An Old Master still life of a moldy and infested watermelon. I sometimes picture myself as rotting fruit.

Yale is a self-admitted, sardonic and self-aware, mess: Details of Yale’s previous relationships, including those with childhood friend Hillary who introduced him to same-sex adventures but claims Yale “assaulted” him, and Angel, whose life is a kind of distorted mirror for Yale as he attempts to sleep his way to the top, mix with Yale’s simultaneous attempt to contact both his doctor and his drug dealer. The novel follows Yale over one 48-hour period as he prowls the still-blasted New York City streets in search of both legal and illegal drugs, and for affection in the form of casual sex.Ĭonsistent with the fragmented nature of Yale’s life, Ruff’s narrative shifts back and forth between past and present in sections, or “episodes” of varying length, each named for a different dance position, or style. HIV-positive African-American writer Yale Battle struggles with meth addiction, a dying cat, and the memories of his rocky long-term relationship with a talented but tormented dancer. In Toss and Whirl and Pass (Quote Editions), he explores the beleaguered lives of adult artists in post-9/11 Manhattan. Shawn Stewart Ruff’s first novel, Finlater, immersed readers in the world of 1970’s Midwestern adolescents. ‘Toss and Whirl and Pass’ by Shawn Stewart Ruff

Finlater by Shawn Stewart Ruff