Fellow Travelers

By: Thomas Mallon

Narrated by: Christian Barillas

Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

NOW A SHOWTIME LIMITED SERIES STARRING MATT BOMER, JONATHAN BAILEY, AND ALLISON WILLIAMS

• A searing historical novel set in 1950s Washington, D.C.—a world of dominated by personalities like Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Joe McCarthy—and infused with political drama, unexpected humor, and heartbreak.

• From the acclaimed author of Watergate and Up With the Sun

In a world of bare-knuckled ideology and secret dossiers, Timothy Laughlin, a recent college graduate and devout Catholic, is eager to join the crusade against Communism. An encounter with a handsome State Department official, Hawkins Fuller, leads to Tim's first job and, after Fuller's advances, his first love affair. As McCarthy mounts a desperate bid for power and internal investigations focus on “sexual subversives” in the government, Tim and Fuller find it ever more dangerous to navigate their double lives while moving between the diplomatic world of Foggy Bottom and NATO's front line in Europe.

©2007 Thomas Mallon (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Well done!

I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, in the 50’s. So much of life revolved around the political goings on and everyday actions of DC and the surrounding bedroom communities. I remember the Lavender Scare. Having to hide takes its toll.

Was everyone repressed?

The book was good, the story was worth listening. But geesh the 50's seem so sad and depressing. It seems no one was allowed to be happy. My favorite character was Tim's sister because she was the most accepting. At times i found myself yelling at Tim to stop trying so hard and that he deserves better than Hawk. Hawk seems like a guy who's fun for an hour but Tim you would settle down with. Overall, good book but I finished feeling sad.

Excellent snapshot of DC during McCarthyism

Wow! This book is wonderful and heartbreaking and strangely appropriate given the shenanigans going on in the current political climate. This has been in my TBR list for ages but the new Showtime production with Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey bumped it up the list. The narrator’s interpretation of some of the female characters (especially the Southerners) was a little rough, but otherwise the performance was good.

Heavy on history, but still good

The story itself was interesting and the characters were realistic and well-written. I like the author’s writing style and it never felt too long or wordy. My only criticism is that there was so much history incorporated that it often became perhaps just a bit much. I wish there had been more of a balance between the character and plot portion and the history and references involved. It seems tilted toward history a bit more. Still, I liked the book and would try another from this author.

Ten stars, if it were possible!

The Web has been full of articles and reviews about the Showtime series based on this book, and I've been much chagrined to not own Showtime. Not willing to wait for the series to become more widely available, I opted for the audiobook, and have not regretted one single second.

Although the story was based before my own birth, the storytelling style was so direct and approachable that I had no trouble relating to it. It incorporated the 'Red Scare' and 'Lavender Scare' political/social upheavals from an insider perspective, which, although the details about the key players' personas and actual activities were admittedly fictional, some of the key events described did occur. Unless one has conducted focused study on those times, those descriptions are actually bonus content, which, in fact also help to provide context to our current political shenanigans.

The personalities of the main characters, the reaction to them by the peripheral characters could have been people you or I have known, and the arc of the plot easily imagined in those acquaintances. The behavior of the characters highlighted the toxicity of repressed societies, even among those being repressed.

I very much enjoyed the narration by Mr. Barillas, who went beyond simply reading and performed the voices, sometimes amusingly and always extremely empathetically.

Even if you watch the series, which I intend to do as soon as feasible, reading the book will help to bolster the understanding and enjoyment of the story.

The tying together of the story threads at the end.

The narrative wanders and delves into politics to an extreme. so much so that it was necessary to stop listening for long periods of time. The characters are interesting but the story languishes in self deprecation.

Interesting take on history

I enjoyed the storyline very much. not so much the narration by Mr. Barillas. His attempt at the female voices became a bit cloying and the southern accent, even worse.

A great queer historical fiction!

The complexity of the story - both from the historical fiction and romance perspective. The narration was also excellent

Never thought it would be like this.

I got this book thinking it would be a light read. WRONG! Never have I had a book feel so real, so encapsulating, so thought provoking. It made me feel so deep that it was both difficult and yet satisfying. Definitely cried many times during this book.

Contrived

You finish the book with profound disrespect for the main characters. Hawkins Fuller is a sociopathic predator and the personification of selfishness. Timothy Loughlin is a perpetual victim with no self-esteem or sense of self. These characters are a poor representation of the LGBTQ population. The historical backdrop was distracting and a real push in how these characters would function in that reality.