Closet Case: A Novel

As he tries to conceal his homosexuality from his co-workers, Lionel Frank runs into some snags, including a crush on a straight Transylvanian anarchist medical student. By the author of Fag Hag.

Because a kind of goofy charm imbues this second novel from the author of Fag Hag , readers may be happily hooked despite a few shortcomings. Lionel Frank, the titular hero, is a gay man whose closet is tightly locked lest macho co-workers at a Chicago advertising agency discover his sexual orientation. Fortunately, Lionel can unburden his soul to Yolanda, his outspoken neighbor-cum-confidante who lives for science fiction and possesses worldliness and naivete in perfect proportion. (Lionel, in fact, sometimes looks bland compared to Yolanda.) There is no dearth of funny one-liners as Rodi plays fast and loose with topics ranging from the men's movement to the Catholic church's stand on homosexuality. His barbs are scattershot, however, his humor often more rambling than pointed. But when Lionel is summoned to a Wisconsin vacation with agency honchos and their spouses (Yolanda plays the beard), the novel approaches the high comedy it aspires to. The farcical final scenes, wherein I Love Lucy meets The Dating Game , will gladden the hearts of closeted homosexuals and hopeless romantics; there may even be traces of an inspiriting lesson lurking in this closet.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Clever, lightweight entertainment from the author of Fag Hag (1992--not reviewed): a broad farce about a Chicago account- executive at an ad agency populated by homophobes who lives through a series of embarrassing misadventures--before screaming out his sexual preference to the world. Lionel Frank is a nervous Nellie who pretends by day to be one of the macho boys but at night frequents dance bars and yearns for a male lover. Fortunately, he thinks, the art director at the agency is a lesbian, thereby directing homophobic attention away from him, but she also happens to frequent the same dance club he does, and sees him panting over a nude dancer's equipment. Lionel at one point gets thrown into jail when he's caught in the middle of a Slavic demonstration, where he meets Emil, a straight medical student he longs for. Mostly, though, he bounces around town either alone or in the company of neighbor and confidante Yolanda--until the whole group is sent packing for a weekend together at the Wild Rose, a resort in Wisconsin. Lionel has a wonderful night with David, the owner's son who is leaving the priesthood (Rodi, at the Wild Rose as elsewhere, takes all the easy potshots, especially at the men's movement). Meanwhile, Bob, Yolanda's on-again off-again lover, turns up at the resort with a spear and beats up Lionel before kidnapping him. Finally, though, having had enough of disguises and duplicity, Lionel rises from the lake like a fish and screams out: ``I'M GAY! I'M GAY! I'M GAY! I'M GAAAY!'' In an epilogue, we learn that he's a happy soul, so outfront he even announces to a Chicago cabbie that he's on his way to meet his male lover. Rodi's caricature of office politics is a hoot--but the comedy here is so one-sided and broad that it often misses its target. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Chicagoan Rodi presents his second installment on gay life in the Nineties. Like Fag Hag (Dutton, 1992), Closet Case is a light-hearted novel carrying a simple story line: be yourself. The protagonist of the novel, Lionel Frank, is a closeted gay advertising executive leading a double life. In order to avoid derision from his homophobic colleagues, he plays the role of a straight man during the day while at night he searches for the perfect mate via 1-900 telephone sex services. The tangled web of deception in his life grows comically with each turn of the page. Accompanied by a colorful cast of characters, including Latina neighbor Yolanda; her boyfriend, a wannabe men's warrior; and a Transylvanian nationalist named Emil, Lionel embarks on a voyage of self-acceptance and fulfillment. The wild conclusion to Lionel's journey occurs during a weeklong retreat hosted by a corporate client in the backwoods of Wisconsin. This book is fun to read; recommended for general and gay collections.
- Michael A. Lutes, Univ. of Notre Dame Lib., Ind.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.