Choices — Paul Wolfe

Twenty-one year old George Cabbot, beautiful and sexy, precociously intellectual yet naïve to the point of stupidity has come to Italy work at a world famous music festival. The strength of his disorienting erotic aura in a notoriously louche society inflames even the weariest libidos-male and female-and unsettles several internationally-famous egos, upsetting the fragile intimacy in the lives of an already complicated group of friends. Ricardo Ricci, éminence grise of the festival, and his love, Katherine Campbell, struggle to overcome pressures that batter their vulnerable relationship. George's disturbing presence and Katherine's suspicion of Ricardo's reaction to it, increase possibilities for their separation. Their friends become alarmed, singly then collectively determined that Ricardo and Katherine will remain together. In spite of George's obvious sexual involvement with the voracious Duchess of Ashringford, Charity Cheltenham, the infamous composer, Gianfranco Connery and the distinguished tenor, Thomas Darden, the group holds George responsible for Ricardo's and Katherine's precarious situation. In reality, George is only a manifestation of their problem. but the friends believe he is culpable and that he is determined to seduce Ricardo. To frustrate George's plan they decide he must be removed from the scene. Their search for a reasonable way to accomplish this eludes them, until Jillian and Tasha (Ricardo's assistants), using first-hand knowledge of the sexual preferences and practices of everyone concerned, find the solution. This novel has been described as serio-camp, as a comedy of manners, as Jane Austen with explicit sex, even as Anaïs Nin meets Henry James and Ronald Firbank for tea. Set in 1969, a reasonably carefree time, and though it is concerned more with the characters who create or frequent the festival than with the festival itself, it does capture the nuttiness and the underlying tribulations of all multifaceted artistic organizations.