DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Jaffe’s short story collection features queer characters at various life stages.

The characters in these stories navigate provocative, moody, and delightfully thought-provoking scenes and situations. The opening story (which is also the collection’s longest) features an aging, crestfallen, recently divorced gay man visiting the queer haven of Wilton Manors, Florida, “nestled as it is in the crook of Fort Lauderdale’s lusty embrace,” to scope the place out as a possible retirement locale. Unexpectedly, Sam repeatedly finds himself the object of desire. The rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness prose in the experimental “Still Life With Toupée” details what disasters may lie in wait when one dashes out for milk for the morning coffee. Jaffe ventures into speculative fiction with “The Great Masturbator,” in which a queer Texan longing for romance questions whether love-seekers like him had “been killed off by climate change.” His mind is forever changed when he’s enchanted by a musclebound traveling circus performer who has everlasting intentions for him. In “Helping Hands,” a man initially terrified by the arms and fingers protruding from the floor and ceiling of his condo soon welcomes tactile attention from the “first hands to touch [him] since Covid began.” In the SF-inflected “The Procedure,” a futuristic government orders a medical test on a gay man who’s somehow survived a decimating pandemic. The author’s personal history, characterized by the “blending of gay sexual abandon with Jewishness,” is effectively portrayed in “Reflections of a Sex Angel,” in which a gay man’s bar mitzvah is just the first of many obsessive sexual adventures that leave the protagonist troubled—until he is deified. Moments of pathos arise, most notably in the dialogue of “He Said, He Said,” which finds a longtime gay couple reminiscing about their 50 years together while somberly contending with one’s crippling progressive memory loss. These are entertaining stories for the thinking reader, addressing issues of queer aging, community, and the hilarious societal responsibilities of being a “sex angel.” Jaffe’s tales will appeal to a broad audience and keep readers rapt throughout.

A volume of fun, absorbing, and contemplative tales.