Augie Schoenberg is twenty-two, an aspiring filmmaker at a school without a film school, and desperately single. He's just moved into the Harley Hutt, the wildest party house on campus, and has fallen hard for his roommate Victor Radhakrishna, a campus political activist who, for Augie, is "a practical demi-god: a crusader for justice in skateboarding shoes." The problem is, Augie is the only gay one in the house-or so he thinks. Set in a raucous Midwestern college town, The Unborn Spouse Situation is a darkly comic novel of sex, betrayal, and cultural clashes. Augie's search for love takes him from the cornfields of Illinois, to the gay beach and underground clubs of Chicago, and finally to the ecstasy-fueled nightlife of London, where Victor's secret threatens to keep the two apart forever.
Review
There are those editors, critics, and even some readers who look at a book and groan: “Oh, no. Not another coming-out story!” Not me. Every generation needs them. And Rauscher’s first novel – so many first novels do dwell on coming out, don’t they? – is more textured than most. Its 22-year-old central character, Augie Schonberg, is an aspiring filmmaker at a college with no film program, on the cusp of being queer when he moves into a rambling campus house renowned for its wild parties and hunky residents. First love hits him hard. He falls for housemate and campus activist Victor Radhakrishna, who reciprocates his increasingly fervent physical affection – except that Victor’s parents are arranging his marriage to a suitable Indian bride. Rauscher, not so many years removed from his own college experience, captures the antsy angst of urgent desire with intelligent wit, and the emotional and sexual maturity of his young character with entertaining assurance. The first half of the novel, set on the college campus, is rife with the turbulence of small crises made immense by the hothouse environment of university life. But The Unborn Spouse Situation – a nifty title – really shines when Augie moves off campus, to Chicago, where he comes into his own gay self; a section set in London – he’s been invited to Victor’s wedding – is a wonderful mix of emotional liberation and soulful melancholy. In days of yore, when first novels could more readily find a home with known publishers, Rauscher’s engaging debut surely would have found a more mainstream home than Lulu.com, but Rauscher has produced a professional-looking book on his own.
