Rather than plan for college in the fall, James spends his days trolling the internet, looking for the perfect house in the middle of America.

This one was a nice surprise: pick it up for the inviting cover art, only to learn you've already read something by this author, and you liked it. Thankfully, Peter Cameron kept me turning pages with his new novel as well.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is narrated by 18-year-old James Sveck, who may or may not admit to being gay, either to himself or either of his divorced parents. James is caustic and cavalier, a personality which distances him from those around him but endears him to we readers.

The setup is this: James is spending the summer working in his mother's art gallery. His mother's the flighty, society-lady type; his only coworker is a gay man looking for love...only, as James finds out, not in his direction. He and his sister Gillian couldn't be more different, and his paternal relationship isn't all that great, either. The only familial support James gets is from his maternal grandmother; her house is often his escape, a sanctuary where he feels safe being just who he is.

Rather than plan for college in the fall, James spends his days trolling the internet, looking for the perfect house in the middle of America, far from the rush and rumble of Manhattan. James is searching: for himself, for his desires, for a family that actually gets him. Take this witty roundabout exchange between James and his mother:

"Well, I've just wondered if perhaps...Are you gay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me if I'm gay?"

"Who else has asked you?"

"Dad."

"Oh," she said. "Well, what did you tell him?"

"Why do you want to know what I told him?"

"I don't know," my mother said. "I suppose it was just another way of asking the question."

"Why would you ask me that question? Did you ask Gillian?"

"No," my mother said.

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't think Gillian was gay."

"So you think I'm gay?"

"I don't know-yes: the thought has occurred to me."

"But why would you want to know?"

"Why would I want to know? You're my son, James. I care about you. I want to help you."

"You think homosexuals need help?"

We know that James will be all right; he's witty and bright. He just needs to figure it all out. We're rooting for him all the way. | Laura Hamlett

---