Reading Lance Reynald’s ‘Pop Salvation’

BOOK REVIEW // What Lance Reynald lacks in technique and imagination, he makes up for in pure heart and soul in his first novel Pop Salvation. The novel tells the story of Caleb, a diminutive boy from Texas, transplanted to Washington D.C. in middle school.

He eventually begins to come into his own with the discovery of the art of Andy Warhol and a colorful group of adolescent outcasts. What would otherwise have been another trite gay coming of age story, Pop sets itself apart by tying the story to – not surprisingly – what was happening in pop culture.

The characters bond through drugs, sex, experimental art, and of course The Rocky Horror Picture Show, surrounding Caleb in a relentless orbit as he embarks on his own quest for self-discovery and importance. His struggle to define himself and sort through his adolescent feelings are perhaps no better illustrated than when he admits:

“I understood how you could love someone and not be able to be with them because I’d felt that way about both of my friends. I felt like the thought of attraction or sex just seemed to complicate things with love.”

Nothing signals the end of innocence more clearly than acknowledging how complicated the relationship between love and sex is.

Though little more than archetypes, seemingly culled from a reservoir of teen and gay movies, the characters are strikingly endearing and familiar. Caleb’s best friend Aaron plays the talk, dark, and handsome brooding athlete with a perfect body, while his other best friend Sonia takes up the mantle of the daughter of socialites, wild-child, with a penchant for ‘sensitive boys.’ Reynald perfectly captures the development of these adolescent relationships to create a story that though is a bit predictable, holds you captive until its conclusion.

The story spans approximately the years of 1983-88, when New Wave and Rock n’ Roll were challenging gender roles and the establishment in general. Not another small town coming out tale, the story moves through the galleries of the Smithsonian, to the streets of Georgetown and New York, and back. The recognizable settings contribute to the familiarity of the story and allow the reader to more fully immerse him or herself into it.

The result is a light but engaging read perfect for a summer escape or (another) rainy afternoon. It may not bring you back to your adolescence, but it will certainly remind you that little things like friends and first kisses aren’t something you soon forget.

Meet Lance Reynald at the Borders in the Time Warner Center, Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00 PM! More information on Facebook.

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