The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens Read online

  Praise for The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens:

  “Ambitious and very funny … A tall tale, a simultaneously sweet and vicious satire of contemporary America … The book feels at times like one of Robert Altman’s classic films, perhaps Nashville, with its expansive canvas and its mixture of humor and sadness.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “[The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens] has the sweep of a sexy, modern fable for adults.”

  —Los Angeles Times

  “[Rechy’s] less gay, less sexual novels … are transcendent showcases of his talent for imagining off-kilter worlds—straight as well as gay—centered by moral integrity and artistic vision. That same virtuoso balancing act blesses The Life and Adventures of Lyle Clemens, a riotously picaresque philosophical satire that pays homage to, and reinvents, Henry Fielding’s The History of Tom Jones. … [Rechy skewers] the hypocrisy of religion and the hollowness of Hollywood … and much more of contemporary American life—with raucous style in this sprawling, sweet-tempered entertainment.

  —Richard Labonte, Outlook (Columbus, OH)

  “Taking Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones as its model … this raucous, hormone-fueled Bildungsroman takes its hero through the tabloid underbelly of America. … Recommended.”

  —Lawrence Rungren, Library Journal

  “A captivating and witty tale … It’s very funny and wise at the same time.”

  —www.RainboReviews.com

  “A fun, well-crafted read.”

  —Charles Ealy, The Dallas Morning News

  “A wry satire loosely based on Henry Fielding’s bawdy classic novel The History of Tom Jones … Not your average novel. Rechy writes with tongue firmly in cheek. … A fun romp, pure and simple.”

  —Bay Windows (Boston, MA)

  “As always, Rechy uses his talent to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. … An excellent work that presents Rechy at his height as a writer and narrator.”

  —Jim Przepasniak, El Paso Times

  Praise for John Rechy:

  “What he has given us for more than thirty years is a wonderful and terrifying gift. … He has given us life and literature.”

  —Michael Bronski, presenting The Publishing Triangle’s

  William Whitehead Lifetime Achievement Award

  “Fresh, beautiful, totally courageous—and totally cool, passionate … John Rechy doesn’t fit into categories. He transcends them. His individual vision is unique, perfect, loving and strong.”

  —Carolyn See, introducing PEN-USA West’s

  Lifetime Achievement Award

  “One of the few major American writers whose life is almost as interesting, and as meaningful, as his work.”

  —Michael Cunningham

  THE LIFE AND

  ADVENTURES

  OF

  LYLE CLEMENS

  Also By John Rechy:

  Novels:

  City of Night

  Numbers

  This Day’s Death

  The Vampires

  The Fourth Angel

  Rushes

  Bodies and Souls

  Marilyn’s Daughter

  The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gómez

  Our Lady of Babylon

  The Coming of the Night

  Non-Fiction:

  The Sexual Outlaw: A Documentary

  Plays:

  Rushes

  Tigers Wild

  Momma As She Became—But Not As She Was (one-act)

  THE LIFE AND

  ADVENTURES

  OF

  LYLE CLEMENS

  A NOVEL

  BY JOHN RECHY

  Copyright © 2003 by John Rechy

  Illustrations and lettering copyright © 2003 by Donald Hendricks, Legacy Designs

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Any members of educational institutions wishing to photocopy part or all of the work for classroom use, or publishers who would like to obtain permission to include the work in an anthology, should send their inquiries to Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 841 Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

  Author’s Note: This novel is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental. While some of the characters bear the names of famous people, the portrayal of them in this novel is entirely fictitious.

  Published simultaneously in Canada

  Printed in the United States of America

  FIRST GROVE PRESS PAPERBACK EDITION

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Rechy, John.

  The life and adventures of Lyle Clemens : a novel / John Rechy.

  p. cm.

  eBook ISBN-13: 978-1-5558-4728-9

  1. Motion picture industry—Fiction. 2. Los Angeles (Calif.)—Fiction. 3. Las Vegas (Nev.)—Fiction. 4. Fundamentalism—Fiction. 5. Young men—Fiction. 6. Gambling—Fiction. 7. Texas—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3568.E28L54 2003

  813′.54—dc21 2003049070

  Grove Press

  an imprint of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

  841 Broadway

  New York, NY 10003

  I thank Michael Earl Snyder for his invaluable creative observations, suggestions, and encouragement, from the inception of this novel as an idea to its completion as a novel. I also thank Georges and Anne Borchardt for years of friendship.

  For the Memory of my Mother, Guadalupe Flores Rechy, and for the Memory of Michael’s mother, Juan Marie Snyder

  CONTENTS

  BOOK ONE

  TEXAS

  In which Lyle Clemens is born to Sylvia Love, and Fate sets out on its wayward course.

  CHAPTER ONE

  1 Lyle Clemens is delivered, alive; how he came to be born. The horror at the Miss Rio Escondido Beauty Pageant is recalled briefly.

  2 A view of Rio Escondido, where it all began.

  3 A move back in time, before Lyle’s birth. Eulah Love prepares to speak in tongues, and a golden voice arouses hope.

  4 Sylvia’s aspirations for a happy life. A way out.

  5 Possible intrusions on the way to the pageant.

  6 Further back in time. The “sexy Chicano” introduces Sylvia to the Catholic church and its glamorous saints.

  7 Can virginity be lost twice? A welcome confusion of memories.

  8 How Sylvia Love became Miss Rio Escondido. The full horror at the Miss Alamito Beauty Pageant.

  9 The beginning of the aftermath.

  CHAPTER TWO

  1 A return to the time of Lyle’s birth. A prediction is altered into a new prophecy.

  2 How Sylvia met Clarita. Clarita’s duel with Eulah Love.

  3 Still back in time, Lyle Clemens the First enters, resurrecting smothered hope.

  4 The passion of Lyle Clemens the First and Sylvia Love.

  5 The courtship of Sylvia Love.

  6 A warning is adjusted.

  7 The deepening prospect of happiness.

  8 Eulah Love invades again.

  9 Eulah’s dramatic speech in tongues as she’s slain in the spirit.

  10 Who is Sylvia’s father?

  11 A white rose is presented.

  12 A figure from the past is summoned.

  13 Sylvia’s motives. Clarita struggles with an ethical consideration.

  14 A vine is resurrected in the house of curses.

  CHAPTER THREE

  1 A return to Sylvia’s bedside. A pending question is asked.

  2 A pullback in
time; Clarita’s flight to the hills of Chihuahua; the ravages of Pancho Villa; and an apparition by the Holy Virgin Guadalupe.

  3 A pause in Clarita’s recollections. An unwelcome question occurs to Sylvia Love.

  4 An injustice at the Such Is Life Café.

  5 An adjustment of memories.

  6 The present moves on. Lyle the Second grows up quickly and speaks an unwelcome word.

  7 A disturbing question.

  8 A gift and a vow.

  9 About the unique nature and manifestations of intelligence.

  10 Lyle’s education is taken over by a firm authority.

  11 Clarita upholds em-pa-thy for the down-trotten.

  12 Lyle’s extended education.

  13 Time passes, obscuring Clarita’s warning.

  14 A startling revelation.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  1 Why Lyle Clemens did not become a “geek.”

  2 The unique nature of amoebas, according to Miss Stowe.

  3 A discovery in the vacant lot.

  4 Lyle’s unique popularity is rewarded; Sylvia Love responds. A prophetic warning from Clarita.

  5 The eye of the beholder.

  6 About love, hate, and desire, and the invisible demarcation that separates them.

  7 A declaration of undying love.

  8 Unwelcome news, quiet plotting.

  9 A mysterious confrontation.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  1 Lyle’s nature is further manifested.

  2 A command from beyond the grave?

  3 On the perils of not being a geek.

  4 A lesson well learned.

  5 The call of duty.

  6 Out of the sad decline of Sylvia Love, a question about amazing grace.

  7 What is strange?

  8 A definition of where love is and isn’t, according to Rose. A lesson well taught, well learned.

  9 Can King David’s serenade withstand the passage of time?

  CHAPTER SIX

  1 The mystery of a grain of sand. A painful confession.

  2 A fierce rivalry stirs in Rio Escondido.

  3 A warning justified. Rose is heard from again.

  4 An odd connection, and a loving acknowledgment.

  5 A startling possibility?

  6 The past catches up with Sylvia Love.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  1 A confrontation, and a reminder of what might have been.

  2 A secret sortie into Sylvia’s past yields new questions.

  3 And still more mystery.

  4 A melancholy interlude. A firm decision is made, the risks not considered.

  5 A passionate confrontation.

  6 Has Lyle the First returned?

  7 A return to The Gathering of Souls with Brother Bud and Sister Sis.

  8 Amid frenzy a star is born.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  1 Eulah’s curse at bay. Lyle does the preacher-strut, guided by Rose.

  2 The origin of the preacher-strut, according to the angels, Sister Sis, and Brother Bud. A guarded warning from Sister Matilda of the Golden Voice.

  3 Sister Matilda meets Clarita and delivers a letter of further warning.

  4 Another warning at the Texas Grand Hotel.

  CHAPTER NINE

  1 Considerations about what constitutes grace. When is it amazing? Intimations of a secret fraught with danger.

  2 A necessary dramatic pause before an abrupt interruption.

  3 An invitation from the Lord sent through Brother Bud and Sister Sis.

  4 The matter of Maria is resumed; a frightening possibility is reconsidered.

  5 A persistent ghost returns, even more powerful.

  6 A grave decision.

  7 The true color of Jesus.

  8 A firmed position. A betrayal announced.

  9 The unsettling mystery of Sister Matilda.

  10 Some thoughts about farewells.

  11 The saddest farewell.

  12 A litany of farewells.

  BOOK TWO

  HOLLYWOOD, THE LORD’S HEADQUARTERS IN ANAHEIM, AND AN UNEXPECTED DETOUR

  In which disparate lives wait to entangle Lyle’s.

  CHAPTER TEN

  1 On the perfection of coincidences, here involving Mr. and Mrs. Renquist, Tarah Worth, and considerations about the Valley of the Dolls.

  2 Another impossible connection develops in Encino, California.

  3 A decisive meeting with Lenora Stern, Rusty Blake, and Tarah Worth. The great Liz Smith invoked.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  1 The flight to the City of Angels, or more accurately to the Lord’s Headquarters.

  2 Someone secret knows Lyle’s whereabouts.

  3 Return to the Valley of the Dolls

  4 A poolside encounter.

  5 The Lord’s Cowboy is born.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  1 A troubling letter is received, and Love Letters to Jesus are solicited.

  2 The Lord’s Cowboy performs.

  3 The ascent of the Lord’s Cowboy.

  4 The Lord’s message reinterpreted.

  5 A column poised to assure a triumph.

  6 A matter of morality considered.

  7 At the Lord’s Bank.

  8 The predicament of the Lord’s Cowboy.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  1 Crisis at Spago, and everyone is there.

  2 Reverberations out of the horror at Spago.

  3 In which the Lord works His mysterious ways.

  4 God’s mysterious ways extend.

  5 Lyle in jail with Mr. Magwitch.

  6 Mr. Cowboy is born on the road.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  1 An unexpected detour. The vagaries of chance.

  2 In which is encountered a reflection of Lyle’s goddamned son-of-a-bitch father.

  3 Some considerations about magic and illusion, and intrusive reality.

  4 A question of love.

  5 Back to the glorious City of Angels.

  BOOK THREE

  LOS ANGELES

  In which Lyle Clemens finds himself in the City of Angels.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  1 Lyle relies on his instincts and Clarita’s prayer, and encounters BABETTE.

  2 Lyle discovers Hollywood Boulevard. His excursions about the city; its sights, excitement, and grave dangers.

  3 An essential decision about life and living.

  4 Has Lyle met BABETTE during the savage attack of the peacock at Huey’s Mansion?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  1 Maria’s inviolate decision.

  2 A film sequel to a great novel changes yet again.

  3 Lyle’s flight from Huey’s Mansion and an unexpected angel of mercy appears.

  4 The search is on for the Mystery Cowboy.

  5 Reverberations.

  6 Still more reverberations.

  7 Unwanted fame.

  8 Em-path-y for down-trotten lost angels.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  1 A windy day in Rio Escondido.

  2 In which an invitation assures the site of the gimmick.

  3 Some observations about hiding.

  4 An untimely introduction.

  5 Information is supplied, but matters remain unexplained.

  6 The revelation of duplicity.

  7 Thoughtful moments, a twinge of sadness, and a familiar voice.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  1 A sordid development to be resolved. Mr. Scala in pursuit.

  2 A timely meaning for the word “dolls.” Tarah Worth recognizes another person, herself.

  3 The new Tarah Worth moves forward with her plan; an emergency call to her psychic.

  4 A declaration.

  5 An expected unexpected.

  6 A critical quandary.

  7 A crucial decision.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  1 The pending matter of Maria’s broken heart.

  2 More speculation about the Mystery Cowboy.

  3 A matter of good luck kept pending.

  4 A violent interlude.


  5 Lyle sees more of the world.

  6 Back on the Boulevard—

  7 A bittersweet reunion at Musso & Frank’s.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  1 Yet another unexpected turn.

  2 A move back in time to learn what Raul told Lyle, involving more of life’s impossible coincidences.

  3 Back in Lyle’s apartment—

  4 The past invades the present.

  5 A confrontation.

  6 A discovery.

  7 A promise, this one to be kept.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  1 The persistence of the past.

  2 A type of meanness exemplified.

  3 A plan is put into motion.

  4 The next step.

  5 The state of Lyle’s troubled heart.

  6 The matter of fate.

  7 Back in Rio Escondido—

  8 An ill-timed development?

  9 Growing concern about the truth of the fabulous columnist’s absence.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  1 A new kind of love comes to Sylvia.

  2 A comeback.

  3 Anxiety about Liz Smith’s absence.

  4 The monumental Hollywood event nears.

  5 The crucial step in Tarah’s plot is taken.

  6 The scheme is hatched.

  7 The confirmation of a possible ally.

  8 The triumphant return!

  9 And a sad return.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  1 The Academy Awards! The terrible deception.

  2 A true report.

  3 The saddest event of all.

  4 A naked cowboy.

  It is well remarked by one (and perhaps by more) that misfortunes do not come single.

  —Henry Fielding,

  The History of Tom Jones

  THE LIFE AND

  ADVENTURES

  OF

  LYLE CLEMENS