The Front Runner

Rating:
Summary: Haunting, poignant, loving, beautiful, true.
Review: "The Front Runner" is more about being openly gay in the 1970's but more about the cost of being human in a society that had prided itself in love, freedom and choice. But not tolerance. Billy Sive and his two teammates came to Prescott College to run track and finish their education. Billy recieved more than an education: he received love from someone who could supply it and in hopes, could get some back in return. The story is beautiful, the characters were real, and the saga of being homosexual is all too real. Ms. Warren captured the human side of being gay and gave it a brave strong face. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance and track. Love is for everyone. Not just the people who think they are morally up to it. As a heterosexual woman, I see too many young faces in the gay district of San Diego, California, wondering "What's out there for me?" For one, this book. It should be required reading for young gays and lesbians who don't think they have a voice. This book is wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Review of The Front Runner by Cheri
Review: "The Front Runner", by Patricia Nell Warren, is the critically acclaimed, best selling novel, touted as being, "the most celebrated gay love story ever" and rightly so. This is not including the fact that it has been in print from 1974-2001, in several languages, and by mainstream publishers. The 20th Anniversary Edition of this novel shows the impressive print history.

Becoming aware of this book more than 20 years after it came out is a mixed blessing. One, I don't have to wait 20 years for the sequel, Harlan's Race, and, two, I get to enjoy it now. My expectations of this book, with all the hype, have been greatly exceeded. For anyone who is new to gay fiction this is a book that is NOT to be missed.

Patricia Nell Warren wrote an amazing, timeless, authentic, and accurate portrayal of gay life in the 70's, including all the feelings and struggles for equal rights, at that time, many of which are still prevalent today. Gay men are unable to comprehend how a woman could so perfectly capture their feelings and lifestyle to produce a believable, wonderfully written, piece of fiction. As a woman, I am proud of what she has achieved.

"The Front Runner" is about a track coach, Harlan, who has had more than his share of discrimination and heartache because he is gay, so remains virtually closeted in order to maintain some sort of normalcy in his life...and protect his job at Prescott College. He is an ex-Marine who has been through it all, including marriage, loss of his coaching position at Penn State, and hustling to pay alimony, to name a few. By the time he gets to coach at Prescott, he is very careful not to jeopardize his position there, even if it means not allowing love in his life. For him coaching and running is what life is all about and he doesn't like the thought of losing it again.

Billy is a beautiful runner who comes to Prescott with two of his friends after they were kicked off a prestigious college team when it was discovered they were gay. Not to give up running, Billy, Vince, and Jacques, go to Prescott hoping to be accepted by the incredibly gifted coach, who is also gay. These boys are talented runners, with Olympic dreams, and they hope Harlan can get them there.

The plot thickens when Harlan suppresses his love and intense yearning for Billy, only to discover that Billy loves him too. Harlan finally succumbs to his love and he and Billy form a special but potentially dangerous bond that could jeopardize both their careers.

It is wonderful to read how Billy changes Harlan's life and makes Harlan's deep seated unhappiness dissolve. Love has a healing power like no other human emotion. The difference in the age between coach and student is insignificant as they are both consenting adults. Billy is the more mature one at times, especially in how he accepts his sexual orientation and deals with discrimination. Harlan is Billy's mentor, friend, and lover. There is a harmonious balance between these two characters. What could be wrong or unnatural about two men being deeply in love?

Ms. Warren's opinions resonate throughout this novel and she makes many valid points about gay rights. One of the things that struck me as interesting is how society can oppose legalizing gay unions when it is promiscuity and noncommittal relationships that are so undesirable to the glue that supposedly holds this country together. Loose behavior is not exclusive to the gay community. I feel that with equal rights and legal bonds for gay couples, there would be far less "immoral" behavior, however, there's no denying the fact that plenty of legally wed heterosexual couples cheat on their spouses.

After reading this book, I will never look at running or the Olympics the same way again. "The Front Runner" depicts the numerous roadblocks gay athletes have to endure in order to compete in a hostile, homophobic world. When watching a race it is hard to think about politics, sexual orientation, or asinine rules governed by ignorant, inflexible, bigots. Races should be about the athletic ability alone in deciding who gets the gold. How any good can come out of evil is the cornerstone of this novel. One has to wonder why it takes a tragedy to open up people's eyes to the absurdity of hatred.

I am very passionate about recommending this book to those who have not yet read it and I strongly recommend a reread for those of you who enjoyed "The Front Runner" and possibly were helped by it 20 years ago. Patricia Nell Warren is easily one of the best writers of gay fiction and I am looking forward to reading more of her works. .

Rating:
Summary: I am not a SPORTS FAN
Review: As I began reading this book, I had serious doubts that a book about Olympic training would hold my interest. By the second chapter I was entranced. This book was welded to my hands and I could not detach myself. If you want a book that contains richly drawn, flesh-and-blood characters that will stay with you for months after you finish reading, then buy this book. But be careful, it will stay with you.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkably honest protrayal of a gay relationship
Review: Harlan Brown is an ex-Marine and a track coach. In 1974, after he is dismissed from Penn State due to rumors of an alleged homosexual romance with one of his athletes, Harlan finds himself as the track coach at Prescott, a smaller university which he discovers is a more diverse than any other school in the country. Harlan's coaching life is thrown into turmoil when three young track athletes, kicked out of another university for their openness about their sexuality, want to join his team.

One of the athletes, Billy Sive who looks to be a contender for the Montréal Olympics, piques his interest, and Harlan soon finds himself falling for the young man. Billy begins to have the same feelings for Harlan. Once they admit their feelings, they form a strong, positive relationghip face together the fear and hatred of the athletic world and society, determined to give Billy his shot at a gold medal.

First published in 1974, this became a national bestseller. Patricia Nell Warren's depiction of two gay athletes in the 1970s is filled with so much that's positive about being gay: Harlan and Billy form a strong, monogamous relationship and don't hide it from the rest of the world. (They also don't flaunt it.) They tackle many issues that gay men and women are struggling with today: gay marriage, children, gay rights. The novel also handles the societal negatives regarding homosexuality with much humanity and empathy. You can either run and hide from it, or you can stare it down, be happy with yourself.

I also liked the characters. Harlan has only recently come out and is trying to deal with his feelings and jealousies along with his memories of the past and society. Billy is calm, confident, knows who and what he is and is determined that no one is going to keep him from what makes him happy. The two of them together make a great and very realistic couple.

While it is a gay novel, it's also a sports novel. Warren was a long-distance runner herself and draws from her experiences to give a realistic view of the amateur sports world, especially when it comes to the politics of jsut being able to compete. It's a world that I found very intriguing and want to learn more about.

This is a remarkable book, one that should be read by everyone, gay and straight.

Rating:
Summary: A remarkably honest protrayal of a gay relationship
Review: Harlan Brown is an ex-Marine and a track coach. In 1974, after he is dismissed from Penn State due to rumors of an alleged homosexual romance with one of his athletes, Harlan finds himself as the track coach at Prescott, a smaller university which he discovers is a more diverse than any other school in the country. Harlan's coaching life is thrown into turmoil when three young track athletes, kicked out of another university for their openness about their sexuality, want to join his team.

One of the athletes, Billy Sive who looks to be a contender for the Montréal Olympics, piques his interest, and Harlan soon finds himself falling for the young man. Billy begins to have the same feelings for Harlan. Once they admit their feelings, they form a strong, positive relationghip face together the fear and hatred of the athletic world and society, determined to give Billy his shot at a gold medal.

First published in 1974, this became a national bestseller. Patricia Nell Warren's depiction of two gay athletes in the 1970s is filled with so much that's positive about being gay: Harlan and Billy form a strong, monogamous relationship and don't hide it from the rest of the world. (They also don't flaunt it.) They tackle many issues that gay men and women are struggling with today: gay marriage, children, gay rights. The novel also handles the societal negatives regarding homosexuality with much humanity and empathy. You can either run and hide from it, or you can stare it down, be happy with yourself.

I also liked the characters. Harlan has only recently come out and is trying to deal with his feelings and jealousies along with his memories of the past and society. Billy is calm, confident, knows who and what he is and is determined that no one is going to keep him from what makes him happy. The two of them together make a great and very realistic couple.

While it is a gay novel, it's also a sports novel. Warren was a long-distance runner herself and draws from her experiences to give a realistic view of the amateur sports world, especially when it comes to the politics of jsut being able to compete. It's a world that I found very intriguing and want to learn more about.

This is a remarkable book, one that should be read by everyone, gay and straight.

Rating:
Summary: The Goddess is Patricia Nell Warren
Review: How is it that a female story teller so adeptly delved into the emotions and mind of gay men? I was 27 when I first read The Front Runner, it was published when I was only 5 years old. Even though it is a story about life set in the 70s, it is a truly remarkable tale about love, destiny, passion and the search for that special love we all seek. Harlan, the track coach at the center of the book, has paid some tough prices for coming out as a gay man. He lost a wife, a family, and yes it would be easy to say he should never have gotten married and cheating on his wife...through Ms. Warren's words, we see the pain and confusion that his sexual identity has caused him. It is not until he is into his 40s that he finds he can be out and lead a life deserving in respect & love. The tragic ending will move any heart I'm sure, gay or staright or questioning. Along with its sequels, each just as brilliant, TFR is a landmark book that is a celebration of the gay & lesbian community.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: I am always amazed that this book "The Front Runner" was not written by a gay man. I'm sure that Patricia Nell Warren must have been one in a previous life or something to write so well and true to the kind of experiences that men have. The key character in the novel is Harlan (the subject of the sequel that came out many years later). "The Front Runner" is a metaphor in different respects, not only of Harlan's lover, the young track star Billy, but also of the novel, which was years ahead of its time in subject matter.

Harlan is a track coach who falls unexpectedly for his young student athlete Billy. Billy comes to the college where Harlan is teaching after he and two friends, who also feature in the novel prominently, are kicked off the team at the other school for being gay. This four-some have a strong bond of identity and experience, and end up supporting each other not only in the races of the track meets, but also the race of life. The climax of the novel comes when Billy makes the Olympic team, and again in "front runner" fashion is selected to be the flag-carrier in the parade.

The way Warren crafts the characters and the situations is incredible. I re-read this book every few years or so, and recommend it highly to anyone coming out, anyone not yet out, and anyone who wants to understand some of the emotions of the gay community. While this is not representative of all gay men, it touches a lot of points that are true.

Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: I got this book for christmas after hearing that it was very good from a friend and putting it at the top of my christmas list. I had been expecting to get some mild amusment and a good read out of this book, not the emotionaly stirring and powerful story I got!
The Front Runner is such a beautiful book! I have never cried that hard over a book before! I laughed, I smiled, I cried, and I love along with the wonderful people, for I can not call them simply characters they are far more then just fictional beings, that come forth in this absolutly fantastic piece of writting.
I recomend this book to everyone, it is brilliantly done, a true master piece.

Rating:
Summary: Proper Coaching
Review: I had received a lot of criticism for not having read "The Front Runner" from a lot of people. But I have to admit, a love story set against the Olympics in the mid-70's was not appealing to me at first. I've never been entralled with athletics and the main characters are all obsessed with professional track races. Still, I promised myself I would give it 50 pages and see how I felt. And to my surprise, Patricia Nell Warren surpassed all my expectations and I feel this treasure must be preserved for future generations of readers.

After all, this is a story by a bisexual woman, writing about two star-crossed male lovers, confronted by discrimination in all senses. Harlan, who was exhiled from coaching in the competitive univerisity track meets because of his homosexuality, has lived a life of shame and indignity. His past took him from high status with an internationally successful track team, to the hustler culture of New York City back to the quiet life of coaching at a young liberal college. As he has adjusted to his quiet life, hiding himself away from his dissaproving family and the society that shunned him, three Olympic-bound track runners come to him from Oregon. All three were expelled because they were gay. Trying to keep his personal life completely seperated from his role as coach and professor, he takes the boys under his tutoridge, only to eventually become involved with his front runner, Billy Sive. Together, they face more discrimination at the hands of the national athletic association and media, while pushing Billy to the Olympics. We get to experience a romance that must defy an entire soceity (the almost Anceint Greek-like man-boy relationship in the early post-Stonewall era) as well as the personal triumphs of a fledging athletic superstar. Simply amazing!

I found myself instantly attracted to (and equally repulsed!) to the narrator, the 40-year old Harlan. Patricia Nell Warren wrote him brilliantly. Harlan goes into great detail to recount his history, a series of injustices dealt to him by spiteful people. He never comes across as whining, but he is able to tell his woes in such a way, that the reader cannot help but sympathize with him. After all, he only wants to things in life: to be in a real loving relationship and his rights to compete. Harlan's self-conscious nature and his rash temper make him a hard character to admire at times, but he explains all of his actions well. We pity him for his reluctance to really bond with others and celebrate himself as a gay man and we cheer for him when he is finally able to open himself to Billy and take on more friendly roles than superior ones to his runners.
The story telling constantly circulates between the techincal side of athletic training and Harlan's daily emotional rollercoaster. But there's too much action for us to get bored and social commentary and flashbacks are carried out in brief but complete doses so we don't get lost in abundant side-stories.

"The Front Runner" will not dissapoint. It is a classic tale told by a voice that we can identify to, despite what creeds and orientations we follow. If the goal of a writer is take an experience and make it universal, than Patricia Nell Warren has succeeded. Elements of drama and romance blend in well, under carefully assorted scenes and monologues. The romance feels real and not campy and concludes with a shocking twist that will leave an entire audience speechless. This is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Story--Packs a Punch Three Decades Later!
Review: In late 1974, 39-year-old Harlan Brown is living quietly, employed as a track coach at a small college in upstate New York. He's been through a lot in those 39 years, much of which we discover later in the narrative from Harlan himself, who is the first person narrator. But on that winter day, Harlan is in for the shock of his life when the college administrator sends three young transfer athletes to try out for the track team. These are not just any young men; they're all three gay-as is the deeply closeted Harlan-and they've been thrown off a big-time college team because of their sexuality. Billy Sive is one of the three, and it's his spirit and strength that suffuse the book with gradually increasing power and wonder. Billy is a front runner, the man in the footrace who runs hard and fast as he can, attempting to stave off his competitors. He has great talent, which Harlan believes he can bring out if only the young man will listen to his coaching.

And so begins the story of two men as they struggle with the feelings that grow between them. Eventually they become lovers united in partnership and with the goal to go for Olympic gold while trying to find a place of acceptance in a world that is not nearly as accepting as it is today. Graphic and gritty at times, the story of their attraction and relationship is also tender and powerful. Millions of gay men and women, not to mention many straight people, from all over the world have read The Front Runner. Whether you're straight or gay-or anywhere in between-the story is compelling.

Patricia Nell Warren, writing this story in the early 1970's, could not have foreseen the ripple effect it had upon gays and lesbians in America and around the world. Other books had been written about homosexual experience, but when this one was first published in 1974, it had a stunning effect and still packs a punch. The Front Runner took hold of a Gay Hero Archetype and made it real, while at the same time causing the reader to feel deeply about characters who seemed so genuinely appealing and authentic, they could almost walk off the page.

This book is nearing 30 years old, and yet it still rings true. Still feels real. Still packs a wallop. Patricia Nell Warren was very nearly prescient in her treatment of the Gay Heroes in this novel. Since The Front Runner's publication, we have seen the emergence of gay pride and solidarity that had only just begun in 1969 with the Stonewall Riots. Since then, from Harvey Milk's 1977 ascendance to political power in California and subsequent assassination to the bravery of gay rugby player Mark Bingham in helping to avert disaster in the Flight 93 attack on September 11th, our nation has gotten glimpses of the strength, beauty, and contributions of gay people who put their lives on the line for the good of an ideal. And I like to think that above it all, the ghost of Billy Sive hovers: "He had overcome the fury by nonviolence and compassion. He was out front, running free. He was accepted for what he was. He was even valued now, as someone who might speak for a whole universe of human feeling that had been denied. It was so ironic..."

Though it's been 20 years since I first read this book, time has been good to it, infusing it with both a prophetic voice and a elegiac tone that would not be so powerful if prejudice and hate were not still so prevalent. The world has come a long way in the last three decades, but not far enough. There are still far too many Matthew Shepards and Jamie Naboznys. Until the world is tolerant and accepting, The Front Runner will continue to speak to all of us. I recommend this book highly. All of straight America should be required to read it. ~Lori L. Lake, author of lesbian fiction and freelance reviewer for Midwest Book Review, Golden Crown Literary Society's The Crown, The Independent Gay Writer, and Just About Write.