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Review

The fictional Verona College, located somewhere in an Eastern state, is the setting for the sometimes swooning romantic Simple Men by Eric Arvin. Although almost 200 pages in length, its large type and wide spacing make it more of a novella than a full-blown novel. At first it promises to be a rather hackneyed story of love found, lost, and hopefully found again, but the direct simplicity of the plot, the author's winning style, and the very likable characters soon have you turning the pages and rooting for a happy ending. The book's main character is Chip Arnold, the handsome, macho, and supposedly straight Verona football coach, and his gradual realization that he is sexually attracted to a man for the first time in his life. And even more amazing to Chip is that he is falling in love with him. The man of his dreams is none other than the gay chaplain Foster Lewis, who is recovering (badly) from a failed love affair. Paralleling their story is that of two young Verona football players, the also macho and supposedly straight Brad, and his best friend and ultimate lover, the gay Jason. Although there is a bit of sex in the book it is described in very chaste ways so that the eroticism resides mainly in the characters' hearts and minds. Aside from a handful of colorful supporting characters like the bumbling college president and the raucous lesbian women's coach, Simple Men keeps its focus on the foursome and their sometimes stumbling path toward self-realization. Where that path ultimately leads and how it arrives at its destination makes for a very engaging and fast-moving read. And it is probably no coincidence that Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona, Italy!

 -- Roy Liebman