Gabriel Noone, a writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the home of millions, is in the midst of a painful separation from his longtime lover when a publisher sends him proofs of a remarkable book: the memoir of an ailing thirteen-year-old boy who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of his parents. Now living with his adoptive mother, Pete Lomax is not only a brave and gifted diarist but also a devoted listener to Noone's show. When Noone phones the boy to offer encouragement, it soon becomes clear that Pete sees in this heartsick middle-aged storyteller the loving father he has always wanted. Thus begins an extraordinary friendship that only grows deeper as the boy's health deteriorates, freeing Noone to unlock his innermost feelings.

Then, out of the blue, troubling questions arise, exploding Noone's comfortable assumptions and causing his ordered existence to spin wildly out of control. As he walks a vertiginous line between truth and illusions, he is finally forced to confront all of his relationships--familial, romantic, and erotic.

Roger,Fiction

Writer and broadcaster Gabriel Noone is asked to write a blurb for a book purportedly written by a 13 year old who was abused as a child and is now living with AIDS and who is a big fan of Gabriel.

I'm not a great fan of books with unreliable narrators, and Gabriel freely admits he is given to embellishing narratives, but I found Gabriel himself so engaging and he struck so many chords with me that I just kept going. My desire to know what had really happened was particularly acute in the part set in Wisconsin but after the ending I really didn't mind not being fully certain. ( )

I'm not sure there is anyone who can tell a story like Armistead Maupin. I've seen him on stupid talk shows and he is so engaging, I just want to carve him out of the TV and into my living room so I can hear more. The Night Listener is close to getting that 'more'. I've heard it described and read reviews and nothing comes close to describing the experience of reading it so I'm not going to try. Just go get it and read it. ( )

Maupin is an excellent writer but the subject matter of this novel (based on a true story) was too dark for me. I could not finish it. ( )