Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Charming Young Man by Eliot Schrefer Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Schrefer, Eliot Charming Young Man. Tegan/HarperCollins, 2023 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062982391 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062982414 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 9-12 A talented pianist at just sixteen, Léon Delafosse has the skills to raise his family out of near poverty; he just needs to secure a patron in the society elite in 1890s France. A successful performance at a high society salon doesn't bring funding, but it does lead to both romance and connections through Marcel Proust, a handsome, eccentric, and utterly charming boy who easily sweeps Léon into the Parisian art and music scene with little more than a wink and a smile. Soon, Léon finds patronage with Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac, but Robert has a complicated, often hostile relationship with Marcel, putting Léon in a rather awkward position, especially as Léon pursues both romantically. In the end, it doesn't really matter, as both Marcel and Robert betray Léon in separate ways, and a dejected Léon returns to his small hometown to carve out something of a life, hopefully with his childhood friend and love, Félix. Third person-narration grounds Léon's coming-of-age story in Parisian history and culture, situating his struggles with his sexuality within his discovery of a world beyond the limitations of his class, and he ponders how his own passions and desires, romantic, sexual, and otherwise, fit into that larger experience. It's interesting, then, that Schrefer chooses to have Léon return home to live his most authentic life; Parisian society can be just as homophobic and insular as a small town, so why not live with who you truly love. Francophiles will delight in the many cameos here, including actress Sarah Bernhardt and writer Lucien Daudet, and an author's note provides more context regarding the book's inspiration, the real Léon Delafosse, a French pianist and composer. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois