Anne Bernays

As I've said a dozen times this month, I received this book from a GoodReads drawing.

My last several reviews have reflected an increasing level of cynicism about books, which is a polite way of saying that I've waded through quite a bit of mediocrity. This one, however, was good enough to make me throw out quite a few books as "suspected unpleasantness" and refocus on reading quality literature rather than wasting time on junk. No matter how invigorating it may be to write a scathing review show more of someone's 400-pages of fetid tripe, the fact remains that one read 400 pages of fetid tripe.

The above is simply a long-hand way of saying that Bernays' contribution is a wonder. Her portrayal of character and local historical color is gripping and real and makes me want to go back to reading real classical literature. Her story of a gay book editor in the 20s-50s is not only refreshing but eruditely executed.

I tend to judge a book most on just to whom I plan to pass it along next. At this point I'm in a quandary as I rather wish I had half a dozen copies to hand out. show less

This slim novel is set in 1950s New York. The protagonist, Walter Samson, is a successful book editor and married with two children when he begins an affair with a blue collar worker who comes to lay a new carpet in his office one day. Besotted with his new paramour, and with his finances on the up, he persuades his wife that they need to employ a driver, and with that his lover moves into the third floor of their home.

This was an interesting book. Having read plenty of books written in the show more 1950s by male writers such as Updike and Richard Yates, I had to check once I got into the swing of the novel that (a) it was definitely written by a woman and (b) it was definitely written relatively recently (2012). Written in the first person narrative, Bernays captures very succinctly an appropriate male voice for the time, an era of trophy housewives and self-important men slugging back martinis at noon on expenses and having affairs with their secretaries.

I see some complaints in other reviews across various platforms that Bernays choice of first person narrative was unsuccessful, given the protagonist was somewhat aloof and hiding of his feelings, but I thought she captured well the no-nonsense emotionally constrained sensibility of a slightly pompous, successful businessman in the post-war era.

It's a slim book which I warmed to the more I got into it. Some may have preferred a more drawn out climax to the novel, but I think I get why Bernays kept that aspect constrained - it somehow fitted better with the overall arc of the novel.

3.5 stars - I'm not sure I'd hugely go out of my way to recommend this, but I found it a worthwhile audio listen. Almost 4 stars for me. show less

In spite of the fact that “The Man on the Third Floor” tells the tale of a thoroughly self-absorbed man who occupies his small delusional world with only moderate paranoia, the novel is a fun read. Keeping one’s same sex paramour employed as a chauffeur, living on the top floor of the Manhattan brownstone where his wife and children reside, doesn't seem to generate the level of anxiety one would expect to find in the 1930’s. The fact that even after discovery the book crafts a mostly show more happily ever after ending also seems difficult to accept as reality, but refreshing nonetheless. The characters are likeable and the tale moves at a pleasant pace. The most rewarding facet of the novel is that Ms. Bernays tells the story of a gay/bisexual man who is not a one-dimensional stereotypical character, but rather a fully fallible, fully human being. show less

In the post-World War II era of McCarthyism, Walter Samson, a very successful editor with a picture-perfect family (loving wife, adoring son and daughter) has little worry in the world. Until one day Barry Rogers shows up in his office and awakens a whole part of Walter he never knew existed. Spurred by his passion, he not only takes up a clandestine relationship with Barry, he goes so far as to move him into the servants' quarters of his home so they can be closer together. While constantly show more at risk of being found out, Walter tries to juggle his double life at home with his career.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing flows rather well - it's written in a first-person narrative style and it's easy to feel like Walter is right there telling you his story. There are some interesting twists and turns in the path the story takes and I think it's easy for the reader to find themselves conflicted between frowning on Walter's duplicity and truly feeling for the circumstances of the era in which he lived. Bernays has created a very believable world that makes the characters - to use her own words about one of the authors Walter discovered - "not so much realistic as real."

I would have personally liked to see more of the private moments in Barry and Walter's relationship, but what it lacks in that area doesn't detract from the story or what I see as the primary purpose of the narrative, so I can't fault the book at all on that front. Recommended for those interested in historical fiction, m/m romance, and stories focusing on LGBT issues. show less