The Man on the Bridge by Stephen Benatar
In the 1950s John Wilmot, an attractive teenager, has come to the capital looking for the success and wealth it can offer to those from the provinces. He is courted by Oliver Cambourne - an older man and an established artist - and, despite not perceiving himself as homosexual, John appears to reciprocate Oliver's feelings, eager for the opportunities that may arrive through his status as Oliver's lover. The developing relationship is skilfully and deftly drawn, as it becomes evident that Oliver's passion is consuming, unlike John's, and that John has invested in an image of himself as a novelist of genius, and needs Oliver to confirm and develop this idea. The themes of love, deception (and self-deception), betrayal and religious experience are interwoven into this scenario and through a typically ingenious Benatar narrative structure.
“Great understanding and depth of feeling” —New Statesman
“Handles tricky material with conviction and assurance.” —The Guardian
“I enjoyed every sensitive page.” —Paul Bailey, The Times Literary Supplement
“This is an original and haunting first novel, a serious study of a deep homosexual relationship between a rich painter of thirty-nine and a sophisticated and witty eighteeen-year-old. The subject is treated in depth and is finely characterised.” —Pamela Hansford Johnson (novelist wife of C.P. Snow)
“Handles tricky material with conviction and assurance.” —The Guardian
“I enjoyed every sensitive page.” —Paul Bailey, The Times Literary Supplement
“This is an original and haunting first novel, a serious study of a deep homosexual relationship between a rich painter of thirty-nine and a sophisticated and witty eighteeen-year-old. The subject is treated in depth and is finely characterised.” —Pamela Hansford Johnson (novelist wife of C.P. Snow)
Stephen Benatar was born in 1937 in Baker Street, London—and in the block of flats where H. G. Wells and Arnold Bennett once lived; one of these days there’ll have to be a third important plaque beside the other two! Benatar is married, with four children, but now openly gay and living with a male partner.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781504008068 |
| ISBN 10 | 1504008065 |
| Title | The Man on the Bridge |
| Author | Stephen Benatar |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Open Road Media |
| Year published | 2015-04-02 |
| Number of pages | 280 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |