Quatrefoil Book

Quatrefoil is a coming out story with a difference. Although Phillip Froelich, the protagonist, is regularly called "boy" and looks like an ephebe (he is supposed to be the incarnation of Donatello's St George), he is already 23 when the story takes place. He is also far from a lovable man. In fact through out the book, he is execrable and various characters don't hesitate to dress him with various unflattering epithets. He does come across a lot of the time as a spoilt brat though he finally and thankfully mellows out under the influence of Tim Danelaw.

In fact the first half at least proves a little emotionally tiring to read: almost all interactions we witness are somehow confrontational; Phillip hating people on sight, being rude to them or getting angry for no reason. It is indeed difficult if not impossible to find the beauty Tim sees in Phillip's mind.

Despite this however, Quatrefoil manages to be an intriguing story that keeps the reader guessing as to where it is going, though it is, with hindsight, predicable. This is perhaps due to the fact that it was written in the late 40s, where different rules of engagement prevailed for literary creation, particularly on the subject matter of homosexuality.

In many respect the book is a product of its age. The internalise homophobia, the familiar cod-psychology to apologies for and justify same-sex feelings are there, though more subtle than in most books of that time. Also present is the extolation of the intellectual and moral superiority of gay men. Barr recognisably harks back to hellenistic mythology, which explicitly serves as model for his story (older, more experienced man takes beautiful youth under his wing and protection, not for sexual gratification but to help form and mould his mind). The Sacred Band of Thebes even gets a name-check were we in any doubt.

But somehow Quatrefoil seems to transcend its age, at least to some extent. The writing is confident and elegant and even the longish philosophical discussions between the characters, which could easily become clumsily veiled sermons to reader, although sometimes rather opaque, retain a truthful element to them.

This was a very pleasant discovery for me, and I've order copies of Barr's other two books to continue exploring his literary universe. Get a copy, if you can find one...