The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

Until You
By TJ Klune
Dreamspinner Press, 2017
Five stars

Hoo, boy. TJ Klune at his Kluniest. The third in a series of sorts, here we rejoin the portly Paul Auster and his dim but beautiful boyfriend, Vince Taylor. This absurd, hilarious story is as heartfelt as it is ridiculous. The players are the stars of the first two books, “Tell me It’s Real,” and “The Queen and the Homo Jock King.” While none of us really needed a wedding, what better vehicle for more unfiltered behavior and quirky personalities, right?

Once again we have Paul being inappropriate and awkward, while his best-friend-forever Sandy (aka drag queen Helena Handbasket) provides snark and threats of violence. The secondary players, from gender-fluid Kori/Corey and Paul’s crazy (but loving) parents and grandmother, are all awesome as I remember them from the earlier books. These folks are crucial to the story, for their comic effect, but even more importantly for their resonance in the narrative’s overall emphasis on the power of love to bring happiness.

For all its Three-Stooges-like lowbrow comedy, “Until You” is a paean to true love—not just the romantic love between soulmates, but the love for friends and the love of parents as well. There is a great deal of bad language (in spite of constant requests to watch it in the dialogue) and a substantial quantity of sexual behavior that make this exactly what Klune wants it to be: a celebration of gayness with no apology and no boundaries.

One detail I particularly love is the fact that Paul is plump. Unapologetically so, or at least he never really tries to lose weight or build muscles. In spite of the fat-shaming endemic to the world in general and the gay world in particular, Paul is supported by everyone to be true to who he is. So very refreshing.

TJ Klune’s books are all imbued with his distinctive prose style; but beyond that they are wildly different in content and emotional impact. I’ve loved everything, although not all his books appeal to everyone (and why would they?). For those of us who revel in the diversity of contemporary gay fiction, Klune is a one-man smorgasbord.