Henry Alley’s Precincts of Light is a confusing and confused novel. I volunteered to review it because I grew up in Portland, Oregon, and its background story is about the battles against the anti-gay Measures 8 and 9 at the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s.
The best part of the novel is the foreground story about an extended family torn apart by homosexuality, homophobia, and the political battles.
Unfortunately, confusion sets in at the outset because Alley chose to rename two key Oregon cities, as well as key sites within them. Salem, Oregon‘s capital, becomes “Capital City.” The other fictional city is “Arden,” and I could never figure out for sure if it represents Portland, the largest city in the state, or Eugene, home of the University of Oregon where the author taught. At the beginning of the novel in Arden, there is an “annual Rose parade.” Portland is famous for its annual Rose Festival, but the author has placed “Arden” south of “Capital City,” while Portland is north.
There are great novels written about many cities around the world. Why introduce this confusion by disguising Oregon’s cities? The confusion is compounded by incorrect political terminology. Measure 8 sought to overturn the governor’s executive order to protect gay and lesbian state employees, but the author repeatedly calls it a “referendum.” Additionally, proof-reading was inadequate and some vocabulary obscure.
I can”t recommend this novel for anyone except perhaps Oregon libraries interested the portrayal of the tumultuous battles over Measure 8, which passed, and Measure 9, which sought to deny basic rights to lesbian and gay Oregonians, but lost. I did enjoy reading it, however, as a detective novel, constantly trying to decipher which city “Arden” might be.
Reviewed by, James D. Anderson
Professor Emeritus,
Rutgers University