Whistling in the Dark by Tamara Allen

In 1919, our hero Sutton walks the chaotic streets of New York City. It's a chilly October night, and he's got a lot on his mind. Though he's only twenty-two, he's already seen his share of heartbreak.

On the battlefield in France, he sustained a wound that compromised his ability to play piano. Unable to pursue a career as a musician, he went to college – but then got expelled for having an affair with his instructor.  His male instructor. Hoping to protect his wealthy family from possible scandal, he came to New York City to seek his fortune.

Now he wanders unaware into a park where gay men cruise for partners and get preyed upon by con-men and thugs. Before the night is over, Sutton will get thrown in jail. 

Our other hero Jack sits in the same holding cell. He's also twenty-two, gay, and a veteran of the First World War. Otherwise, he couldn't be more different. Sutton is a level-headed, peaceful type with courtly manners and a touch of innocence.  Jack is brash, high-spirited, streetwise, and a bit manic. 

He runs his parents' junk shop while pursuing an obsession with the burgeoning field of radio (fascinatingly described).  The shop, which he struggles to keep afloat, is all he has left of his parents who perished in the influenza epidemic just before he returned from France.

Now Jack spends his nights flirting with handsome men, hustling games of pool, and coping with flashbacks from his harrowing war experience. He served for ten months in the Signal Corps, which tended to strand him in "no-man's land" getting shot at while patching up communications equipment.

From this strong beginning, Whistling in the Dark unfolds with understated brilliance as Sutton finds a life for himself in Jack's corner of New York City: a colorful microcosm centering on the junk shop and the diner across the street. Several vivid characters populate the scene: Harry, a cranky older man who is Jack's long-suffering business partner; Esther, a sympathetic waitress; Ox, her good-hearted beau; Gert, an amusingly brassy singer; and Theo, a trickster with a taste for risqué parties and firearms.

Something that I loved here at Obsidianbookshelf.com:  Sutton and Jack DON'T experience instantaneous mutual attraction. They start somewhat underwhelmed with each other – or at least wary.

To Jack, Sutton seems too proper.  To Sutton, Jack looks one drink away from falling to pieces.  They move from distrust to grudging tolerance as Sutton plays piano over the radio via Jack's hobby. This enables Sutton to explore the tantalizing new world of ragtime and jazz.  It also attracts customers to the junk shop, which could save it from some thugs to whom Jack owes money.

Jack and Sutton figure out each other's homosexuality. It happens with realism and restraint: they intuit it in the course of everyday life. Even then, they don't jump into bed with each other. It's just not that big a deal.

We're talking about the Lost Generation here:  the sophisticated and cynical men and women who got their hearts shredded by the First World War and could never again take seriously their parents' Victorian-era viewpoint. Harry, Esther, and Ox all accept the fact that Jack and Sutton are gay and deserve to be happy. 

Something else I loved about Whistling in the Dark:  its sense of hard-won optimism that I found true to the times even though people had just suffered the influenza epidemics and the First World War.  They'd survived, and things were looking up.  (Poor devils had no way to foresee the Great Depression and Hitler.)  That's how I interpreted the title: that they're attempting to keep their courage up and reach for happiness in the calm between the storms.

These characters balance on that pitch-perfect edge between decadence and innocence that for me characterizes the roaring Twenties.  The writing is too precise and subtle ever to veer into nostalgia.  Even so, you feel transported to an unusual time as you read, experiencing the bright, brash, and sometimes frantic gaiety (in all senses of the word) that ignited people's lives between the two darkest wars of the twentieth century.   Anything seemed possible.

The decadence/innocence permeates the fabulous scene at Theo's party.  Impish Theo maneuvers Jack and Sutton into noticing each other, which culminates in a really great kiss!  As our heroes' hearts open towards each other in the chapters that follow, Whistling in the Dark blossoms into a big-hearted romance.  Their love affair is earned rather than the heavy-handed result of two characters hopping into bed before we even know them yet.  Subsequently, as readers, we're almost as eager as Jack and Sutton for the consummation of their love.

The love scenes are implied rather than shown – but are satisfying.  They emphasize our heroes' emotions and fit seamlessly into the story. Jack and Sutton have many realistic obstacles to face as they try to build a life together, and the great pleasure of Whistling in the Dark lies in experiencing all this with them, two immensely appealing characters. 

Jack, in particular, has some great lines. I loved him for his devastating put-down to Sutton's smarmy ex-lover who casts aspersions upon how much action Jack saw on the battlefield if he was "only" messing around with radio equipment for the Signal Corps.

In the end, I finished Whistling in the Dark with regret that it had to end, and exhilaration that it turned out to be so good! This might be THE best romance (f/f, m/f, or m/m) that I've read in 2008, and that's saying something when you consider how much I read. Plus its cover art rates a mention in Great Cover Art! 
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