Boyfriend Material

“It’s the redheaded step-brainchild of an elderly earl with a thing for agriculture and a Cambridge-educated etymologist who I think might be a rogue AI sent from the future. Their mission? Saving dung beetles. And, as a fundraiser, it’s my job to convince people that they’re better off giving their money to bugs that eat poo instead of pandas, orphans, or—God help us—Comic Relief.”

Hall uses humor to build Luc’s voice in the novel. Luc’s comedic inner monologue disrupts tension built by the book’s more serious topics. Through Luc, Hall weaves jokes with important information, combining world building and levity. Hall aims to characterize Luc while not overwhelming the reader with history.

“‘Of course it does.’ Dr. Fairclough made an impatient gesture. ‘It makes you look like entirely the wrong sort of homosexual.’”

Dr. Fairclough incites the central plot of the book when pressing Luc to fix his public image. She also highlights the discrimination he faces as a public member of the LGBTQ+ community. Dr. Fairclough’s comment shows how his public image is at odds with his personal identity and shows that she is only interested in how his image impacts their charity. This is one of the more flagrant examples of the discrimination Luc faces.

“Was it me, or had he basically said ‘I think you’re behaving unethically, but I assume I can’t expect any better from you’? The mature making-this-work-and-saving-my-job reaction would be to let that slide. ‘Thanks. I always like my dinner served with a sprinkling of sanctimony.’”

The narrative style of the novel is not traditional stream of consciousness. However, in moments like this, the narrative looks deeply into Luc’s psyche and the thoughts behind his actions. Further, these lines establish the biggest conflict facing Luc and Oliver’s relationship: their difficulties communicating. Luc interprets Oliver’s actions as intending to snub him, making him defensive from the outset.

“Yes, but you’ll slowly discover that you’re not as different as you initially assumed, and then he’ll surprise you with how thoughtful he is, and then you’ll come to his rescue in an unexpected moment of need, and then you’ll fall madly in love with each other and live happily ever after.”

Bridget, while explaining to Luc how she believes he will fall in love with Oliver, almost breaks the fourth wall by reciting familiar romance tropes. Hall has Bridget suggest these tropes for two reasons—to prepare the reader for the romance plot ahead and to lay the foundation for the tropes he plans to subvert as Oliver and Luc enter a real relationship.

“I shrugged. ‘Most people think my parents are the most interesting thing about me.’

‘Perhaps that’s because you don’t let them know you.’”

Oliver is quick to identify and verbalize Luc’s main flaw: his resistance to vulnerability. However, he does not yet have the necessary information to understand why Luc is so private, making his critique a moment of foreshadowing for Luc’s later revelations.

“No. Not a lot of people did know that. I didn’t know that. Essentially making Leo from Billerica—and for that matter, Simon from Blue, and how many the fuck million people watched this show live—closer to my dad than I was. It was getting increasingly hard not to be actively glad that the fucker had cancer.”

Although Luc tries to remain collected following his father’s cancer diagnosis, these lines make his hurt clear. He struggles to watch his father as a public figure and compares his father’s television persona to the man he knows. This showcases The Disconnect Between Public and Private Identities; Jon is charismatic and generous in public, but he has abandoned his own family. Luc feels hurt and grief as well as a feeling of familial obligation, showing the depth of his trauma.

“‘It’s just…it’s going to be all hard and messy.’

‘Lots of things are. Many of them are still worth doing.’”

While Oliver does not try to push Luc toward reconciliation, he does speak positively when Luc grapples with whether to engage with Jon. The idea that difficult things are still “worth” doing or engaging with is a repeating motif of their relationship; the two of them repeatedly challenge each other and grow as a result.

“Trust Oliver Blackwood to be able to identify sherry by taste. It was fast becoming apparent that what I’d hoped would be me and him against the posh dingbat was actually him and the posh dingbat against me.”

Luc views social interactions as a form of combat. His hurt in these lines stems from his realization that Oliver is of a higher socioeconomic status than him; Luc feels ostracized because of his inability to understand the inside jokes that manifest between individuals who attended specific universities or engaged in specific social clubs. It takes Luc time to realize that social interactions do not have to be a fight; his current perspective contributes to his general defensiveness and pessimism.

“I like to make you smile, Lucien. I don’t like to make other people feel small.”

Oliver’s lines foreshadow the revelation that Oliver’s family has made him feel small, even if he refuses to acknowledge that fact. The above lines also reveal that Oliver has never intentionally contributed to Luc’s feelings of being less-than. Luc’s past perceptions of Oliver as pretentious or smug are revealed to be misinterpretations. Oliver and Luc’s discussion, seen partly in the quote above, is pivotal for their relationship’s progression, helping them settle on ways to speak and act.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Shame is for people with self-respect.”

Luc shows his apartment to Oliver, exposing the dirtiness in which he lives. It is a moment of vulnerability that he undercuts by using self-deprecating humor; he claims that he is shameless so that he does not have to face the reality of his situation. Seeing his apartment through Oliver’s eyes is the first step he takes toward healing, for it empowers him to believe that he deserves better.

“He still texted because, of course he would. Though mainly he said things like, Grabbing a bagel. Case is complicated, Apologies for the lack of dick pic. Which was lovely for about three seconds, and then just made me miss him. And what was with that? Was my life really so empty that Oliver could just walk into it, sit down, and start taking up space? I mean, it probably was. But somehow, even after so little time, I couldn’t imagine anyone doing that but him. After all, who else could be that annoying? And thoughtful. And protective. And secretly kind of funny.”

Luc’s stream of consciousness surrounding Oliver lays the foundation for his growing romantic interest. He begrudgingly admits his affection for Oliver as well as the way love can be unexpected. However, he believes that his affection is the result of his own loneliness. This underscores the way that Luc is beginning to heal, but also the ways he still must overcome past trauma.

“From there the conversation moved on to other things, and I stuck it out for long enough to prove that, whatever Priya said, I didn’t only talk to my friends when I needed something from them. Then a bit longer to prove that I wasn’t just sticking around to prove I didn’t only talk to my friends when I needed something from them. Then a little bit longer than that because I realized Priya had been right all along and I was a bad person. And, besides, it was nice. I hadn’t realized how far I’d drifted from them, because they’d kept sculling towards me anyway. But I had. And I shouldn’t have.”

Luc’s reflections show how he wants to be a better person, as well as the depths to which he is loved. First, he tries to prove to his friends that he treats them with the same care that he receives; however, Luc has reached a point of introspection and realizes that he has been neglectful. He immediately takes steps to resolve this, highlighting his growth. Luc recognizes how much his friends care for him and the extent to which they are supportive. They have remained by his side despite his struggles, cementing their love for him.

“Where I am going with this, mon caneton, is that I don’t give a shit. It is my curry, and I will make it the way I fucking well want to. And that is the way Oliver should live his life. Because the people who matter will love you anyway.”

Odile is the first person in the book to give Oliver permission to be who he wants to be. Her tenderness and support for Luc extends to Oliver without hesitation in a moment of unquestionable maternal love. This contrasts with the cruelty Oliver faces from his own family; Odile thus serves as the one good example of parenting in the text.

“He stroked his chin. ‘I think being sorry is too easy. I made my choices and I’m living with them.’”

In refusing to apologize for his actions, Jon reveals that he does not see Luc as a person who deserves empathy. Instead, he takes away Luc’s autonomy and rights to emotion. This showcases how self-involved Jon is and how little regard he has for Luc’s feelings, establishing the foundation for abandoning his son again.

“In another life, I like to think that Luc O’Donnell and I might have worked out. In the short time I knew him, I saw a man with endless potential trapped in a maze he couldn’t even name. And from time to time I think of how many tens of thousands like him there must be in the world—insignificant on a planet of billions but a staggering number when considered as a whole—all stumbling about blinded by reflected glory, never knowing where to step or what to trust, blessed and cursed by the Midas touch of our digital-era divinity.”

Cam’s article about Luc is misleading, as he claims a deeper relationship than was present. Hall also uses the article to provide a broader, societal critique of the media’s treatment of celebrities and their children. Luc reacts to the sense of truth in the article, especially considering his past betrayal by Miles.

“Yeah, but if I don’t diminish things I have to face them at their normal size, and that’s horrible.”

Luc acknowledges that one of his coping mechanisms is to make jokes out of situations, noting that it is not effective. His play on words—that he has “to face [things] at their normal size”—showcases that he does not have the tools with which to face many of his traumas. However, he acknowledges that there is a problem, showing that he has become a more reflective, thoughtful person.

“The truth was, Jon Fleming wasn’t going to change, and I wasn’t going to be important to him in the way I used think I had to. But I was sort of getting to know him. I was sort of getting to be there. And that was something.”

By acknowledging his father for who he is, Luc takes away Jon’s ability to hurt him. Luc seizes the power in their relationship in a way that he hasn’t thus far in the novel. By letting go of his desire to have status with his father, Luc takes control of their relationship and dictates the amount of energy he is willing to give. He alleviates himself from duty and moves forward from a place of higher autonomy.

“Useful, dear, is for dogs and crescent wrenches. Friends and lovers should care for you even when you’re not a blind bit of good to anybody.”

Oliver’s friend Sophie says these lines to Oliver and encapsulates the direct opposite of Oliver’s viewpoint. Sophie emphasizes that people should love without regard to a person’s “usefulness.” Oliver, however, has built his life around acts of service and has a much stricter, more stagnant perspective on love. Luc later disrupts this, articulating his love in a manner that closely aligns with Sophie’s words.

“Oliver stopped walking abruptly. ‘My parents raised me. My father worked every hour God sent, and my mother gave up her career entirely. I don’t want to have an argument with you, especially not here, and especially not now, but I’d thank you not to insult them in their own home.’”

Oliver is oblivious to his parents’ errors, having so deeply internalized their perspective. Luc sees the situation with a fresh perspective and tries to show Oliver how he is deserving of love, creating the foundation for their later argument and breakup. One of the primary ways that Luc and Oliver are different stems from how they view their parents; while Luc clearly sees his parents for the people they are, Oliver cannot.

“He wouldn’t even look at me. ‘I’ve already told you: this hasn’t been real. It can’t last because, as you’ve pointed out, my relationships don’t, and I’d rather remember what we’ve had than watch it go cold and die, like it always does.’”

Oliver’s perspective is one of fatality and finality; he ends his relationship with Luc based on the belief that a breakup is inevitable. He is unable to conceive of a future in which love can change and accommodate the people who feel it for each other. This becomes the final conflict of the novel and echoes the first fight between Luc and Oliver. Both rifts are caused by a fear of intimacy and the unknown, and it takes emotional vulnerability and clarity to resolve them.

“The point is, I loved making music. And I loved your father. And I love Judy. And I love you. In very different ways. I have never wanted to have sex with my guitar or watch Drag Race with Jon Fleming.”

Odile describes the fluidity of love and how different types of love exist for different situations, people, passions, and objects. She models loving people and things for Luc, giving him a positive example of emotional intimacy and vulnerability. This helps Luc face Oliver, this time with the desire to be explicit and clear about his feelings.

“And the next step you will hardly notice because you will be fine and you will have a lovely son and a best friend you can watch Drag Race with her dogs. I mean, that’s me, obviously, not you. But you can do the you version.”

Odile provides another piece of wisdom as she comforts Luc about the nature of hurt. No two people have the same healing journey. She assures him that healing is possible and that he will find the place and people who make him happy. By mentioning the “you version,” she invites him to seek joy however he must, offering a blanket statement of support for whatever resides in his future. Her gentleness is once again contrasted by the Blackwoods.

“I kept my gaze on Oliver. ‘You are wonderful. But you need to believe that I don’t like you in spite of all…all of that. I like you because you’re you, and all of that is part of you.’ In for a penny. ‘And, anyway, I don’t like you—I mean, I do like you, but you should probably know that I love you as well.’”

Luc describes his love for Oliver in terms of the flaws he loves rather than the benefits. This subverts romance tropes, where there are large declarations of love centered on an individual’s assets. Hall provides this moment to show a truer depiction of love, suggesting that love exists within life’s messes.