Kept Boy (Robert Rodi Essentials)

Long out of print, Rodi’s 1996 comedy of manners returns to revel anew in the high-stakes (and even higher-hilarity) world of sexual companionship to the rich and famous. Dennis Racine is the beautiful, pampered boy-toy of the powerful Chicago theater impresario, Farleigh Nock—and has been since he was fifteen. Now, however, he’s thirty-one, and suddenly aware that his situation may have a shelf life. When Farleigh begins to withdraw his favor—to the point of insisting Dennis help pay for his keep by (gasp) getting a job—Dennis suspects he has a newer, younger rival somewhere. And when he discovers who—and more importantly, why—Dennis finally learns he does have ambition, as he undertakes an all-out campaign to preserve his privileged lifestyle. Ranging from on-the-job slapstick to transatlantic intrigue, Kept Boy is Robert Rodi at his uproarious, subversive, unforgettable best.

Robert Rodi is the author of nine novels, two memoirs, and two volumes of literary criticism; he's also an accomplished monologist and musician. He lives in Chicago with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs. For additional information visit his website, www.robertrodi.com