The novel revolves around the life of the Narrator, a man in his late twenties, who has experienced multiple stays in mental asylums. He is a biracial individual with a Puerto Rican American father who worked as a cop and a White Catholic mother who discouraged him from learning Spanish. The Narrator frequently has flashbacks to his troubled childhood, marked by a distant, glamorous, macho undercover cop father and an emotionally and physically abused mother. His life takes a complicated turn when he begins experiencing seizures that lead to dissociative fugue states, causing him to be institutionalized as a teenager.
During his time in the mental institution, he befriends Juan, an older man who has spent a significant portion of his life in and out of the same hospital. The precise nature of Juan’s condition remains unspecified, but it is possibly severe manic depression. Juan and the Narrator bond over their shared experiences as gay Hispanic men. When the Narrator is transferred after an accident, he discovers a gold cross in his bag, a memento from Juan. He begins wearing it as a symbol of their connection.
The story follows the Narrator as he leaves New York and travels west to a small city in the American Southwest. He ends up in a run-down desert hospital called The Palace, which primarily caters to terminal patients. Among these patients is Juan, whom the Narrator sneaks into visit every night after engaging in prostitution in town.
During their nightly meetings, Juan shares stories, particularly focusing on his two adoptive mothers, Jan Gay and her wife Zhenya. Jan, who identified as a lesbian from a young age, began her journey as a nudist advocate and later conducted research into sexual habits and identity in the 1930s. Her work started with the help of Thomas Painter, a gay man who documented his sexual experiences, especially in Puerto Rico. However, the study eventually took a more medicalized and pathologizing approach, with the research focusing on diagnosing subjects with “mental aberrations.” Dr. George Henry and his team took credit for the research, leading to a skewed perspective on sexual identity and behavior.
The Narrator becomes engrossed with a physical copy of the book, “Sex Variants: A Study in Homosexual Patterns,” which Juan possesses. Much of the text is redacted, but the unredacted portions captivate the Narrator. Meanwhile, Juan listens to the Narrator’s stories about his life as a rent boy and his complex relationship with Liam, his lover who struggled with the Narrator’s liaisons with other men. This confessional dynamic with Juan helps the Narrator address his shame and self-hatred.
The novel concludes with Juan’s death, and the Narrator gathers the book before heading out into the world. The Narrator appears to have undergone a transformative journey, focusing less on himself and better equipped to navigate the world.
The novel blends real historical figures (Jan Gay, Thomas Painter, Dr. George Henry) with fictional main characters who serve as insightful commentators on the very subjects the historical researchers studied. The book takes a hybrid form, incorporating multiple photographs and illustrations in a postmodern style reminiscent of authors like Donald Barthelme or Italo Calvino. The writing is of exceptional quality, and while it may not be riveting, it engages the reader in a poetic exploration of the Narrator’s inner world, interwoven with historical sections. The novel may have limited appeal due to its challenging and at times emotionally unsatisfying nature, but it succeeds in conveying a healing process for both Juan and the Narrator, leading to a meaningful conclusion.