Jamie Goldberg suspects his homosexuality at an early age. He manages to hide it from his homophobic Seventies Detroit community, his Jewish political activist parents, and even from himself until his rape, at the hands of a male prostitute, at the age of 16. Profoundly ashamed, he hides in two worlds. One world is an intellectual cocoon spun from music, art, theater, and literature. The other is a darker world where sadomasochistic desires attempt to obliterate his sexuality. His elaborate fantasies are no match for real life or his true affections, which blossom in spite of his constant attempts to thwart them. When his carefully constructed imaginary world begins to crumble, Jamie must face his demons, both real and invented, then the emotional sparks fly.
Review :
"Jonathan A. Taylor's The Rites of Passage is marketed as the first in a series of novels; it also ably stands on its own. The story follows Jamie Goldberg from elementary school to college, as he grows from an abused boy into a self- possessed young man. His life is a symphony of pain, humor, filth, and beauty as he struggles to come to terms with his identity in homophobic America." - Foreward Reviews
"The Rites of Passage is like encountering a gay Portnoy's Complaint in its distinctive blend of Jewish-ness, sex, moral panic, and maternal dominance. And it's painfully realistic in its depiction of what 'coming out' is, its alternation of moments of euphoric liberation with moments of renewed shame and sorrow, as if life were a coin God is flipping and can never be better than half right, but not always the same half. I've spent many pages and many hours with Jamie, and I still want to know what happens to him." Patrick Mulcahey, seven-time Emmy Award-winning screenwriter of The Bold and the Beautiful
"Taylor tells the story from Jamie's perspective in a polished prose enlivened with the protagonist's neurotic humor ... Jamie is thoughtful and highly sympathetic, and readers will be happy to follow him through the formative years of his youth. Taylor succeeds in capturing various moments (however painful or awkward) and revealing their importance." --Kirkus Review
Heartbreaking and hilarious, provocative and ro-mantic--in The Rites of Passage, the first book in The Goldberg Variations, debut novelist Jonathan Taylor drills down till it hurts in a coming-of-age and coming out story tailored to our times. Linda Watanabe McFerrin, author of Namako, Dead Love and The Hand of Buddha
"When I read the searing tale of Jamie's journey from childhood through adolescence and young adulthood, I lived it as if it were my own. It chronicles his anguish as he finds himself on the outside, increasingly isolated from family, school and college, his coming to terms with transgressive fantasies and his au- thentic self...set against the backdrop of political upheaval that defined the Seventies. I look forward impatiently to more brilliant and courageous writing as The Goldberg Variations trilogy unfolds." Kunal Mukherjee, author of My Magical Palace
"Reading The Rites of Passage reminded me of the fragile time in one's youth when one may or may not mistakenly believe that all information is somehow related to one's self. So, rather irrationally and hilar-iously, I started to assume the book was about me and was frankly upset about that. This is when the genius of the author's trick hit me. Through Jonathan's writing style and his character's problematic self-driven gay psychosis, he managed to bring me back to that most vulnerable part of myself: youth. Reading it then became addicting. If The Rites of Passage does-n't remind you of yourself, it will certainly remind you of someone you love." Rene Capone, gay figure painter and author of many graphic novels including The Legend of Hedgehog Boy
