Tom & Christopher And Their Kind (Dog in The Chapel Book 2)

Love all of the characters—their friends and most of the family. Love the settings in England and France. Highly recommend !

This is the second book by Anthony McDonald that I have read. I like his masterly unfolding of the story and the relationships of the characters over sixteen or seventeen years against the backdrop of changes in the law and attitudes affecting homosexuality. One cannot help but be caught up in the author's explicit scene setting in France, in Oxford, and in Kent. His attention to detail exudes the atmosphere of these places, so you are caught up realistically in the narrative. The characters are real and very much alive in their interactions. The sex is delicious. It is a beautifully woven narrative. I did not want it to end, so. towards the conclusion, I found myself reading shorter and shorter portions each day to delay the inevitable. My take (not the author's) in it all is that exclusivity has its problems, and the joy of open relationships may have more in its favour.

I had begun to re-read some Anthony McDonald stories and (choosing from the ones I remembered as “favorites”) again very much enjoyed “Dog in the Chapel)—and discovered I had not been aware that it was the beginning of a three-part series. Now I wish that I hadn’t noticed that. The first of the three parts is a delightful story of new love under difficult circumstances, forging a powerful feeling of an unusually strong love. (It is perhaps important that you already know or read that story in order to make much sense of my response to the subsequent parts.)Very briefly, (in stories two and three; Tom & Christopher And Their Kind and Dog Roses) struggles lead the new lovers into a situation where their financial needs cause them to accept an opportunity to get free housing (where they can begin to learn to make a living) but only if they cooperate with the expectation of fairly free sex among the other housemates. Discussions bring up an example of some other gay couples who have lived such a life for a time without damaging their basic relationship. The younger, less mature member of the couple seems to decide “OK” (after having his mother and her church describe him as a “no good” anyway) and the other goes along. At first they decide that this “extended” sex occur only when both members of “our young lovers” are present, but this is soon transgressed and gradually leads to loose styles of sexual activity to include a period (six years?) when there’s a “big boyfriend swap” where the older members of two couples become sex partners and so do the two younger members.By this point I’m suffering to see that what I thought was a strong, young, beautiful relationship is defraying/tattering into cheapness. I am Disappointed, Disgusted, and ANGRY with the couple (and, essentially of course, with the author). Eventually confronting a symbol of their love (a painted picture of themselves) seems to remind the two of what they’ve lost and they return to their original couples; but perhaps it’s too late as the story continues for years with “extra” affairs primarily on the part of the younger boy/man, seemingly condoned (when known) by the older. It appears their “love life” is at best mundane. Never is there much concern expressed regarding the hurt that would happen if the affairs were discovered—only the problems and the need to cover. And both members are uncertain about its status, to the extent of feeling the other might one day just come and say: “It’s been a good run but time move on; see ya …”The story continues toward old age with many jobs, moves, etc., during which they remain together but where there’s very little expression of “loving, lusty sex” between the original pair (“ecstasy” mentioned only with one of the “quickies” ). (Anthony is never Big with expressing actual sexual activity.). Much prose is given Anthony travelogue of places, foliage and birdlife, which I find I enjoy only when it’s a setting for enhancing the love relationship. Here I got bored enough of sometimes skip ahead . . .Somehow, things always t”urn out all right” to the extent where they’re still together, so at the end we have some summation/celebration of how profound a love this was: “The Word’—(i.e. God) is LOVE.’So: What Happened?: Perhaps I misunderstood that the original love was NOT that special? . . . (maybe I just wanted it to be). Let me be clear that I’m no angel nor a prude; but LOVE includes more fidelity, more regard for the other’s feelings, more care to minimize hurt, more willingness to express amends, some sacrifice of minor, immediate emotional desires, etc. As much as I esteem Anthony McDonald, I really believe that he seriously messed this one up. I think he lost track, somehow, of the main theme of a strong, supportive ongoing lifetime love and left out (or assumed?) the ongoing expression of love/lust with one’s partner. I remain saddened by that.

good character development and solid writing throughout the trilogy - enjoyable read all together about the journey of two young british gay men starting in 1960 ending in late middle age - nice descriptions of the french gay world as well.

Dog in the Chapel: Tom and Christopher and Their Kind; Dog Roses. Such exemplary writing. The author really knows how to construct a plot and keep it moving. Most of all: to keep the reader involved and caring about the characters. And, as a writer, such excellent writing: I never felt shamed for not knowing something, or forgetting something. I always trusted the author. And a positive, but not fake, ending. Really loved reading these books.

INCREDIBLE ! YOU MUST read the first book in the series..Cat in the Chapel FIRST..but this book is amazing. As good as the first. We follow Tom and Chris, Armand, Michel and their pub friends from 1962 through about 1980. The romantic rwists and turns are un-predicatable. The adventure and attention to detail are among the many things that makes this book a most read if you enjoy QUALITY M/M romance. There is a third book coming along due out summer of 2016 and I am looking forward to it. This is truly the best male romance novel (s) I have every read and I have read many. Just enough sex to be interesting without constant, heavily detailed sex. And as I said before...very interesting twist. PLEASE read the first novel, if you havent already. Anthony McDonald does a very good job folding the first into the second novel, but read the first one first. You will love it !

The second book in The Dog in the Chapel trilogy begins right where book one left off. It's not the most well written book I've ever read, but I did enjoy it. The small cast of characters are all likable, as were the British and French settings. The timeline takes the characters through the sexual revolution of the sixties and into the seventies.T&C is written in third person, from a British point of view. I'm going to download the final book in the series right away.

Liked this book better than the first one. I had some disappointment in the plot development at about three quarters of the way in when the "boat yard" became an option for the guys. Did not seem very plausible based upon the fact that the one is an English teacher by trade and the other is a waited/bar keeper. Some how they become managers of a "boat yard" and learn how to do all that that entails as a boat wright.Other than that an enjoyable read overall. McDonald does write well and his descriptions are nicely done. I look forward to the third book.

Having thoroughly enjoyed "The Dog In The Chapel" I couldn't wait to start the sequel. As you would expect from this author, it's beautifully written and so there's no disappointment there! For me, and this is entirely personal, it just lacked the power of the original in that little seemed to be 'driving' the story beyond a description of the rather tangled events that came next in Tom and Christopher's lives. One dramatic moment with Angelo is actually set up and then totally disappears as if forgotten about, however. That was the only wince that I had in reading this book. Did the story change along the way, leaving this hook still there but now bare? Overall, the novel seemed biographical rather than dramatic. That said, if you enjoyed the first book, this is worth a read on the grounds of its always being nice to catch up with old friends! It's indicative, however, that I have chosen to read another of the author's books straight away. Anthony McDonald has certainly become one of my favourite authors.

Being gay in the 70's (and still am, now in my 70's), I wish I had been aware of the relaxed atmosphere in France. However the story follows the lives of the main characters in those difficult days and the slow process of liberation for us . Certainly thoughtful reading and rewoke a few memories, mainly good.

Tom and Christopher and their Kind finds the titular characters settled in France and making a go of their lives, As the story proceeds, things begin to change including the law in the UK which forced their departure in the first place. So decisions have to be made and the results of some of those decisions are surprising. A cast of colourful characters drift in and out of the narrative, sometimes drifting too far in for the comfort of Tom and Christopher, but each playing an important part to the story.This is a fine book from one of my favourite authors, Highly recommended.

I loved the first of the series and started this immediately after finishing the preceding novel, which was helpful as this picks up straight after the previous one ends. The writing was great and I enjoyed the story, though I did find it quite far fetched at times. There was a lot more sex in this one, more so than the other two in the series, but it was never overly explicit. I loved the descriptions of France, especially during the time period it's set in.

This series/trilogy I found to be a truly emotional journey through the lives of its protagonists, beautifully portrayed by the author and covering all of the many facets of life's relationships. Excellent narrative and carefully crafted description make this series one of the very best of its genera, I recommend these books very highly indeed, its almost as though they were taken from true life experiences.