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Square Affair

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In the small Midwestern town of Dewers, among the turmoil of the 1960s, the conversations of five men leads to sexual exploration, which takes them and the town on a journey through good and evil that will change the entire community and confirm the town’s resolve to survive.
Arrested on charges of public indecency for anonymous sex in the courthouse restroom, five men reveal complex, unknown, and differing motivations for their actions. As they face not only criminal prosecution, but also the tribunal of Dewers, two questions are on their minds: Who am I, and is anyone out there like me?
Clara May and Frieda, guardians of Dewers gossip, narrate Square Affair, where the reader becomes a citizen of Dewers: walking the square, in a bar drinking, trick-or-treating, in a store buying a hat, or in a car gossiping.

245 pages, Paperback

First published January 13, 2015

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Timmothy J. Holt

2 books5 followers

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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Dianne.
6,790 reviews586 followers
December 19, 2015
It was the late 1960’s, an era being bombarded with turmoil and the awakening of change, but for one small town, the shock of a homosexual scandal among its own sons was too much to bare.

There were four of them, born and raised in Dewers, former soldiers, married family men, and the backbone of the future for a town that has held its own rebuffing change. Of course they blamed “the outsider,” the man from the big city, but was it Gary’s fault or was it a chance meeting of five men in a basically all male bar, the power of alcohol and the desire to finally share a weight of immense proportions? All have experimented and one knows his sexual identity, but what of those who live a heterosexual life? Every town has its dirty little secrets, but eventually those secrets come out and someone has to pay.

For Bob, Gary, Thomas, James and Danny, their penchant for dangerous encounters in a men’s bathroom on public property will be their downfall when they are arrested, released and quite possible about to stand trial for being different, for trying to live a lie and for getting caught. The town is ablaze with gossip, tongues are wagging and the religious zealot is expounding about fire and brimstone, deviant behavior and to fear the wrath of God. Will the town succumb to the hatred of something different? What of the families of these men? Are they now tainted, too? Wives are betrayed, children are ostracized, and parents are devastated. Lives will change, people will move on, but the damage has been done, or has it? Perhaps the strength of one woman will begin to turn the tide in her hair salon confessions. One thing for sure, the town of Dewers will never be the same and maybe that change will be for the best.

Square Affair by Timmothy J. Holt is a look at the struggles of five men to maintain their secrets while living lies. Their crime was not in the acts of sex or love, it was in feeling the thrill of the location they chose. Their true punishment was the pain they inflicted on the innocent victims of their lies and the questioning of their own identities. Timmothy J. Holt has written a powerful tale of homosexuality, the shame of hiding it and the need for acceptance of those who are considered “different,” and the huge step one must make to decide the path that is right for them. His characters are many, some more developed than others, but his portrayal of the mindset of the era is spot on as the sexual revolution was struggling to come out of the closet, a struggle that continues today. Well put together, without revealing erotic scenes, this is NOT an erotic read, it is a reveal of humanity, its differences, its flaws and its opportunity to grow.

I received this copy from Timmothy J. Holt in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: January 13, 2015
Publisher: Christine F. Anderson Publishing & Media
ISBN-13: 9780692350645
Genre: Adult Fiction | Gay Romance
Print Length: 246 pages
Available from: Amazon Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Profile Image for Rob Slaven.
480 reviews55 followers
December 6, 2015
The nutshell-no-spoilers summary of this book is fairly simple. Our five male protagonists live in a very small town and they get caught up in a large scandal after they're caught having homosexual sex in a public bathroom with each other. The novel is a character sketch (or series of them) rather than one that takes you through a blow-by-blow account (no pun intended) of the deeds in question. Written from the perspective of a dozen different people (the men themselves, their wives, their parents, the town's lead gossip) it gives a very rounded view of the situation and the impact it has on the community.

To the positive side, the book is extremely circumspect. In an almost dizzying way it tells the story from every perspective you can imagine. It deals honestly and forthrightly with the issue of homosexuality in a way that's refreshing and helpful to the debate. No punches are pulled and for a brief time we live in the shoes of these very real people.

To the negative, there are lots of textual problems and the book reads at times rather childishly. It generally lacks depth and the author seems to skim over the top of what could be an exceptionally deep view of the characters. Rather than giving us the real meat of anyone's emotional position we instead seem to get a very broad view. This is a charged and sensitive topic seen through a fish-eye lens. We know everyone's position but we fail to get much of the reasoning behind it.

In summary, this is a great kernel for a book and one that could be a classic but it's rushed and overly truncated. If you have reason to sympathize with these characters I think you'll find much you can relate to but you'll be left wanting much, much more.
Profile Image for Cobwebby Eldritch SpaceReader Reindeer .
5,384 reviews307 followers
April 29, 2015
Review: SQUARE AFFAIR by Timmothy J. Holt

Only a brave author or a foolhardy one attempts to run a novel in first-person narrative. Timmothy J. Holt proves himself exceptionally brave, because his novel SQUARE AFFAIR is dual first person: two discrete individuals, sometimes in disagreement, taking upon themselves to explain the astonishing events of one small Midwest town. We finish with a portrait of Middle America at the end of the uproarious 1960's, and I think we come away with a better comprehension, and hopefully, a more open mind.
Profile Image for M.M. Strawberry Library & Reviews.
4,250 reviews347 followers
July 28, 2017
I liked the storytelling of this book. It follows a different format than what I usually see, and the various perspectives build up a nice picture of the story over time. There's lots of questions in the beginning, but as the chapters go by, you get more and more of the picture - you even get the POV's of the wives of the married men who had engaged in the affair.

A couple of the POV's actually surprised me as these POV's offer a somewhat different version of what others think. (for example, the POV of a parent of one of the men in the affair), and you find out that said parent is not as close-minded as others think they are)

The book had a couple of typos and formatting mistakes, but nothing huge. The story was overall enjoyable and engaging, and I would read more books from this author.
Profile Image for Violet.
311 reviews9 followers
April 20, 2015
A talented writer. He has the ability to inform, teach and entertain you. As their story unfolds, you'll get to know and enjoy the characters. Add this to your reading list.

Thanks to Timmothy Holt and Goodreads for my copy.
Profile Image for Carlos Mock.
785 reviews6 followers
May 14, 2015
Square Affair by Timothy J. Holt

The story is set in 1969 in the small town of Dewers, IL. It involves five men who get caught having sex amongst themselves in the County Court public restroom: they are arrested and are going to trial.

Bob (Bobby) Thompson is a lawyer and professor at a nearby college. His family - The Thompsons - practically founded the town and Bobby's father, William, is the bank president. Bobby was the Dewers High School quarterback and married his HS sweetheart, Mary. They have two children.

Thomas (Tom) Turnball is a farmer. He lives a simple life with his wife, Sue. After High School, he enlisted in the Navy and saw the world, but returned home to marry Sue. They also have two children.

Danny O'Conner has been strange from his early days. He was raised by his grandfather after been kicked out of the house by his father. His sin: admiring muscle boy magazines. Danny pretty much knows that he's gay, but has never bothered to "come out." He owns the town tavern: Squeaky, where all five men meet and discover their homosexual tendencies.

James Calhoun owns the Chevy/Buick dealership. He also married his his sweetheart, Judy - the daughter of the town's preacher. They also have two kids.

Finally, there's Gary Warren. A known homosexual who is not native to the small town - he comes from Chicago, where he keeps a studio apartment. Gary and Bob were college roommates. They fooled around with each other and Gary got Bob to experiment homosexual sex with other men while they were roommates.

All five men have been friends for a long time and one night, while very drunk at Squeaky - they start talking about sex. They are all attracted to have sex amongst themselves so they start having long camping weekends. They soon discover that all of them have been frequenting the Square public restrooms in search of "anonymous" sex.

Unfortunately, the men are addicted the thrills of the public bathroom sex and they get caught. In a small town, in 1969, there is nothing else to do but "gossip" about it all. The gossiper queen is none other than Clara May - a 70/yo retired English teacher and her septuagenarian bridge club friends, Freda, Millie, and Hazel.

Mr. Holt writes from the first person point of view, and changes the narrator to change the point of view. He informs the reader of these changes by changing the name on the chapters - however, not all narrators are clearly denoted (especially in Chapter 22). As an editor I would have strongly suggested to just use the third person point of view. He should have had his editor check on the children's names. Sue and Thomas kids go from James and Jane to Johnny and Mary in Chapter 22.

This is not to say that the book was not fun. I enjoyed the book a lot, read it in two days. I loved the "small town scandal" theme. I also loved the fact that the men involved are either confused, bisexual, or just plain homosexual. A wonderful and easy read....

I would have set the story in 1979, I think the responses are more appropriate of the seventies.....
Profile Image for Kathleen Kelly.
1,376 reviews128 followers
March 27, 2015
A Square Affair ecognized. Square Affair refers to five men who are arrested for having annoymous sex in the Courthouse bathrooms. They never thought they would be caught but they were and now have to face the consequences.
The story is narrated by Clara May and her friend Frieda, the town gossips. These ladies know everything that goes on in town. Clara May had her suspicions but kept it to herself. Clara May is an individual who is very progressive for her age and the era. Because of this a few of the men are very comfortable talking to her. I really liked her character.
The arrest of these five men and the consequences open up buried secrets that a few of them have harbored for a very long time. Are they all gay, have they grown accustomed to being gay and keep it secret, are they ready to "come out", choose to end their marriages, or do they keep their marriage together just because they feel it the right thing to do?  These are questions that are eventually touched upon as the author tells the story. We come to know the wives of a few of the men, their feelings and emotions are put to the test as the trial of the men is ready to begin. 
I found this story to be very well written and true to how it was back in the 60's. 50+ years later, being gay is finally being accepted by most people. Most states now allow gay marriage, actually my daughter married her significant other just last week in Florida. We have come a long way in those years and it is a big step that has been a long time coming. The author really delved into the emotions that all people in this small community have and how the arrest and subsequent trial has affected them.I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.
I received a copy of this book for review and was not monetarily compensated for my thoughts.
Profile Image for Irene.
927 reviews9 followers
February 11, 2016
One outsider and four other men, sons of a very small US town in the late 1960's. A small minded place where everyone knows everyone else's business and homosexuality is not only frowned on but a crime too. So what happens when these 5 men are discovered in the public toilets? The events are told from several different viewpoints and there were several moving sections when the men explained how they felt/were feeling. Sadly many of the characters were only concerned about how the town would react to what had happened, and not about the men or their well being. Thankfully things have changed since those days and people are much more enlightened now - everyone can be true to themselves. I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review by the publisher and Netgalley.
Profile Image for Virginia Winfield.
2,673 reviews24 followers
February 16, 2016
This is a very interesting book. It was definitely not what I normally read. I had a hard time putting it down and I learned some things from this book. This takes place in the 1960's in a small town. You learn a lot about many of the townsman. In some ways you learn a little too much but it is done in a fun way. You have to love the gossips in the town. What is found out during an arrest and trial will be hard to ever forget. I received a copy of this book through smith publicity Inc and netgalley for a fair and honest opinion.
Profile Image for Rachel Watts.
Author 7 books22 followers
July 22, 2015
Writing so many first person narratives in the one novel must be incredibly hard to do and I confess, with the exception of Clara May, they all seem quite samesy. I didn’t feel I really got to know any of the characters intimately, despite their habit of describing sexual details with surprising frankness, even to old Clara May, who, inexplicably, doesn’t blink an eye.

Full review here: http://leatherboundpounds.com/2015/07...

Profile Image for Antonella.
1,412 reviews
January 25, 2016
3.5
I liked that the book is told from the perspective of many different characters, in a very original way.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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