The Intimates
Ralph Sassone

Farrar, Straus and Giroux
February 2011/ ISBN 14391022104
Fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Willie Elliott

Ralph Sassone has written an interesting novel about relationships in The Intimates. Robbie and Maize strike up a long relationship even after it is apparent that Robbie is gay and has no sexual attraction to Maize who is straight, but he depends on Maize for moral support as he brings home his boyfriend to meet his mother. Bring in Robbie's father and mother and Maize's mother and you have a novel filled with unusual relationships.

Robbie's relationship with his father is most unusual and does not seem to be resolved in the time frame of the novel.

While the relationship between Maize and Robbie is something one would not normally expect, it is Robbie's inability to connect with his male friends that is most compelling. He seems most compatible on a physical level, but when his partners ask for emotional sharing, Robbie backs off. The same can be said of Maize and her episodes with heterosexual sex. After each episode by either Maize or Robbie, they come to each other hoping for answers to their lack of emotional involvement. These meeting invariably lead to tender moments between the two that has nothing to do with sexual tension.
This is an excellent novel that shows how tough it can be growing up in the world today.