Who Will Cliff Date? — A. Robinson

Funny, thought-provoking, historical novelette (short

novel) about one Clifford Ryan, his older brother

(Howard), and Cliff's college roommate (Ralph). At 14

in 1967, Cliff has difficulty deciding if he (Cliff) is gay,

straight, or bisexual. Howard's problem with women

is that Howard and thousands of other American men

are drafted (forced) to fight in Vietnam in 1968 but

American women are not. In college in 1970, Cliff

and Ralph see The Boys in the Band, a movie about

gay life that sways Cliff one way, Ralph the other

way. In adulthood Cliff consults a psychiatrist and

learns about another sexual orientation: sthenolagnia

(pronounced stheno-lon´-ya), a Greek word meaning

sexual excitement looking at or touching muscular

body parts. Some people say sexual orientation isn't

a “choice” but Cliff and Ralph each must make a

choice: date a male, or date a female. Their choice

is influenced not only by The Boys in the Band but

by people and events they see and hear from age

8 in 1961 to age 72 in 2025: JFK, RFK, LBJ, MLK

Jr., Richard Nixon, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle, the

Vietnam War, The Graduate, The Godfather, Herman's

Hermits, women's liberation, and gay liberation, all

of whom or which are mentioned in this novelette.

At times hilarious and heartwarming, at other times

poignant and probing.