A Fairy Tale — John Saul

It's San Francisco in the early 1970s, and thirty-something Solly Steinberg still isn't married, much to the consternation of his Aunt Sylvia who is determined to correct this calamitous state of affairs before Solly's next birthday. The only trouble is, Aunt Sylvia wants Solly to marry a nice Jewish girl, but Solly wants to marry a nice boy, Jewish or otherwise. Aunt Sylvia is, of course, aghast when she is told of this small problem, and promptly dispatches Uncle Hymie to straighten their nephew out. Needless to say, many things get straightened out, but Solly isn't among them.

A WARNING: If you're looking for the kind of thriller John Saul is famous for, this is not one of them. But if you're wondering what life was like for a lot of gay men nearly half a century ago in San Francisco, barely after they found their voices with Stonewall but still long before AIDS, or are just in the mood for a good old-fashioned gay Jewish sex comedy, (is there such a genre, or is this the only one?) this book is for you.