- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Alyson Books (April 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1555836410
- ISBN-13: 978-1555836412
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 286 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,297,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
Nick Broome has the first biological clock by Timex: it takes a licking and keeps on ticking. In this queer twist on the new genre of reproductive comedy, a single gay Washingtonian in his 30s realizes that although he has a brother and a sister--both healthy, successful adults--no one in his family has made a move toward having children. The Broome genes are being swept into oblivion. Nick's brother Greg tries to compensate for the unspoken loss by arranging a dreaded annual dinner for the siblings in an ugly roadside restaurant. Even Nick's mother, who has never asked for a grandchild, remarks that there's not much point in having a big Christmas tree every year. With sudden clarity and a fetching image of Atlantic herring dropping their eggs and semen in unison, then swimming on, Nick decides to take matters into his own hands. Rejected by every sperm bank he can find, he looks in vain for a lesbian coparent, then a straight coparent, then a surrogate mother, meeting a wonderfully weird collection of similarly needy people in the process, and incidentally coming across a gorgeous bartender named Joe. Although funny, this astute and occasionally surprising second novel offers far more than a good laugh and manages to avoid almost every stereotype of gay life.--Regina Marler
From Publishers Weekly
In this well-crafted second novel, Nick Broome, the youngest son of a Washington, D.C., family, is facing an existential crisis, namely, the demise of his nonprocreative clan's family name. He wants desperately to bring life into the world, envisioning a boy in a blue parka as his ideal son and even going so far as to make a deal with himself to make a baby within a year. Thirty-four-year-old Nick refuses to adopt because his lump of love must share his DNA, and the usual boy-meets-girl route is not open to him, for Nick is gay. The bulk of the novel is a whirlwind tour of the world of artificial insemination and surrogacy. Nick's breeding quest takes him behind the door of sperm banks, where posters of European towers suggest phallic exuberance; when sperm collectors reject him, Nick tries to find a surrogate mother. His ads in the newspaper and on the Internet bring in, among others, a female escort, an angry teen and the unbalanced Nattie, whose brother, Joe, Nick meets in the mental hospital where Nattie has registered herself for a tuneup. Though Joe and Nick become lovers, he continues his search for a fertile vessel. His family is dying out, Nick believes, and he's doing nothing about it. As the novel reaches its crescendo, Nick foolishly treats Joe like a son and flirts dangerously with a contract matchmaker named Lyle, eventually learning more about love and himself. Though the novel's method is at times tiresome and the humor at best tepid, Bayard manages to keep our interest in Broome's quest while teaching us a thing or two about the force that drives procreation. Regional author appearances.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light, Enjoyable Read.,
By
This review is from: Endangered Species: A Novel (Paperback)
In his quest to "plant his seed", and send offspring out into the world, Nick Broome will go to almost any lengths to get one.(And he does at points.)The novel isn't as laugh out loud funny as I had anticipated, but is touching and heartfelt as this gay man goes through a crazy journey to find what a child means to him, and what finally constitutes a family.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two In A Row!,
By
This review is from: Endangered Species: A Novel (Paperback)
After reading Mr. Bayard's "Fool's Errand" several months ago, I was anxious to read another of his novels. I don't know why I waited so long, since I thought his first book was astonishing. Finally, I read this one, not expecting too much from it, based solely on the subject matter. I figured as a single guy, I would not be able to relate very much. I was wrong. It is such a joy to read Mr. Bayard's writing. He leaves me constantly in awe as he describes people and objects with wit and a very keen eye. And the story, too, was very much a surprise. Nice job, Mr. Bayard! You have joined the ranks of my favorite authors, beside the likes of Jim Oliver and Peter Cameron. Can't wait for your next one!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the first,
By UCLAgirl "UCLAgirl" (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Endangered Species: A Novel (Paperback)
This time around, Bayard's characters are less entertaining, less sympathetic, and less realistic. It's hard to see why they're drawn together, and why we should care about them. The writing is still good, but this story didn't grab me the way Fool's Errand did. I'd try another of his, but I wish I'd checked Endangered Species out of the library instead of buying it.
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