As Donald would say, "what's the diff?"
I’m writing this article as an addendum of sorts to the Donald Strachey Mysteries fandom pimp on crack_van. The pimp is an overview of the entire fandom, but nyteflyer and I thought the books required a little more explanation.
This is a work in progress. Eventually I’ll add brief synopses of all the books as well as links that refer to them. For now, though, I’ll just tell you a bit about the books. For me, they're just as much fun as the movies, and they give fic writers a very different universe in which to play.
The bookverse world of Donald Timmy begins in the pre-AIDS era - there’s plenty of talk about Albany’s “tubs” and the generally loose attitude about multiple sexual partners. Society’s harsh attitude toward gays is brought to the fore, with examples of police brutality and the indifference and condescension of society in general. But as the books continue, we see society change, just as we are seeing it change in real life.
As in the movies, Donald and Timmy are together right from the beginning. However, their book relationship can’t be too closely compared to the one you see in the films.
For one, Donald and Timmy are older. Donald is 40 in “Death Trick,” the first book in the series. That book indicates his birth year was 1939, which would make him about 40. Some sources say author Richard Stevenson wrote the story as happening in 1979, though the book itself wasn’t published until 1981.
Timmy’s age is near Donald’s, but as yet we haven’t been given a birth year for him. We do know that he’s been through college, had a stint in the Peace Corps and considered John F. Kennedy to be his president. That puts him in his late 30s to early 40s.
Author Richard Stevenson once said he aged the guys about a year for every two real years, but that still puts them in their 50s in the more recent books. (citation needed)
Aging the characters sometimes put readers off. But Stevenson does a marvelous job of showing us why Donald and Timmy have stayed together for decades, and you get a real sense of the love and commitment the two of them have shared for so many years.
One of the biggest differences between the books and the films is one that can tend to make Donald unlikeable - his infidelity. He freely admits to screwing around, and he does this with Timmy’s knowledge. This aspect of his personality can be off-putting, but it does much to give readers a fuller picture of the times. HIV-AIDS had yet to make an appearance, and the free-love attitude of the 60s and 70s was its zenith.
And yes, Timmy knows all about it. He doesn’t like it, but to his credit he never issues an ultimatum. A wise man, he allows Donald to come to his own conclusions about value of fidelity and long-term relationships. The closest Timmy comes to getting fed up with Don is shown in a powerful scene from the second book, “On the Other Hand, Death.”
By the third book, Donald tells John Rutka that he doesn’t have sex with other men “for reasons of avoiding the plague, for Timmy’s emotional well-being, and because it just doesn’t seem to matter to me as much as it once did, I don’t do it” (Third Man Out).
The boys are much snarkier in the books, but that’s a good thing because the conversations between the two give the books their razor-sharp sense of humor. Timmy’s Jesuit education and keen intelligence often injects itself into their discussions, providing Don with either another look at his own cases or in many instances, uncomfortable insight into his own not-so-angelic behavior. Don’s acerbic wit is present throughout the narration (which is always in his point of view), much to the delight of his friends and the annoyance of anyone who crosses him.
Here’s an excerpt from the first book, “Death Trick,” which shows how well Don and Timmy play off each other:
(The conversation is between Don and Tim and starts in Don's voice.)
“Chris is a woman. The woman I spoke with got pissed off when I referred to Chris as he. They're lesbians. It was as if a strange woman called you up and said, ‘Is Don there, when will she be in?’ I want to go over there and apologize - and possibly learn something about Billy Blount. How about going along? It should help if she knows I'm gay.”
“Should I suck your cock while we’re there?”
“A knowing glance or two should do it. I'll pick you up.”
“I've got two meat pies in the oven.”
“Take them out and set them under a warm radiator. You'll hardly know the difference it makes.”
****
But the love is there, too. You won’t find sweet declarations or grand gestures, but you will see loyalty, trust and affection between the two of them. They have an excellent sex life right from the start, and it’s not unusual for the two of them to simply look at each other and decide it’s time for bed. Those scenes are subtle, but powerful and real.
For instance:
We went to bed. I’d always loved the sight of Timmy’s milk-white skin under the bluish glow of the streetlight outside my front window, and I was there running my fingers over all the different parts of him as he lay uncovered beside me when exactly five before midnight the phone rang. (Death Trick)
****
From time to time, I’ll add more observations to this post. Feel free to comment and make suggestions, and if you see a mistake, please let me know. And please do check out the books.
This is a work in progress. Eventually I’ll add brief synopses of all the books as well as links that refer to them. For now, though, I’ll just tell you a bit about the books. For me, they're just as much fun as the movies, and they give fic writers a very different universe in which to play.
The bookverse world of Donald Timmy begins in the pre-AIDS era - there’s plenty of talk about Albany’s “tubs” and the generally loose attitude about multiple sexual partners. Society’s harsh attitude toward gays is brought to the fore, with examples of police brutality and the indifference and condescension of society in general. But as the books continue, we see society change, just as we are seeing it change in real life.
As in the movies, Donald and Timmy are together right from the beginning. However, their book relationship can’t be too closely compared to the one you see in the films.
For one, Donald and Timmy are older. Donald is 40 in “Death Trick,” the first book in the series. That book indicates his birth year was 1939, which would make him about 40. Some sources say author Richard Stevenson wrote the story as happening in 1979, though the book itself wasn’t published until 1981.
Timmy’s age is near Donald’s, but as yet we haven’t been given a birth year for him. We do know that he’s been through college, had a stint in the Peace Corps and considered John F. Kennedy to be his president. That puts him in his late 30s to early 40s.
Author Richard Stevenson once said he aged the guys about a year for every two real years, but that still puts them in their 50s in the more recent books. (citation needed)
Aging the characters sometimes put readers off. But Stevenson does a marvelous job of showing us why Donald and Timmy have stayed together for decades, and you get a real sense of the love and commitment the two of them have shared for so many years.
One of the biggest differences between the books and the films is one that can tend to make Donald unlikeable - his infidelity. He freely admits to screwing around, and he does this with Timmy’s knowledge. This aspect of his personality can be off-putting, but it does much to give readers a fuller picture of the times. HIV-AIDS had yet to make an appearance, and the free-love attitude of the 60s and 70s was its zenith.
And yes, Timmy knows all about it. He doesn’t like it, but to his credit he never issues an ultimatum. A wise man, he allows Donald to come to his own conclusions about value of fidelity and long-term relationships. The closest Timmy comes to getting fed up with Don is shown in a powerful scene from the second book, “On the Other Hand, Death.”
By the third book, Donald tells John Rutka that he doesn’t have sex with other men “for reasons of avoiding the plague, for Timmy’s emotional well-being, and because it just doesn’t seem to matter to me as much as it once did, I don’t do it” (Third Man Out).
The boys are much snarkier in the books, but that’s a good thing because the conversations between the two give the books their razor-sharp sense of humor. Timmy’s Jesuit education and keen intelligence often injects itself into their discussions, providing Don with either another look at his own cases or in many instances, uncomfortable insight into his own not-so-angelic behavior. Don’s acerbic wit is present throughout the narration (which is always in his point of view), much to the delight of his friends and the annoyance of anyone who crosses him.
Here’s an excerpt from the first book, “Death Trick,” which shows how well Don and Timmy play off each other:
(The conversation is between Don and Tim and starts in Don's voice.)
“Chris is a woman. The woman I spoke with got pissed off when I referred to Chris as he. They're lesbians. It was as if a strange woman called you up and said, ‘Is Don there, when will she be in?’ I want to go over there and apologize - and possibly learn something about Billy Blount. How about going along? It should help if she knows I'm gay.”
“Should I suck your cock while we’re there?”
“A knowing glance or two should do it. I'll pick you up.”
“I've got two meat pies in the oven.”
“Take them out and set them under a warm radiator. You'll hardly know the difference it makes.”
****
But the love is there, too. You won’t find sweet declarations or grand gestures, but you will see loyalty, trust and affection between the two of them. They have an excellent sex life right from the start, and it’s not unusual for the two of them to simply look at each other and decide it’s time for bed. Those scenes are subtle, but powerful and real.
For instance:
We went to bed. I’d always loved the sight of Timmy’s milk-white skin under the bluish glow of the streetlight outside my front window, and I was there running my fingers over all the different parts of him as he lay uncovered beside me when exactly five before midnight the phone rang. (Death Trick)
****
From time to time, I’ll add more observations to this post. Feel free to comment and make suggestions, and if you see a mistake, please let me know. And please do check out the books.