Faster Than the Speed of Light by Lucius Parhelion

It seems like an infertile patch in which to plant a love story, and yet Parhelion does it with remarkable grace and realism. Parhelion portrays the realities of the closet - which was the only way to survive for these men - with a warmly detached eye not seeking pity, but demanding compassion for his two heroes, who must make their way in a world that will destroy them if they're found out. The world of gay men before Stonewall is a topic not familiar in contemporary gay lit, and Parhelion's novel is a surprisingly deep exploration of that world through two fascinating, smart men and a cast of secondary characters who are as real as figures in a 1940s movie. Then they meet, quite by accident, during a police raid at a fairy bar they both thought was safe. Frank can use his late wife as camouflage, while Collis has his rich family's Pasadena money and reputation to protect him. Collis Courtland is a prodigy, guilty over his involvement with the creation of the atomic bomb, and at 23 finds himself newly hired as a professor of physics at the same small California college where Frank is a 32-year-old senior under the GI bill.īoth men love numbers and the cerebral world of physics and both of them struggle to hide their homosexuality to protect their burgeoning careers in a post-war world increasingly paranoid about communism and national security. I think it roughly translates into 'the light of the sun,' and I can't help but think the author is purposely hiding in a way that reflects the world of his characters, Frank and Collis.įrank Mackenzie is a veteran, having survived World War II with some bad scars and a battered soul. Lucius Parhelion is the kind of pseudonym a gay author would have used in 1948, the year in which 'Faster than the Speed of Light' begins.

Faster Than the Speed of Light by Lucius Parhelion