Love and Death on Long Island

The basis for the hit independent film starring Jason Priestly and John Hurt, Love and Death on Long Island is an update of Death in Venice. When he wanders into the wrong theater and finds himself watching the wretched teen-pic Hotpants College II, cerebral British author Giles De'Ath becomes romantically obsessed with dreamboat Ronnie Bostock. Giles's infatuation drives him to the unthinkable: he reads American fan magazines and watches movies with titles like Tex Mex and Skid Marks. And finally, he travels to Long Island, intent on meeting Ronnie in the flesh.

The basis for the hit independent film starring Jason Priestly and John Hurt, Love and Death on Long Island is a brilliant, witty, and moving update of Death in Venice. When he wanders into the wrong theater and finds himself watching the wretched teen-pic Hotpants College II, cerebral British author Giles De'Ath becomes romantically obsessed with the marginally talented dreamboat Ronnie Bostock.

Giles, a widower, has never been attracted to a man before, but this sudden shift of orientation does not disturb him nearly as much as the fact that the object of his affections is so lowbrow. Giles is driven to unthinkable engagements with the trashiest artifacts of pop culture (fan magazines, movies called Tex Mex and Skid Marks).

His obsession grows so large he travels to Long Island, intent on meeting Ronnie in the flesh. This novel, which references Death in Venice and Lolita, as much as ruff Turf and Porky's, is a heartrending, hilarious, and totally convincing story of unrequited love. In her review of the film, The New Yorkers's Daphne Merkin wrote: "Utterly original, baroquely comic. . . . Love and Death is about the generally closeted nature of love, in general, and about how all of us -- you, me, and Giles De'Ath -- are capable of conjuring up love objects in the least likely of places".