The Night Listener (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Night Listener
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Armistead Maupin
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = 2000
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-06-017143-X
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Night Listener" is a roman à clef by Armistead Maupin. The plot is based on the real life story of Anthony Godby Johnson, the purported author of a book "" that was later revealed to have been a hoax.

Plot summary

Gabriel Noone is a gay writer whose late-night radio stories have brought him into the homes of millions. Noone has recently separated from Jess, his partner of ten years. Noone's publisher sends him the galleys of a memoir apparently written by a 13-year-old boy, Peter Lomax. The author claims to have been the victim of sexual abuse and infected with AIDS.

According to his memoir, his father started beating him at two and raped him at four; his mother videotaped the "sessions". When he was eight years old, his parents started pimping him and selling videotapes. When Pete was age 11, he ran away with the pornographic tapes, and his parents were jailed. A psychologist named Donna Lomax took the boy in and eventually adopted him.

Noone contacts the boy and they start exchanging a series of intimate phone calls that develop into a kind of father/son relationship. He begins to suspect that Pete does not exist and that he and his memoir are fabrications by Donna. Even a visit to their home is inconclusive, and the novel ends with Gabriel feeling that the value of the relationship to him is more important than whether or not Pete is real.

Subplots in the novel revolve around Gabriel's relationships with his lover and his father. Important themes are the nature of father/son relationships, the power struggle involved in caring for and being cared for by another, the embellishment of truth, and the secrets we keep even in the most intimate relationships.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

*The novel was adapted into a 2006 film starring Robin Williams, which was co-written by Maupin, Terry Anderson and director Patrick Stettner.

*"", a 2002 episode of "" TV series, borrowed heavily from the book's plot.

ee also

For a similar hoax, see JT LeRoy.

*List of books portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors
*List of films portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors

External links

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E03E4D7133CF93AA35753C1A9669C8B63 New York Times review]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906EFD9123EF93AA15753C1A9669C8B63 New York Times article]
* [http://www.portlandphoenix.com/archive/books/00/10/06/ARMISTEAD.html An article about "The Night Listener"]