Night Work by Nelson George
By Keith Boykin, in books
Wednesday, June 25 2003, 12:40AM
The new book Night Work by Nelson George provides an entertaining and well-written story of a black man's adventure into New York's upscale escort scene. As it turns out, rich straight white people like kinky sex too.
Night Work tells the story of a dark-skinned male escort named Neal Daniel Taylor, who changes his name to Night and services rich white women in New York City. Aided by an entrepreneurial Italian female pimp named Raffaella, Night quickly climbs his way to the top of the escort world. But Night wants more.
Night wants to become an R&B singer, and he uses his work connections to meet the influential manager Ivy Greenwich. In the process, he gets mixed up with a beautiful, bankrupt and drugged out supermodel named Beth Ann. Then, when one of Night's clients turns up dead, the police come knocking on his door looking for answers and jeopardizing his music career.
He also has to deal with his father's declining health, his loving sister's worried concern, a haunting experience of abuse from his childhood, and his own insecurity about his dark skin color.
Night is not your average gigolo. Raised in the streets of Brooklyn, he feels uncomfortable at first in the upscale world of wealthy Manhattanites. His heart seems to be in the right place, but his actions often seem to lead him elsewhere.
Night also has a problem with gay men. He won't say it, but it's clear. He repeatedly refers to particular men as "fey" and at one point identifies a club promoter named Ramon as a "sloppy pink faggot." When Night suspects his friend J-Luv might be a little "sweet," he says he "just listened and watched my ass."
Like many so-called straight strippers, though, Night is riddled with contradictions about his sexuality. He's not gay but he has the gaydar to out his vocal coach, who is a married man with a son. Night is also perfectly willing to disrobe for gay men, and he describes his stripper friend J-Luv as "pretty." And he protests at the suggestion that he might be homophobic.
"I'm not being antigay here, folks, but men-whatever their sexual orientation-are still men," Night explains. "So whenever I did gay gigs, I danced sexy but I kept my eyes open and my butt cheeks closed."
The author also explores the sexual fantasies of repressed upper crust society, including the story of a rich woman seeking a "golden shower" and a couple that require their sexual partners to wear Miles Davis and Billie Holiday masks.
Nelson George begins the book by explaining that in New York City, "there are at least three times as many doors as people." Some doors lead to other doors and other realities, and no one knows this better than Night, who works behind closed doors.
Told from the perspective of the lead character, Night Work switches back from past to present in chapter after chapter by using a lighter font to denote the past and a darker font to represent the present.
Night Work shows Nelson George is a gifted writer. He's so talented that you wonder why he's slumming his way through popular fiction paperback novels when he could easily be writing something else. But George seems to see this book along the lines of Chester Himes's detective novels, and just in case you miss it, he uses one of his characters to draw the connection.
The story is well crafted and carefully -- maybe too carefully -- weaves together all the loose ends at the end. In fact, the story becomes a bit confusing at the end, but that does not undermine the exciting 200 pages that precede it.
Although it does not attempt to explore the meaning of life, Night Work does introduce us to a slice of life we don't often see. The book is popular fiction, and despite its shortcomings, it's good popular fiction.
Night Work is published by Touchstone Books.
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