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crack_van2005-02-28 10:33 pm
justacat.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2005-02-28 10:33 pm
Entry tags:
A Summer's Outing and Devices and Desires, by M. Fae Glasgow (NC-17)
Fandom: THE PROFESSIONALS
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: No
Author Website: No
Why this must be read:
I'm going to conclude my tenure with a story by M Fae Glasgow, whose very internally-focused stories, lush and complex writing, and omnisicient "storyteller" point of view I love. Most of her stories have at least a touch of bittersweet, and - happy-ending-slut that I am - some are too dark or ambiguous for my taste (though even those I often find incredibly, sometimes disturbingly, compelling). But many have hopeful, uplifting endings - made all the more satisfying because she leaves me feeling as if I, as well as Bodie and Doyle, have earned that chance for happiness.
This is one such story - or perhaps I should say two, because technically the story and its sequel are separate, though the two were published together and must be read together; neither stands as well alone, but together they make up an amazingly powerful, and surprisingly hopeful, story. In the first part, "A Summer's Outing," Cowley confronts the two of them with evidence of each one's homosexual indiscretions (not with each other). He's been ordered by the Minister to remove all such "security risks" - but he's persuaded the Minister to permit him to try something other than wholesale firing. To that end he orders the two of them to "come out" as a couple in order to flush out the ring of blackmailers and then to stay "out" in public to prove that "even homosexuals can be good agents."
Doyle, who has been attracted to Bodie for a while but had been letting the tension build and grow at its own pace, is okay with this, even glad to have the excuse for a relationship with Bodie, but Bodie, despite his frequent forays into gay sex, is in deep denial about his sexuality, and he explodes with anger and resentment. Though he agrees to Cowley's terms, he never accepts the situation and denies vehemently and sometimes viciously that his feelings for Ray go any deeper than the desire for sex; meanwhile, Doyle, faced with the shattering of his own dreams for happiness with Bodie and with Bodie's constant denigration of the depth and meaning of their partnership, their relationship, pressures and mocks him mercilessly and utterly refuses to acknowledge his pain and confusion.
The growing tension and bitterness between them is painful to read - even more so because, as usual with M Fae Glasgow, you really can imagine the characters reacting this way, even if you'd prefer not to. And M Fae excels at this, at evoking the incredible pain of their disintegrating relationship, their inability to find common language or common ground, the ultimate irrelevance of love when both are intractible, neither is able to see the other through his own issues. It's excruciating to watch the rift between them grow, watch them treat each other with cruelty and fling furious, vicious words, to engage in wilful self-delusion and wallow in self-righteousness, when we, the readers, know how deep and real the bond between them really is and that this behavior is in large part a defense mechanism, a way of disguising deep hurt.
A Summer's Outing ends with pain and hopelessness - there is no resolution, and Bodie and Doyle go their separate ways. But the sequel, "Devices and Desires," picks up the story ten years later, when the two of them are flung together again by fate - or George Cowley. A decade has wrought many changes in both of them: Doyle, who has tried his best not to think about Bodie for ten years, is finally ready to confront his feelings of anger and betrayal - and to acknowledge his guilt, the role he played in driving Bodie away, as well as the fact that he's never really stopped wanting Bodie. As for Bodie, he's finally worked through some of his own issues and is ready to face himself.
It's painful in a different way to watch the two of them, after so much hurt and sorrow, finally reach out to each other, to the one chance of real happiness either of them has ever had. Painful - but also moving and heartwarming and so incredibly satisfying. You want so desperately for them to have a chance for that happiness - and in this story, M Fae makes you believe that they really do, that the pain has not been all for nought.
This is a story that takes you through the entire gamut of emotions: tearing pain and hopelessness, sadness and loss and loneliness, and then finally redemption, forgiveness, love. It's intense, sexy, gorgeously written, and entirely unforgettable.
A Summer's Outing
Devices and Desires
(these are pdf documents)
(Both originally published in ...As a £3 Note, Oblique Publications, 1992 , which can be found in its entirety on the Oblique Publications website)
Pairing: Bodie/Doyle
Author on LJ: No
Author Website: No
Why this must be read:
I'm going to conclude my tenure with a story by M Fae Glasgow, whose very internally-focused stories, lush and complex writing, and omnisicient "storyteller" point of view I love. Most of her stories have at least a touch of bittersweet, and - happy-ending-slut that I am - some are too dark or ambiguous for my taste (though even those I often find incredibly, sometimes disturbingly, compelling). But many have hopeful, uplifting endings - made all the more satisfying because she leaves me feeling as if I, as well as Bodie and Doyle, have earned that chance for happiness.
This is one such story - or perhaps I should say two, because technically the story and its sequel are separate, though the two were published together and must be read together; neither stands as well alone, but together they make up an amazingly powerful, and surprisingly hopeful, story. In the first part, "A Summer's Outing," Cowley confronts the two of them with evidence of each one's homosexual indiscretions (not with each other). He's been ordered by the Minister to remove all such "security risks" - but he's persuaded the Minister to permit him to try something other than wholesale firing. To that end he orders the two of them to "come out" as a couple in order to flush out the ring of blackmailers and then to stay "out" in public to prove that "even homosexuals can be good agents."
Doyle, who has been attracted to Bodie for a while but had been letting the tension build and grow at its own pace, is okay with this, even glad to have the excuse for a relationship with Bodie, but Bodie, despite his frequent forays into gay sex, is in deep denial about his sexuality, and he explodes with anger and resentment. Though he agrees to Cowley's terms, he never accepts the situation and denies vehemently and sometimes viciously that his feelings for Ray go any deeper than the desire for sex; meanwhile, Doyle, faced with the shattering of his own dreams for happiness with Bodie and with Bodie's constant denigration of the depth and meaning of their partnership, their relationship, pressures and mocks him mercilessly and utterly refuses to acknowledge his pain and confusion.
The growing tension and bitterness between them is painful to read - even more so because, as usual with M Fae Glasgow, you really can imagine the characters reacting this way, even if you'd prefer not to. And M Fae excels at this, at evoking the incredible pain of their disintegrating relationship, their inability to find common language or common ground, the ultimate irrelevance of love when both are intractible, neither is able to see the other through his own issues. It's excruciating to watch the rift between them grow, watch them treat each other with cruelty and fling furious, vicious words, to engage in wilful self-delusion and wallow in self-righteousness, when we, the readers, know how deep and real the bond between them really is and that this behavior is in large part a defense mechanism, a way of disguising deep hurt.
A Summer's Outing ends with pain and hopelessness - there is no resolution, and Bodie and Doyle go their separate ways. But the sequel, "Devices and Desires," picks up the story ten years later, when the two of them are flung together again by fate - or George Cowley. A decade has wrought many changes in both of them: Doyle, who has tried his best not to think about Bodie for ten years, is finally ready to confront his feelings of anger and betrayal - and to acknowledge his guilt, the role he played in driving Bodie away, as well as the fact that he's never really stopped wanting Bodie. As for Bodie, he's finally worked through some of his own issues and is ready to face himself.
It's painful in a different way to watch the two of them, after so much hurt and sorrow, finally reach out to each other, to the one chance of real happiness either of them has ever had. Painful - but also moving and heartwarming and so incredibly satisfying. You want so desperately for them to have a chance for that happiness - and in this story, M Fae makes you believe that they really do, that the pain has not been all for nought.
This is a story that takes you through the entire gamut of emotions: tearing pain and hopelessness, sadness and loss and loneliness, and then finally redemption, forgiveness, love. It's intense, sexy, gorgeously written, and entirely unforgettable.
A Summer's Outing
Devices and Desires
(these are pdf documents)
(Both originally published in ...As a £3 Note, Oblique Publications, 1992 , which can be found in its entirety on the Oblique Publications website)
no subject
However, I was intrigued by the entire premise here and especially the setting of the second story. I think that alone will make it unforgettable for me. Bodie's journey through life was so heartwrenching. I loved how Cowley was woven into it all and how he was able to somehow atone for his former actions, which is what sent everything to hell in the first place.
no subject
I've hears people say she doesn't love the characters too, but I'm not sure I agree (except perhaps as she reached the end of her Pros obsession, when she was clearly pretty jaded). She likes to push the envelope, it's true, and she never makes it easy for them; also, there are *definitely* stories of hers in which I find the characters entirely unlikeable (though never *quite* 100% unrecognizable...), and stories I just can't stand because of their depressing or ambiguous endings. But when I read the ending of something like Devices and Desires I simply can't believe she doesn't love them. After all those years of sorrow - she brings them back together, lets them find each other, makes it incredibly clear that they are the *only* ones for each other. And they're different characters by then, mellower, wiser, sadder maybe but also better able to appreciate what they have. It really gets to me ...
And I too love the Cowley stuff!
I don't know if you were following my crack_van recs last November, but if you weren't, another M Fae story you should definitely read is Jingle Balls (my rec is here (http://www.livejournal.com/community/crack_van/865577.html); the story's on the Archive). It's about the lightest thing she's ever written, I think, and I really enjoy it. Again, I love the ending. I have a few more of hers on my re-read list, ones I find really satisfying (which means they have happy endings, togetherness, redemption, even though not utopic).
I'm very, very glad you found some new things to like in my recs this time around! And I'm thrilled you wrote to the author of Chances - I love her writing so. And luckily she's still writing actively, so we will definitely be seeing more from her :-)
(P.S. I can't remember if I told you this, but I have *not* forgotten your DVDs. Life has just been so frantically hectic the past month, and promises to continue that way for another few weeks - I hope it's okay if I delay a little further until after things calm down. But I *will* do it, I promise!!)
no subject
Don't worry about the DVDs. I know you're busy and will get to them when you can. I'm just grateful for the offer.