I Am Not Raymond Wallace
I Am Not Raymond Wallace by Sam Kenyon, published by Inkandescent on September 15, 2022, is a 290-page work that explores the complexities of identity and relationships against the backdrop of Manhattan in 1963. The narrative follows fresh-faced Raymond Wallace, who arrives at the New York Times on a bursary from Cambridge University just weeks before President Kennedy’s assassination. As he navigates the newsroom, he uncovers a world of covert blackmail and the burgeoning visibility of homosexuality, leading him to an undercover assignment that challenges his understanding of self and society.
Readers will find a richly woven tale that delves into themes of conformity, courage, and the impact of personal choices across generations. The story spans from the vibrant streets of 1960s New York to Paris in 2003, where Raymond’s son, Joe, encounters Joey, a connection that initiates a healing journey. With elements of fiction, erotica, and LGBTQ+ romance, this edition presents a nuanced exploration of love and identity, crafted with precision and compassion.
Official synopsis Publisher
Manhattan, 1963: weeks before the assassination of President Kennedy, fresh-faced Raymond Wallace lands in the New York Times newsroom on a three-month bursary from Cambridge University. He soon discovers his elusive boss, Bukowski, is being covertly blackmailed by an estranged wife, and that he himself is to assist the straight-laced Doty on an article about the ‘explosion of overt homosexuality’ in the city. On an undercover assignment, a secret world is revealed to Raymond: a world in which he need no longer pretend to be something or someone he cannot be; a world in which he meets Joey.
Like so many men of his time and of his kind, Raymond faces a choice between conformity, courage and compartmentalisation. The decision he makes will ricochet destructively through lives and decades until-in another time, another city; in Paris, 2003-Raymond’s son Joe finally meets Joey. And the healing begins.
I Am not Raymond Wallace is a heartrending and mending story spanning generations and continents, told with precision-tooled prose, sharply-imagined settings and compassionately-observed characterisation.
‘Taking as his starting-point a real-life moment of queer history from 1960s New York, Sam Kenyon spins a marvellously stylish and often unexpected story.’ NEIL BARTLETT
‘A joyous literary triumph that moved me to tears.’ JACK FRITSCHER
‘A triumph. A primer for all ages.’ MURRAY MELVIN
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