Ties That Bind by Sarah Schulman; The New Press, $23.95
The Mere Future by Sarah Schulman; Arsenal Pulp Press, $22.95
Sarah Schulman's impressively prolific writing history includes books about everything from gay life during the Reagan/Bush years to novels about parental abandonment. The award-winning New York-based author recently published two books simultaneously: an intelligent, thought-provoking work of nonfiction and a far-reaching futuristic novel.
Ties That Bind explores the nature of homophobia within family units. In the author's introduction, she hopes to dispel myths about this matter, and "articulate how and why systems of familial homophobia operate, and, more importantly, how they can be changed." It might seem like a tall order for a book coming in just shy of 175 pages, but Schulman doesn't disappoint.
In delineating the many struggles of homosexuals growing up within a strict household, Schulman denotes that gay people are often systematically shunned and punished without reason ("homophobia is not caused by gay people,") and that "this punishment has dramatic consequences on both our social experiences, and our most trusting, loving sexual relationships." Advocating compassionate intervention promotes progress, she writes, and it is the key to formulating lasting friendships and romantic relationships that transcend the pain and deep scarring caused by a homophobic familial upbringing.
Schulman cites published works, out gay celebrities, personal histories, and a particularly interesting 1990s interview with Kate Kendell of San Francisco's National Coalition for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) to underpin her testimonies on the multifaceted aspects of gay parenting, the "evil" generated by homophobic family members, the real meaning of "gay marriage," and the risks and rewards in creating supportive alternative families to replace indifferent biological relatives. After outlining how gay rights have been continually fought for and denied throughout history, she conversely details comprehensive strategies to regain composure and continue the great fight for equality. The final chapter will greatly appeal to lesbians who feel that their representation and treatment in all aspects of entertainment and media have been less than fair or abundant.
In Ties That Bind, Schulman's moral center is certainly heavy-handed and forcefully opinionated, but it is also dense with truth and rife with applicable solutions that readers will carry with them long after the final pages. In exorcising our demons about family trauma or hypocritical societal structures, Schulman reminds us that what's most important is to promote positivity and affirmative action within our everyday lives, and that the way we are today is a direct reflection on what it took to overcome the obstacles which formerly stood in our way.
Less successful is Schulman's abstract new work of utopian fiction The Mere Future. The story is set within a futuristic version of New York City, where the mayor ("Sophinisba Breckinridge"), developer of "The Change," has created an idealistic society by way of the elimination of homelessness, high rent, and chain stores. Individualism reigns supreme, but at a price. Those unfortunate enough to ponder the fate of art or emotion are punished, like the protagonist, a lesbian "cerebral" copywriter at The Media Hub, a collective, centralized hive of creativity ("the major unit of social enforcement"). Devoid of a housing crisis and with small businesses prospering everywhere, what could go wrong? But a murder and the ensuing trial of the century tosses this modern utopia into a tailspin.
Poetic flourishes appear at random, as do touches of black humor and flashes of biting insight, useful in spicing up the sometimes sluggish plotline, and demonstrating that Schulman is indeed a consummate wordsmith (those familiar with her work can already attest to this). Yet the stop-start-stop effect of the narrative creates a disjointed feel that separates the many underdeveloped characters from the plot, and distances the action from the reader. The novel feels rushed and unfinished, more of a cautionary beacon about the dangers of the looming future than a full-fledged story about society and its inherent ills.