Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out – Ryan Love
Expectation: A different spin on the coming out story exploring it through two generations within the same family.
Reality: Mediocre execution that falls flat due to predictable characters and forced plot twists.
My Take:
The following is a fictionalized conversation I assume Ryan Love had with his editor about “Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out.”
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Author: Here it is! A heartwarming story about a grandfather, Arthur, and grandson, Teddy, coming out and navigating their new lives.
Editor: Aww, that’s sweet, but we need more conflict!
Author: Well, that’s not really the point. I wanted something cozy and uplifting for these troubled times.
Editor: I get it, but who cares about an 80-year-old well-adjusted man?! Let’s add some antiquated examples of homophobia. Like, a lot. When you think you’ve added enough, add a few more.
Author: Um, okay.
Editor: Oh, and add in a terribly predictable love triangle between the grandson’s best friend and new work boyfriend.
Author: That feels a little trite, but if you insist.
Editor: Don’t forget the sage gay best friend! Everyone loves a stereotypical elderly gay! You should kill him off too.
Author: I’ll add the character, but I’m not going to kill him.
Editor: If you insist. We also need to do something about the grandmother. She needs to be completely one-dimensional, like the wife in a film about boxing. No one will care about her perspective anyway. Just give her some random hobbies and near sainthood status for dealing with all of this with aplomb.
Author: But I thought diving more into her POV and exploring why she willingly married a gay man for 50 years would be interesting.
Editor: No one cares about that.
Author: Fine. Any other notes?
Editor: Yes! We need a big event to bring everyone together.
Author: A wedding?
Editor: Oh, that’s so basic — but, yes, add one anyway.
Author: Okay, what about something adventurous, like wing walking.
Editor: That’s very random, but I absolutely love it. Just make sure it has a lot of build up — media interviews, sleepless nights, fundraising, etc. — but then only have it last about two paragraphs, okay?
Author: The story feels like it is starting to get away from me. There’s so much going on.
Editor: Don’t worry, people will eat it up. Especially the ending when the grandson, who has had everything handed to him professionally, decides to do something that was never brought up as an interest in the previous 400-pages.
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“Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out” desperately wants to be a Steven Rowley novel, but Love doesn’t have the humor, pacing or characterizations down to make that a reality.
With the predictability of a Harlem Globetrotters game and enough tropes to fill a BINGO card, the only thing that surprised me was the unexpected — and frequent — use of homophobia as a plot point.
In hindsight, I never should’ve read this novel.
The cozy genre rarely works for me, but I couldn’t help but be charmed by the setup and would’ve preferred a book solely about Arthur. He is the only thing that gave the text life. Teddy has basic twenty-something problems and is paint-by-numbers. I frequently skimmed his chapters.
There were so many opportunities for this to rise above the schlock, but they were never taken. Read this only if you love predictability, cringe, emotional blackmail, one-dimensional characters and outdated stereotypes. I’m sure the author is a lovely person, but this was not ready for primetime.
People intrigued by the plot should just watch “Beginners” instead.
Rating (story): 2/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Format: eBook (library loan)
Dates read: March 2 – March 14, 2024
Multi-tasking: N/A
