Into?

Mart Crowley's historic albeit divisive pre-Stonewall play "The Boys in the Band" is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year with a star-studded revival on Broadway. Love it or hate it, "Boys" has stood the test of time because it's supposed to remind us how far we have come; as the old saying goes, unless we revisit history we are doomed to repeat it.

If North Morgan's acerbic, brutally honest debut novel "Into?" is any indication, we're all just as shallow, looks-obsessed, self-hating and insecure as we were five decades ago - arguably even more so, courtesy of social media. But while the men in "Boys" hurl burning insults at each other, the "Into?" narrator, Konrad Platt, readily acknowledges how emotionally unhealthy he is, almost as though it were a badge of honor, while repeatedly humiliating and degrading himself.

After his boyfriend dumps him, Konrad ditches London for Los Angeles to start anew. He's in his early thirties, makes a decent living from home that affords him plenty of free time, sounds reasonably intelligent and has the requisite gym bod. One would think that would be enough for a gay man in L.A., but apparently not.

Having gotten used to being in a relationship, Konrad reluctantly becomes reacquainted with the gay bar scene and all that goes along with it, including drug and alcohol abuse, random hookups and sleepless nights. When he's not either at the gym or out clubbing, he fritters away endless hours on Facebook, Grindr and Instagram, chatting up strangers and collecting pics. He swears this behavior pattern is only temporary, "but as you get older, your self-imposed timeline keeps getting extended."

There appears to be an end in sight when Konrad meets Lloyd online, a criminally handsome man from Buffalo who comes across as almost virginal. At lightning speed, Lloyd moves to L.A. to live with Konrad, where things go wrong from day one. Konrad realizes early on that Lloyd is just using him, but fails to do anything about it, partly because he is so physically attracted to him.

What becomes especially obvious about Konrad, and not just with Lloyd, is that he subconsciously revels in drama and discord. Konrad is not especially likeable, but his story is as entertaining and amusing as it is aggravating because we all know someone like him, or can't help but relate somewhat to his tumultuous temperament.

Konrad does manage to enjoy himself occasionally, so it's not all doom and gloom, and he manages to make a few friends - or routine acquaintances, rather - along the way. While I found it hard to become invested in the outcome of his disjointed effort to find someone or something of substance, I appreciated Konrad's candor, and commend the author for calling attention to an aspect of gay culture that many of us either pretend doesn't exist or try to avoid altogether.

"Into?"
By North Morgan
$21.99
Flatiron Books