Who Will Cliff Date?

Funny, thought-provoking, historical novelette(short novel) about a man, Clifford Ryan, who asa teen had diffi culty deciding if he is gay, straight,or bisexual. As a college student in 1970, Cliff andhis roommate, Ralph, see The Boys in the Band,a movie about gay life that sways Cliff one way,Ralph the other way. As a young adult, Cliff consultsa psychiatrist and learns about another sexualorientation: sthenolagnia (pronounced stheno-lon -ya), a Greek word few Americans know but whichdescribes many, many Americans and other people. Some people say sexual orientation isn t a choice but Cliff and Ralph each must make a choice: datea male, or date a female. Their choice is infl uencednot only by The Boys in the Band but by peopleand events Cliff and Ralph see and hear from age8 in 1961 to age 72 in 2025: JFK, RFK, LBJ, MLKJr., Richard Nixon, Roger Maris, Mickey Mantle,the Vietnam War, The Graduate, The Godfather,Herman s Hermits, women s liberation, and gayliberation, all of whom or which are mentioned inthis novelette. At times hilarious and heartwarming,at other times poignant and probing.