The Extra Man

Meet Louis Ives: well-groomed, romantic, and as captivating as an F. Scott Fitzgerald hero. Only this hero has a penchant for ladies clothes, and he's lost his teaching post at Princeton's Pretty Brook Day School after an unfortunate incident involving a colleague's more >>

Meet Louis Ives: well-groomed, romantic, and as captivating as an F. Scott Fitzgerald hero. Only this hero has a penchant for ladies clothes, and he's lost his teaching post at Princeton's Pretty Brook Day School after an unfortunate incident involving a colleague's brassiere.

Meet Henry Harrison: former actor, failed but brilliant playwright, and a well-seasoned escort for New York City's women of means. He dances alone to Ethel Merman records, second-acts operas, and performs his scrappy life with the dignity befitting a self-styled man of the world. What can this ageless Don Quixote of the Upper East Side have to offer a young gentleman such as Louis? What, indeed.

Well, the answer lies somewhere between the needs of an irascible mentor and the education of his eager apprentice...between cocktails on the Upper East Side and an even more intoxicating treat along the secret fringes of Times Square...and between friendship and longing.The New York Times Book ReviewA sure-footed exploration of sexual confusion and a loopily elegant, surprisingly moving urban comedy of manners.Rick Moodyauthor ofPurple AmericaJonathan Ames has always been one of my favorite contemporary writers, both for his limpid and elegant Lost Generation prose style and for his utterly fearless commitment to the most demanding psychosexual comedies.The Extra Manextends his accomplishments considerably. This is one of the most charming and alarming books of recent years.Booklist(starred review)A miracle....This novel is not to be missed.Francine ProseThe New York ObserverAmes has the one thing Fitzgerald lacked: a sense of humor...The Extra Manwins us over with its sheer energy and good will, its confidence in the ability of its own humor and intelligence to widen our ideas about the possibilities of love, and about the permissible range of inner and outer lives to which today's young gentleman may properly aspire.The Washington PostBy updating the moral education of a young gentleman, Ames has written aBildungsromanfor the end of our century.Jeffrey Eugenidesauthor ofThe Virgin SuicidesNot sinceHarold and Maudehas there been such a lovable odd couple as Louis Ives and Henry Harrison. Told in a lucid, diverting prose style,The Extra Manis a picaresque tale of a young man's sentimental education (in subjects ranging from tuxedo studs to transsexuals). In Henry Harrison, Jonathan Ames has created a truly memorable character.The Village VoiceThe Louis and Henry show is honest, funny, and original, making the meaning of "human" deep and strange in the best way.Martha McPheeauthor ofBright Angel TimeWonderfully odd and charming, at times riotously funny, Jonathan Ames'The Extra Manstrikes a perfect balance between sympathy and comedy, drawing upon deep reserves of compassion for the strange and unnamable urges that infiltrate the lives of his two remarkable characters.Booklist(starred review)A sort ofOdd Couplefor the next millennium.The New York TimesAmes makes it clear that his protagonist's sexual tentativeness and anxiety are really just flimsy covers for his passion and warmth. That's what makesThe Extra Manwork so well. Louis may feel as awkward as Milton Berle in drag, but inside he's really Fred Astaire -- he just doesn't know it yet.Chapter 1

THE BRASSIERE

I came to New York to find myself and get a fresh start. I was also, to be honest, running away from some messy business that occurred at the Pretty Brook Country Day School in Princeton, New Jersey. I had been a respected English teacher there for four years, ever since graduating from college. My downfall was a brassiere.

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