THE LONG JOURNEY TO YOU
by Vincent Traughber Meis
On the precipice of old age, a gay man faces a new relationship and reflects upon his past in Meis’ novel.
After Nathan Landis loses his husband, Anthony, he wanders his San Francisco neighborhood clad in dirty sweatpants. While recalling a sad memory of his years in Spain, he encounters a man in scrubs named Mateo, who wonders if he’s OK. Nathan is attracted to the younger man and pursues a connection. As the relationship between Nathan and Mateo unfolds, Nathan reflects upon his life. As a college student, Nathan returned home from Tulane to declare to his parents that he was gay, recovering from drug addiction, and a college dropout. After he left school and worked at a restaurant, he and his first partner, Nick—a doctor involved in a scandal and some years Nathan’s senior—went to Montreal to visit Nathan’s brother, David. Following a return to Louisiana, Nathan began using cocaine and sleeping around. Nathan and Nick then moved to San Francisco and lived a life that they loved. Following the tragic assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone, the two moved to Spain, where Nick contracted AIDS. After Nick’s death, their manipulative friend, Vladimir, loved and cared for Nathan and brought him home to the States. Nathan then traveled and met Anthony, beginning a new chapter in his life (“moving to San Leandro with him felt like the final rejection of the surroundings, circumstances, and unstable people that led me to drugs”). In this romantic and engaging novel, Meis presents an authentic story of an older man reflecting upon his past and facing an uncertain future. Emotionally resonant, the narrative explores the harsh reality of being gay during cultural upheaval and the AIDS epidemic. The story also spotlights the universal pain of being displaced and having to begin again. Although some past events are “told” rather than “shown” to readers, this novel is an affecting portrait of one man’s late quest for love and fulfillment.
An emotionally honest love story featuring a tragic history and a new beginning.