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Overview
In a story that crosses The Parent Trap with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, we meet Mitchell Sayer, a stodgy, successful gay attorney. Mitchell's well-ordered life is thrown into upheaval when his socialite mother drops a double bombshell en route to a Buddhist convent. Mitchell, she confesses, was adopted - and Mitchell has an identical twin. This long-lost, separated-at-birth sibling isn't hard to find ... but he may be hard to take. For while his driver's license reads Donald Sweet, he's better known in Chicago's demimonde as Kitten Kaboodle, the gloriously gowned, stupendously stiletto-heeled star of the Tam-Tam Club's "all-girl" review. Recovering from the shock, Mitchell doffs his Armani jacket, loosens his Hermes tie, and prepares for a battle of the wills. He sees it as his mission to haul Donald out of Bob Mackie knockoffs and into the real world - or at least into flat heels. But Kitten thinks it's Mitchell who needs superego surgery, and she's just the gal to wield the scalpel.The unabashed author of Fag Hag and Closet Case chronicles the plight of Mitchell Sayer, a gay, urban professional whose well-ordered life is thrown into disarray when his mother--unburdening her soul en route to a Buddhist convent--reveals a devastating secret: Michael has a twin brother.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
With titles like Rodi's (Fag Hag, Closet Case), subtlety is certainly not an issue; his latest gay-themed romp proves no exception. As Mitchell Sayer's Mame-ish mama sets out to join a Tibetan convent (in Wisconsin), she tells her lawyer son that he has a twin brother. Upright, uptight Mitch discovers that brother Donald is-drum roll, please-a drag queen, singing at Chicago's Tam-Tam Club as Kitten Kaboodle, the Doyenne of Despair. So begins a sporadically madcap tale of Boy Meets Brother, Boy Loses Brother, Boy Gets Brother-and (temporarily), Boy Becomes Brother. Unfortunately, for every amusing one-liner and vignette (a department-store cosmetics demo by a Middle European migr is a gem), there's a misfire or a bit of heavy-handed philosophizing. Though this novel's parts are better than its whole, the story's gentle sweetness makes it hard to dislike. Ultimately, readers who can appreciate such drag names as Tequila Mockingbird, May Oui and Barbarella Fitzgerald will be tickled lavender by these escapades; others may believe, like one of Mitch's boyfriends, that ``the only good queen is one who's been anointed... in Westminster Abbey.'' (Nov.)Library Journal
The author of What They Did to Princess Paragon (LJ 4/15/94) has fashioned a breezy, affectionate, behind-the-scenes look at the world of drag. Mitchell Sayer's very well ordered life as a gay urban professional is turned upside down when his adoptive mother tells him that he has a twin brother. A search takes Mitch to the Tam Tam Club, where he finds his brother performing as Kitten Kaboodle, the ever-fabulous doyenne of Chicago drag. The plot takes many twists and turns as Mitch learns to loosen up and love his brother rather than try to change him. We meet some other interesting characters along the way, including Mitch's ex-lover Simon, a leather queen. The surprise ending leaves the reader wondering just which twin is which. Rodi's wry humor carries the story along at a fast clip. Both gay and straight readers should enjoy this novel, and fans of last year's hit movie, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, should also take note. Recommended for adult fiction collections, particularly in urban public and academic libraries.-Howard E. Miller, Alliance Blue Cross & Blue Shield Lib., St. LouisFrom Barnes & Noble
In search of his long-lost, separated-at-birth identical twin, a stodgy gay attorney is drawn into Chicago's demimonde and into the life of his aforementioned relative--the gloriously gowned, stiletto-heeled star of the Tam-Tam Club's "all-girl" review, Kitten Kaboodle!Book Details
Published
March 27, 1997
Publisher
New York ; Plume, 1996.
Pages
272
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780452273443