Man About Town

By: Mark Merlis

Witty, urbane, and uncommonly sophisticated fiction written in the tradition of Edmund White and Felice Picano

A Congressional advisor and habitué of a cozy circuit of bars inside the Beltway, Joel Lingeman never quite felt middle-aged. At least not until he was abandoned by his partner of fifteen years and suddenly thrust into a dating scene with men half his age and no discernible trace of love handles. But this unexpected hole in his life inspires Joel’s search for a 1964 edition of Man About Town, an Esquire-like magazine that contained a swimsuit ad that obsessed and haunted him throughout his youth. Determined to find out what happened to the model shown in the ad, Joel slowly begins to understand what has happened to his own life. Sexy, smart and deftly observed, Man About Town is a new twist on the idea that the personal is political and a must read for anyone—gay or straight—who’s ever wondered what happened to that first crush. And actually tried to find out…