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Avg. Rating: 4.5
A novel of the struggle between homosexuality and the Church
Father Tom Meeker relishes his work at the little parish in Cottonwood, MT, listening to confessions, participating with the church council, feeling grateful to spread God's word. Then, a young Blackfoot Indian named Vidal Stump enters his confessional. A bit wild in his ways and comfortable with his homosexuality, Vidal takes Father Tom on a journey of discovery and reveals to him what he's been trying to hide for a long time.
"The Fancy Dancer" is by no means a tawdry tale of homosexual love. The relationship between Father Tom and Vidal is played out very realistically, dealing not only with their interactions with others but with their inner struggles with themselves. They truly do love each other in every sense of the word.
Warren makes Father Tom's struggles to reconcile his new-found self, tinged by his own feelings guilt, with his love of the Church the center of the novel, revealing insight into the attitudes of the Church toward homosexuality. Surprisingly enough for a novel from 1976, it is very relevant with the state of the world today. And, what I really liked is that this is a positive novel, without the stereotypical ending with death or suicide.
Native American lore
While I'm a fan of Warren's, I found the romance between the two men not nearly as interesting as learning about the heritage of The Fancy Dancer. I could almost visualize the dance as it finally occurred.There are strong religious themes that did not offend me, but might annoy some people who don't give much thought to religious pursuit.
Nothing special
Nothing glaringly bad, but absolutely no appeal for me, personally. Although I would love to just find a well-written, current, romantic gay novel, I haven't found it yet. This book was written in the 70's so I suppose I should give it some slack. Also, it felt too religious for my taste.
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