.
(next to the Chevron station)
5 0 3 . 977.6545
e p a r t m e n t
426 SW Stark, 6th Floor • ( 5 0 3 ) 9 8 8 . 3 7 0 0
T IE
COMMUNITY'S
•
N ew purchase
•
100% equity loans
•
Pre-qualification
by phone or fax
•
Refinance/cash out
•
Pre-approved loans
•
Residential, com m ercial
& investm ent property
•
A ppointm ents at
your convenience
Office
503 . 297.9900
Evenings / W eekends
503 . 780.1561
Toll Free
1 . 877 . 826.9900
Email
colleenw@tntgadvocates.com
www.mtgadvocates.com
,,T,
.,
I mavailable
when you are!
J
Colleen Weed
" m o
r t g a g e
w W JrA Advocates
9900 S.W. Wilshire Street • Portland, Oregon 97225
(503) 232-3600
•
Collision Repair Problems Solved
Wheel Alignment
•
Tires
•
•
•
•
•
Oil Changes
Service Work
State Farm Service First Provider
Specializing in Foreign & European Cars
Mini-Vans & Sport Utility Vehicles
2454 E. BURNSIDE
• PORTLAND, OR 97214
www.fergusonauto.com
Family Owned & Operated Since 1952