February 12, 2024
Willse debuts with a consuming psychological thriller that turns familiar tropes of dark academia and fatal attraction on their heads. Self-conscious 30-something English professor Mark Lausson spends his days teaching at Ohio’s prestigious and insular Sawyer College, and his nights compiling a book about gay murderers in history and pop culture. He has a best friend in the humanities department and a doting boyfriend in math, but they’re not enough to shake his gnawing malaise. Then chiseled sophomore Tyler Cunningham speaks up in a class discussion on The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Mark’s life begins a sweat-soaked doom spiral. Captivated by—and jealous of—Tyler’s self-possession, Mark initiates a whirlwind affair and becomes increasingly obsessed with Tyler as the sophomore’s behavior turns more and more reckless and suspect. When the specifics of Tyler’s relationship to his blue-blooded roommate, Addison, click into view, the powder keg explodes, and Mark is left to pick up the pieces. Willse expertly renders Mark’s aimlessness, establishing fertile ground for his obsession with Tyler to take root, and brings a shrewd, patient approach to the unfolding of their affair. Well-developed themes of class and self-misperception (echoing those in Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You) make up for the somewhat rushed ending. The result is a memorable, steamy, and accomplished queer thriller.
December 6, 2024
Mark Lausson is a thirtysomething professor at a prestigious Ohio liberal arts college. He teaches English literature, hangs with his lesbian best friend, and works on his book about gay serial killers. He is coasting through life with little passion until he meets the somewhat vapid but undeniably hot sophomore Tyler Cunningham. Tyler has little to recommend him other than his youth and his enthusiastic attitude toward sex with Mark. The two begin an unwise affair that could get Mark fired. Tyler treats Mark with casual affection, spending much time with his straight roommate and best friend Addison. As Mark becomes increasingly obsessed with Tyler, things take an unexpected turn, and Mark's life is shattered. Marcus Zarco narrates with a perfectly bewildered tone, capturing Mark's rootlessness and ennui. Though the book grows somewhat muddled and ends on a frustratingly sudden note, Zarco capably portrays Mark's obsession with the seemingly vacuous Tyler and does his best to support the improbable plot twists. VERDICT Willse's debut, which turns into a thriller about a lonely queer professor embarking on an unwise affair, fills a gap but is likely an optional purchase.--B. Allison Gray
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