The Devil Inside Book

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 98 (of 250)
5th Position? Ballet or Bathhouse? Gore Vidal (Edgar Box) is as gossipy here as in his "City and the Pillar." But he does tell us, in his introduction, he understands ballet because in the military and stationed in Fort Richardson, Alaska, his arthritic knees had been treated by ballet classes.
Hook=3 stars: The opening line/paragraph informs us a ballet company is having trouble. The cast is argumentative. It's 1952 and McCarthyism is on hand: picket lines front the ticket office for a "communist" production by the St. Petersburg ballet. A Russian ballet performance in NY during the hunt for McCarthy's TRUE WITCH HUNG is interesting. Plus the author is famous. And has already published the gossipy "City and The Pillar", a risky move that may have derailed Vidal's political career. And, thus, you just know this one is gonna be...
Pace=2 stars: gossipy, like, "He [ballet dancer] pads....a falsie in tights." "Oh no he doesn't" I [male reporter/narrator named Peter Sergeant] says, remembering an attempt by a naked Louis to ravish him (Peter). Peter doesn't much object to the tussle: he just backs out of the room. But that was in the 1950s, and even though McCarthy was running his nutcase campaign, people weren't beating each other up over a 'pick-up' attempt.
Plot=3 stars: A ballet dancer is lifted off the stage to the sun but the chain breaks and she falls to her death. Our reporter investigates all members of the cast, oddly spending one night in gay bars and at bath house: Louis, insisting they both remain naked, gives Peter a tour of numerous varieties of sex, although Peter doesn't participate. I imagine this to be racy stuff in 1952: most straight readers had surely never visited a gay bathhouse. Not many straight reporters could be up for this, certainly. But the plot does have this odd, playful attitude to everything and the resolution is satisfying.
Characters=4 stars. You'll remember Louis and the fact he needs no falsies in his tights, and Peter, the straight reporter (really, his name is Peter!) spending lots of naked time at the insistence of Louis, repeatedly resisting his advances during their oddly numerous nude encounters. There is the much-too-old Prima Ballerina, Anna Eglanova, and she too strips for Peter in her dressing room. No modesty here! Ella Sutton, dancer, is after the "Prima" position. And Jed, the choreographer, plus all the 'boy' dancers, and most of the 'girl' dancers, are lusting for Louis: apparently Louis spends much time all over the sexual spectrum. Nice of Louis to satisfy all desires. Like I said, the book has an "odd, playful attitude' and a number of dark comedic scenes.
Atmosphere=5 stars. Vidal really does paint the ballet scene beautifully: the dancers, the set designers, the choreography. The author takes us on stage, back stage, and into dressing rooms and it feels right. The added communist hunt by McCarthy places us directly in a certain time: the early 1950s. Vidal's goal: politics (and the authoring of books) so he can smartly talk about McCarthyism and does stage a political battle on the stage: the dancers desperation to rise in fame and fortune.
Summary: My overall rating is 3.4. The strength of this very unusual novel is the atmosphere and the cast. The plot is good, goofy at times, but this is a fun read. This is the only crime novel I've ever readset in a ballet company: I like that originality. And Vidal has fun here during the Louis (bisexual) and Peter (straight....maybe) encounters. Peter does his best to emphasis he is straight, though. Louise compliments Peter by saying "Some muscle". Peter replies: "I got it from beating up faggots in Central Park", but readers understand that's not true, it's just Peter doing his best to resist Louis. Near the end of the story, Peter thinks, in double entendre fashion, "But I'll lick them yet...". It's just a matter of timing: eventually, Louis and Peter (in one of the next 2 sequels?) stroll into a Times Square sunset, hand in hand, to a night of debauchery in the nearest bath house. Vidal says he authored this book in 8 days. I'd say he may have typed a rough draft in 8 days, certainly, but a couple of character arcs and attention to detail reveal some very careful editing.