First published 1981
Seven men arrive at a Berkeley house with an idea that none of them can quite articulate. They want to create a men's club, but what that means or why they need it remains a mystery to each of them. As the evening unfolds, something unexpected happens. The urge to speak takes hold. Words pour out in torrents they never anticipated. Stories emerge about wives, failures, desires, and the weight of being men in a world where therapy has become the new religion. The conversation grows more intense and confessional as the night progresses. What began as an uncertain gathering transforms into something both ridiculous and devastating. These men discover that talking can be as dangerous as silence, and that the things they most need to say might be the very things that destroy them.
Genres: fiction, drama, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-driven, found-family
Setting: Berkeley
Period: 20th-century
Hardcover · FSG