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Harris returns to familiar ground in his new book

Abide With Me

by E. Lynn Harris

Doubleday, $24.95 hardcover

Reviewed by Robert DiGiacomo

When E. Lynn Harris broke into the gay literary scene earlier in the decade, he offered a different voice from the typical writer of a gay first novel. As an African American, he spoke with an insider's view of what it is like to be gay and a person of color. Like his straight counterpart Terry McMillan, Harris, a former computer sales executive with IBM, also opened a window into the world of the highly educated, black upper middle class.

His first two books, Invisible Life and Just As I Am, followed the personal and professional ups-and-downs of lawyer Raymond Tyler and his group of friends and lovers. These novels addressed major community issues, including AIDS, bisexuality, homophobia, and racism within and without the black community, through fast-paced, glossy plots that could be the stuff of TV drama.

With his latest work Abide With Me, Harris, after a two-book hiatus, returns to familiar ground and his original character, Raymond, to wrap up his story. When last we saw Raymond, he had just gotten involved with a college friend, Trent, after ending a relationship with a woman and having a turbulent affair with closeted pro football player, Basil Henderson.

As Abide With Me opens, Raymond and Trent are now living together happily in Seattle; Raymond is in private practice and Trent

is working as an architect. Their fairly uneventful life is interrupted by a seemingly positive event: Raymond is to be nominated to the federal bench.

The nomination process, which is complicated by Raymond being a gay African American man, serves as the backdrop for the novel's events. But Raymond's story, while central, is only one of many intersecting plot lines.

Harris treats his characters as an ensemble cast, alternating Raymond's story with the current goings-on of such familiar characters as Nicole, Raymond's ex-girlfriend who is now married to his best friend, Jared, and is about to appear in a Broadway revival of "Dreamgirls," and Basil, now a commentator for ESPN, who is still pursuing Raymond, but is in therapy to resolve issues around his sexual orientation.

Other colorful characters include Peaches, the feisty mom of Raymond's friend, Kyle, who died of AIDS complications at the end of Just As I Am, and Yancey, a young actress in the Dreamgirls cast who is the cunning Eve to Nicole's Margo Channing.

These are memorable characters with many personal foibles and charms. They add greatly to Abide With Me's page-turning quality; it's a quick read that you won't be able to put down

E. Lynn Harris

for long. Unfortunately, Harris does not always do his characters justice: Even in the midst of a crisis, they think endlessly about how they look and their material possessions. For example, a therapy session with Basil starts with a paragraph-long description of what he's wearing; even his doctor "noticed the black animal-skin loafers he was wearing sans socks."

Similarly, Raymond, on his way into a meeting about his judicial nomination, can't help but notice "there were no signs of the dampness outside on his navy-blue suit with thin gold lines. His red and yellow silk tie looked brand-new."

Even more frustrating is the characters' inability to communicate in the most basic of ways. Raymond's younger brother tells him he's dating a woman, but does not reveal that she is part African American and part Asiana fact that will be an issu with their father. Raymond discovers Trent may have cheated on him by going to an adult bookstore, but, instead of confronting him right away, he harbors the information for months. He tells several other characters about his suspicions before finally talking to his lover; this builds dramatic tension, but stretches belief. This withholding of information relates to another, old-fashioned plot device Harris relies on often: the dramatic entrance of a new character to change the course of the plot.

Still, fans of Harris' earlier books won't be disappointed by Abide With Me. Those who were left hanging by Harris' second book of this trilogy will be happy to have the story resolve itself in this one.

E. Lynn Harris was in Cleveland on May 21 at a benefit for BlackOut Unlimited and the AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland, among other groups. On May 23, Harris was at An Open Book in Columbus to read from his new novel.

Robert DiGiacomo is freelance writer living in Philadelphia.

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