Pennsylvania Station
by Patrick E. Horrigan
Lethe Press. 217 pages, $15.
THIS NOVEL offers a powerful glimpse into gay life in America before Stonewall, and a look at the complicated relationship between two very different men. Beginning in 1962, the book tells the story of Frederick Bailey, a nearly middle-aged, closeted architect, who meets and falls in love with Curt, a much younger man who lives more openly and recklessly. Their relationship is a tumultuous one and the cause of much conflict for Frederick. In the meantime, the latter gets dragged into the protests against the gradual demolition of the old Pennsylvania Station, which is about to be replaced by Madison Square Garden. The novel depicts a nation on the verge of social and cultural, as well as architectural, change.
