"Ira Holloway, a native of the St. Louis area, revels in the beauty and physicality of women. He often imagines what he thinks goes through their minds. Ira goes into military service in Vietnam in the late 1960s. When he gets back, he meets artist Fiona Price in New York City. Fiona is an incest survivor who experiences violent jealousy toward Ira's fascination with women, and his memories of past relationships. She feels increasingly drawn to the Catholic Church for comfort.
After Ira and Fiona marry and have a son John, Fiona wants both men to attend services and Ira to pray and take confession. Ira plays along, and colludes with John on their "secret" about Fiona's religious expectations. Meanwhile, Ira regularly recalls flirtations from his teens, the prostitutes and other women he knew in Vietnam and Thailand, and continues to flirt (and fling) with other women. But he knows if he continues to give in to his desires, he will lose the company of the son he also loves so much. Butler's 1994 novel about a sensitive male's romantic journey is erotic."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of They Whisper
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Kind of romance:
- playing footsy while inconveniently married
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- religious issues
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main char. serviced by prostitute?
Yes
Lover is
- of a different religion
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- business executive
Age:
- 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 6 (an above average amount)
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Southeast Asia
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- licking
- impregnation/reproduction
- actual description of hetero sex
- descript. of female anat. (the big B's)
- descript. of female anat. (the big V)
- descript. of nude males (the big P)
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
