WL's Mainstream Gay Book Reviews - 29. Openly Straight (Book 1 of Openly Straight Series) by Bill Konigsberg

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16100972-openly-straight

This award-winning book is something that I have heard about for years and wanted to look into. The description and premise appear very modern, contradictory in many ways as well. I had never read anything by Bill Konigsberg before, so I was unprepared for his style or choices for characters. I can honestly say that if you are a fan of a realist style for gay fiction, then you should not miss this author’s work. I went through his work before this novel’s publication as a sportswriter, I can understand where he developed his skills and some of his unique trademarks. There’s a reserved and quirky quality about the author that I can appreciate, a kind of classic style that very few authors in the modern era still writes with.

Length wise, it is 320 pages as a book and 9 hours 1 minute long on audible. This book represents a good deal of solid reading for most people, especially it’s intended young adult audience. There’s very little sexual content, not a complete lack, but unlike many titles I’ve read, it is quite innocent.

Plot: Rafe is an out gay high school aged teenager from Colorado, who has lived a comfortable life without being teased or bullied. He has very supportive parents and friends, who love him for who he is. He speaks to other gay teens and tries to offer hope to them as well that there could be a happy life for them. Yet, despite all he has in the world that many would only dream about, Rafe desires something more, he wants to be a regular guy. Thus, he embarks on quest to reinvent himself. First, he leaves Colorado behind for an all-boys private high school in Massachusetts. Through his introduction to other students, he is recruited into the jock clique of the private high school. He gets invited to parties, makes a lot of friends, and starts falling love with a very intelligent boy named Ben. Everything is going well for him, but it is all based on one lie of omission, everyone assumes he is Straight. Rafe knows he has closeted himself again to become normal, instead of being known as the gay kid in school. Despite achieving what he aimed for by gaining popularity, friends, and acceptance, Rafe finds himself lost. He realizes the truth behind what he has done to himself and the unhealthy lie that he has created, especially for Ben, who has grown to become more than a friend to him, but is unable to actualize his own sexuality. Rafe’s struggles for self-identity and actualization will lead to many things that happen throughout the novel.

Review: At first, I was angry at Rafe. I am not going to lie, being a gay guy and having been in the closet for my entire time in high school, I was pissed off that someone could have had enough courage to come out, then decide out of a desire for “social normality” would go back into the closet. However, this is not a negative review and it’s also a testament to Bill Konigsberg’s ability as a writer that I can start off hating a character and ending up understanding his rationale, even sympathizing with him a bit.

We live in different times and being gay is still a challenge for a lot of folks, but it’s a different kind of challenge than the stuff guys of my generation faced growing up in the 2000’s. I like to read novels like this for my own perspective, it helps me contemporize my own writing to give a bit more balance in the narrative. You can’t write about modern high school and college aged gay guys based on experiences from 20 years ago without understanding what current people actually face and their issues.

Rafe knows he was wrong, not because of some magic plot device, but he learned he couldn’t live the lie he created for himself. You can’t compromise with your own true self. If there’s one thing Bill Konigsberg has done here masterfully, he has blown the entire concept of “Being gay is a choice” out of the water for those of us, who are naturally gay. We can’t change that part of ourselves even if we wanted to. It’s not to say everyone is like Rafe, or gay guys like me, either. Bill Konigsberg addresses non-gay same sex love through Ben as well, which is thought provoking and adds nuances to the complex questions of sexuality. Hiding the truth is not healthy, individually or for others.

I’m also keen to note for all those folks wondering, Bill Konigsberg nailed the perspective of “Tolerance” and “Acceptance” of LGBT people; you don’t have to be a bigot to be prejudice. Singling out someone based on who they are is no different than using the “F” word; perhaps, it’s even worse, because your actions are no less harmful to the individual’s alienation like Rafe. Rafe desire was misguided, which he discovers himself over a period of time and soul searching. You can’t hide yourself by being something you are not, being Openly Straight is a choice, but having sexual interest and love for people of your own gender is not. Rafe was pushed toward identifying with gay sexual orientation, but it alienated him from others due to their “special” treatment of him, but the opposite of that, hiding his own sexual interest, became harmful to himself and those he loved like Ben.

The greatest plot point in this story is the interactions between Rafe and Ben. You can clearly tell both boys were falling in love with each other. Their little interactions in Ben’s room, Rafe desire to sleep next to him, and their open conversations with each other projected something deeper than mere lust as well. I think being gay and being in love with someone of your own gender requires more than just the sexual component. Ben calls what they shared as Agape, a form of love that the Greek considered deeper than sexual. I know from my own classical education and various reading that this form of love has a second meaning to it; it’s also a form of love reserved for your soulmate. The development of their love story made me want Rafe and Ben to make it in the end, sadly the end of the novel did not give me that conclusion.

Ben’s reluctance to even form a romantic relationship with Rafe after their sexual encounter was sad, but understandable at the end of the book. I felt horrible for Rafe, but I also wished Ben could come to terms with his interest in a same sex relationship. Ben naturally was able to process being gay or bi throughout the story, until the end, when he and Rafe had consummated it. I think for readers of Book 2 in the series, which I will also review, you should definitely ground yourself in the subtle meaning of Ben’s mindset through this novel.

Beyond Rafe attempt to act Straight or his relationship with Ben, the other highlights of this book are its array of characters. Toby was the outlandish and unorthodox gay friend of Rafe, who did not know Rafe was also gay. His antics from his desire to dress differently to his sexual relationship with a closeted teammate of Rafe were a good counterpoint to Rafe. Everything Toby did was over-the-top and public. I also highly recommend reading the imaginary “Apple Gang” fight between Toby, Albie, Rafe, and Ben. Speaking of which, Albie is an interesting side-character as well. He’s heterosexual, but he doesn’t think like most guys. He’s artistic to an extent and sees the world through a greater imagination, like Toby does. Albie also is a big fan of survivalist TV shows and is prepared for many things, including a police scanner to pick up local chatter. He’s probably one of the few fun-loving imaginative survivalist characters I have read in fiction, who don’t make me worried or squirm with their actions. Albie like Toby is an odd character mix with over-the-top attributes, but it adds to a sense of surreal intrigue.

My Review: 4.5 out of 5, it’s a really good book. I highly recommend reading it, because it deals with contemporary issues in gay youths trying to find their own voice and identity. You might start hating Rafe for his choices, but his rationale and his growth as a character are worth the time investment.