Not-so-sweet 16: a new novel about a gay teen and his pickpocket dad avoids all the coming-out cliches

Belmondo Style

* Adam Berlin * St. Martin's * $23.93

Everyone knows the stereotypical ideas about gay men and their mothers, but often ignored is the relationship between gay men and their fathers. Adam Berlin's new book, Belmondo Style, explores the nature of one such father-son tie in a coming-of-age story about Ben Chiziver, a track star attending a New York City public high school, and his single father, a professional pickpocket living in a childish movie world of carpe diem. Unlike most youth-oriented books about gay teens, Belmonde Style doesn't center solely on Ben's sexual orientation but instead concentrates on his whole struggle to be come an adult. Considering the book's many allusions to the 1960 film Breathless (which starred Jean-Paul, the Belmondo referred to in the book's title), it still resonates with the attitudes of many gay youth today. That is, sexuality is only one factor in understanding how our relationships change as we grow older. In that, Berlin has blended both old and new to create a fresh story about being gay and 16.

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