A long-winded, tedious book covering several time periods, involving some well-off literary people, mostly gay men, whose lifestyles of promiscuity, drugs and alcohol make them dull, two-dimensional, and entirely forgettable.

The author has woven together real historical characters (about whom I knew nothing) with some fictional ones. I gather it was thoroughly researched and that fact blends well with fiction. But there's not much story. Some of the descriptive passages are quite well done and a couple of scenes came to life, but on the whole, I struggled to keep reading.

If it hadn't been this month's book club read, I would have given up after the first chapter. Possibly I should have done so - most of the others in the book group felt the same, and didn't get past the half-way mark.

Not recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2022/03/leading-men-by-christopher-castella... ( )

A clever fictional recreation of the events in the lives of a group of famous characters and artists in the mid twentieth-century. At once an intimate romance and story set in an artistic world that is both wittily and lovingly portrayed. I enjoyed the structure with its well-wrought prose.The main characters include both familiar and unfamiliar artists, all of whom were interesting to this reader. ( )

I’ve known nothing of Tennessee Williams prior to reading this novel, and Castellani creates an honest character out of him. The real stars of the novel are Frank Merlo, who defers dreams to be Williams companion, and the fictional Anja, who compliments him so well. This book felt like a vacation, and I read it on vacation, although some of the scene in Italy went on a tad long. Tissues for the ending. ( )

I hated to do it, but I had to put the book down at page 239. It could have been earlier, or later. I just didn't connect.

I did like this though, concerning Frank Merlo, Tennessee Williams' lover, "If Frank could not be the fountain, he could at least feel the spray" and "the pleasures of proximity" to celebrity. ( )

The titular Leading Men are Tennessee Williams, Frank Merlo, John (Jack) Horne Burns, and Sandro Nencini, with appearances by Truman Capote and Jack Dunphy, and two entirely fictional characters: Anja Blomgren (Bloom) and Sandrino, Sandro's son. But the book belongs mainly to Frank and to Anja.

The characters come together in Portofino, Italy, in the early 1950s; Tenn and Frank meet Jack and Sandro at a party at Truman Capote's house, and Anja and her mother Bitte as well. Their lives become somewhat messily entertwined, with Anja accompanying Tenn and Frank, who say they will help her get "discovered," and Sandro calling Frank back to help him manage Jack, who dies from alcoholism and heatstroke.

Closer to the present, Frank waits in Memorial hospital in New York for Tenn to visit him one last time as he's dying of lung cancer; Tenn sends Anja a final, secret manuscript; Sandrino seeks out Anja; and at last, Tenn's final play is staged.

A very good book in the category of historical fiction that takes real people as its characters. For me, it did not have that immersive, page-turning quality, but I think it was a case of wrong book at the wrong time; I would still recommend to those who like this genre.

Quotes

He was afraid that once you gave something a name, it would turn on you. (38)

If you cannot see the struggle in a thing, its intricate craftsmanship, the precious irretrievable hours it stole from a person's life, how can you determine its value? (Anja, 61)

"Of all the desires, curiosity is the only one capable of keeping a person alive." (Anja, 63)

If you didn't have your own life force, no one could lend you his. (Frank, 84)

"Because I find the leading lady transcendent and her director imperious to the point of nausea?"
"Yes. Because - I'm sorry to say it - she is a Garbo knockoff and he is famously, undeniably magnetic." (Anja and Tenn, 178)

"Such relief, for just a moment, it's as sweet as love." (Tenn in Call It Joy, 208)

"We tell you love because what we know it's what you want to hear."
"It's the anger." (Anna and Anja re: secret ingredient in pasta sauce, to Frank, 238)

Frank had yet to develop an armor against the sudden ache for him that overtook him at moments like this, when his absence felt less like a habit than an affliction. (Frank, 243)

How many lives could a person lead at one time, and how did you keep them from crashing into each other? (Frank, 252)

Tenn was always looking for trouble....Something was always wrong. Something was always about to go wrong. Something that seemed right couldn't possibly be all right. (271)

...she feels the relief that comes when possibilities are taken away. (334) ( )