Blind Items

Matthew Rettenmund's second novel, Blind Items: A (Love) Story is told from two different perspectives and gives the readers a glimpse into the lives of two men in New York City in the late 1990s. David Greer, who wants to be a real writer, is instead working for a gay porn magazine called Pumped, living in Chelsea and spending time with his best friends - Carol, who runs a kitschy knick knack shop and Warren, who writes a gossip column rivaling La Dolce Musto. One night when Warren can't attend a party, Carol and David go instead. While there David meets Alan Dillinger, a David Hasselhoff knockoff starring in the TV show Lifesavers. Alan is not out in his professional life though David quickly determines that Alan is out in his personal life and wants to date David. The novel follows the two men trying to keep their relationship afloat while hiding it from the paparazzi and Warren, the master of the gossip column blind item.

The book's format is done well and includes chapters of David in the present time juxtaposed with chapters of Alan as a teenager who is coming to terms with his sexuality and horrible home life. Rettenmund has a witty style of writing and puts in a lot of celebrity gossip - some of which is recognizable even years later. The issue of tabloids outing celebrities is still relevant today - Lance Bass's outing created the term "lanced" as in "Perez Hilton lanced Neil Patrick Harris". If you like this novel, check out Rettenmund's first novel Boy Culture which was recently made into a movie.