Say, friends, do you enjoy a good visible polyrhythm? Yeah, I didn’t know that was a thing either, not until I read chapter 21 of today’s subject work of incredible fiction. But trust me, you’ll enjoy it: the dance moves, something Robert Palmer’s dancers would have shimmied along with, and the book. And that book is Secret Lovers, the fourth episode in Chris Orcutt’s Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, the epic that literally brings the 1980s back to life.
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| (©Have Pen, Will Travel. Cover design by Victoria Heath Silk.) |
*Orcutt, Chris, Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome, Episode IV: Secret Lovers, New York: Have Pen, Will Travel, 2026.
New York novelist Chris Orcutt has three solid decades of experience crafting literature, with one of them dedicated almost exclusively to writing Bodaciously True & Totally Awesome (BTTA), a masterpiece roughly the length of In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past) by Proust. Your reviewer had not really considered it before, but many of Orcutt’s themes in BTTA run along the same lines as those in Remembrance—young love, growing up, timing, appreciation of the arts, et cetera. Orcutt provides a new take on all of those familiar motifs, doing so abnormally well, while integrating elements Proust never touched on, such as action and adventure. Of course, the era and scene-setting are completely different. And that difference makes BTTA especially interesting to America’s Generation X: this is our memory of the past, of a time lost to four decades of temporal transit. And with Episode IV, Secret Lovers, Orcutt brings the past back to life in a way perhaps no other author has ever dared. On full display is Orcutt’s creative genius, impeccable precision, and nearly surreal attention to every little detail. Four episodes in, Secret Lovers might be your reviewer’s favorite so far. Why? Part of it has to do with much of the nostalgia I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews. But the main reason is that it is simply a damned good story! So let’s dive right in.
I hereby incorporate all points of my previous reviews of Bad Boy, True Blue, and Danger Zone as if each point were restated in full. In Secret Lovers, the literary roller coaster goes so fast and hard that one might be well-advised to go limp and just let it ride. Avery “Ace” Craig keeps up the heroic questing readers have come to expect and enjoy as he intrepidly ventures into new territory, all of it set to our glorious 1980s music. The pop-rock flows, as do more classical themes. Orcutt even breaks down the exact timing within a few tunes he references: see “Bugler’s Dream and Olympic Fanfare Medley” on page 35. Also, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” never hurt any book!
As with the other episodes, Secret Lovers shifts gears again — ”drop a gear and disappear,” as the saying goes. This time, instead of slowing, as in Danger Zone, the days roll right along in the story, though each part and act is examined in close detail. And there is an intensification covering many fronts. The result is a thrilling experience that will have the reader on the edge of his seat, scratching his head, pondering, cheering, fearing, and feeling a sense of awe. In short, it’s a spectacular book. And Orcutt has plenty of room to work, as Secret Lovers is the longest episode yet, 422 pages of riveting dramatic exhibition. The book’s chapters are not named—a point I think I failed to make previously; rather, each major scene within a chapter has its own catchy subtitle. For example, on or about page 257, the subtitle is “Gemma’s Fault.” But is it really? One will have to read chapter 17 to find out. Also, speaking of finding out, I’ll bet the seasoned reader likes Gemma. Right? And there’s a chance that more than a few Gemma fans liked those ‘80s video games. What if both of those likes were somehow combined? Read and see; you’ll dig it like a bee on pollen.