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The Counterfeiter
Ed Cone. B&E, $14 trade paper (252p) ISBN 978-1-7332430-0-1
Cone’s ambitious debut tells two parallel stories that refract the same fateful summer in the 1950s Hamptons. One version has Columbia literature student Ari Edelman taking a job as a handyman at Ocean House, the estate of novelist Edward Vann. The other is seen through the eyes of Ned Deane, the alter ego Ari creates for himself in the novel he’s writing. In each version, the young man’s father works for the Vanns as an accountant. Ari’s father presses him to apply for the job, seeing an opportunity for Ari to one day get out of “Lon’ G’island,” while Ned is loosely offered a job by Edward. Ned proves adept as an editor and soon collaborates with Edward on his novel. As they work together, Edward becomes attached—and attracted—to the young man, and after Ned develops polio, Edward cares for Ned at Ocean House. Eventually, the men become lovers. When Edward receives anonymous demands for large sums of money, he assumes he’s being blackmailed because of his relationship with Ned. But the truth may be something else entirely. While the story-within-a-story occasionally adds confusion, Cone’s observations about attitudes of the time towards sexuality and class consistently ring true. While not quite a gay Gatsby, this intriguing outing is still worth a look. (Self-published)

Reviewed by Publishers Weekly on 10/30/2020

Release date 08/01/2020

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