When Arthur McDougal is kicked out of Manhattan’s toniest boys’ school, his parents ship him off to the only place that will take him in – the Christian Science inflected Spooner School. There, in the woods of Connecticut, Arthur meets Katrina Felt, the charming, troubled daughter of a Hollywood movie star. As Arthur struggles with his sexuality and Katrina’s beauty and talent land her in a Broadway musical, the two forge a tender friendship. But while Arthur’s confidence grows, Katrina is pulled down by the heartbreaking secrets and sorrows of her past. By year’s end, their lives will be changed forever, and their friendship will be over. Set in the late 1960s, The Hour Between is a compelling portrait of a time and place, replete with drugs, sex, Andy Warhol, a cast of truly memorable secondary characters, and some of the sharpest and funniest dialogue in recent memory.
Touching, engaging tale of coming of age in 1967 New England
Bob Lind, Echo Magazine wrote on 08/20/2009:
THE HOUR BETWEEN
by Sebastian Stuart
(Alyson Books, September 2009, $14.95 softcover)
In 1967, high school senior Arthur McDougal transfers to Spooner School, a Christian Scientist influenced prep school in rural Connecticut, and begins to feel right at home immediately. Not only were Spooner's rather permissive methods of teaching and lack of discipline a far cry from the strict Manhattan prep school that had expelled him, it was as imperfect as he was, not just in deferred maintenance and corner-cutting compromises, but the staff also seemed much more human and open to student input. From the first day, Arthur also made several good friends, including a highly perceptive, intelligent but troubled girl named Katrina, who was the daughter of a fading Hollywood star. Though he sensed an immediate connection with Katrina, one problem he usually faced when making friends with girls was quickly eliminated, when Katrina pegged him as gay right away, simultaneously to his relief and dismay.
Arthur's parents are typical social climbing upper-middle-class Manhattanites, but he begins appreciating them more as he hears about Katrina's dysfunctional and disinterested parents. Encouraged by Katrina, he also explores his sexuality for the first time. Along with his friends, they test parents and teachers with the independence that comes from the realization of finishing high school, and looking at the "real world" beyond. The pathway for Arthur and his friends takes them through experimentation with drugs, a brush with the law, spending time with Andy Warhol at the infamous "Factory," a power struggle and mutiny among the faculty, and revelation of Katrina's secret past. A thoroughly engaging, witty and emotional roller coaster of a story, which I give a full four moss-covered stars out of four.
Touching, engaging tale of coming of age in 1967 New England
