In his own inimitable way, DiRaddo nails that quality.
There is something dishabille about Quebecois fiction, as writer Gabrielle Roy coined it with her famed 1945 novel, Bonheure d’occasion (second-hand happiness), yet one that never loses hope. The book is full of small gems of personal insight, lovingly crafted, the moments that, for good and bad, make up a life well-lived when looked back on in time. It never gets in the way and never wavers in pursuit of its target, insinuating itself into the reader’s heart. The style is invisible, the best kind of style there is. The tale unfolds simply and straightforwardly. In so doing, Will needs all the transformative powers, symbolized by the planet Pluto and the Underworld it represents, in order to survive. He also has to adjust to his mother’s fight for mortality as she battles cancer. Bewildered by his search for an elusive happiness that appears before him, mirage-like, he finds commitment difficult.įirst-love woes are followed by second-love hopes and fear, as the sensitive Will soon finds himself lost in the bars and back rooms of gay life. While sharing laughs and learning lessons along the way, Will struggles to forge an identity he is truly comfortable with.
Together, they explore the ins and outs of Montreal’s LGBTQ social scene. Will Ambrose is a geography teacher who comes out in his early twenties with the support of his lesbian gal-pal, Angie. It has now been republished by Véhicule Press, and there is plenty to recommend about it. Originally published by Cormorant Books in 2014, Christopher DiRaddo’s The Geography of Pluto is an acclaimed slice-of-gay-life novel set in 1990s Montreal.
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