In his latest book "The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family," Dan Savage (columnist for The Onion's "Savage Love") shows different sides of his love and where they fall on the idea of the big "commitment."
His mom obsessively cuts out newspaper articles about the health benefits (not the insurance kind) of marriage and mails them to him under the pseudonym "The Mad Clipper.",”
In his latest book "The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family," Dan Savage (columnist for The Onion's "Savage Love") shows different sides of his love in a same-sex relationship.
His mom obsessively cuts out newspaper articles about the health benefits (not the insurance kind) of marriage and mails them to him under the pseudonym "The Mad Clipper."
His six-year-old adopted son, D.J., doesn't want to see his parents kiss at the actual wedding, but is on-board for the reception and ensuing cake. Being raised in an open-minded environment, D.J. should give the couple hope for a future that is more accepting of different kinds of couples, right?
Wrong. Ever since D.J. started school, he already has clear-cut gender roles in his head about who should marry and who shouldn't.
The person whose opinion matters the most, his boyfriend of 10 years and co-legal parent of D.J., Terry Miller, fluctuates on the concept as much as Savage. Though both are convinced that they aren't going to break up, they view marriage as a "jinx," and can't help look at the sobering divorce rates.
Savage writes with the frankness of a sex advice columnist, but the finesse of a seasoned novelist. He can straddle the thin line between bawdy and non-descriptive, and will still probably offend some; but hey, his mom "gets" him — and so will the audience that would be interested in reading this novel.
Though Savage discusses frustrating moments in the material, like when he can't get the medical status of his son's poodle because it is registered under Miller's name, his first-person narrative account and conversational tone keeps the story moving.
The family's journey from their home near Seattle to Michigan, where Savage's family gets together, also helps to further the story. Through the constructs of a journey, changes match the scenery, and Miller and Savage instinctively change the way they portray themselves through some of the smaller towns on their trip.
The construct works well, as it allows for Savage to wander off in thought during the car rides, punctuated by D.J.'s choice of music — Black Sabbath — and reaffirm his general distrust of anywhere that does not get The New York Times.
Readers will have to finish the novel to find out the resolution to the main conflict: If Savage and Miller both agree that getting married means acting like straight people and would be "selling out," if they give in and get married or if they settle on getting "Property of ." tattoos of each others names.
Either way, it won't be easy to reach the end of the novel without laughing out loud a few times.
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