Reviewed by Rod McLary
This new novel by Tom Rob Smith has been described as an ‘epic queer love story’ and that is exactly what it is. A story which spans twenty years and describes the love between Danny and Luis from its beginning in London 1992 through to London 2012. But the narrative extends beyond the intensely personal to charting the slow and often painful progression towards the legalising of same-sex marriage.
In a relatively short section of the novel, the scene is set. It is 1992 and Danny Smith at age 25 finally has a room of his own after years of sharing poor accommodation and even once sleeping on a park bench in the shadow of the Savoy Hotel. After performing a good deed for a stranger, he enters a gay bar and decides ‘it was time to take matters into his own hands’ [7] and speaks to a stranger ‘statuesque and stoic, with broad shoulders and coal-black hair’ [7]. The stranger is Luis and thus begins the ‘epic love story’ – the much longer section of the book.
The time now shifts to 2012 – Luis and Danny have been together for twenty years. In the summer of that year, Danny and Luis are invited to the wedding anniversary of their friends Emma and John. It is significant that they are a heterosexual couple and they were legally able to be married – a fact that does not escape Danny. The thought of marriage begins to grow in Danny’s mind and in his view of his and Luis’ future – as he says ‘I want to stand up in front of all the people in my life and say this is the man I love’ [68]. Effectively he is saying that he and Luis deserve to have their relationship recognised as much as every straight couple.
But there is a thought which won’t go away. Luis may say ‘no’ to the marriage proposal and where will that leave Danny? It becomes apparent that there are unresolved issues in Luis’ life which have to be addressed if the couple is to have any future together.
It is the journey [an overused expression but one which is apt here as it also involves travel to Spain and Cadiz in particular] which is the most interesting and engaging aspect of the narrative. How Danny navigates the intricacies of planning a wedding while simultaneously worrying about whether Luis wants to marry him is beautifully drawn and we can share with Danny his anxiety – he is indeed a sensitive soul.
Along the way, there are markers in the progress towards the legislation of gay marriage – how each step such as civil partnerships in 2005 – ‘an antiquated term as dry as a mouthful of crackers’ [309] – was one step closer to the Marriage [Same-Sex Couples] Act of 2013 with the first gay marriage in England taking place on 29 March 2014.
Tom Rob Smith has crafted a love story which will appeal to all readers who enjoy reading and caring about the protagonists. Danny is an engaging and sensitive character and readers cannot help but care for him as he seeks validation of his love for Luis.
Well recommended.
Twenty Years Together
[2026]
by Tom Rob Smith
Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 978 1 4711 3315 2
$34.99; 323pp