Death at the Dirty Camel by D.H. Gutzman
It has certainly been a busy summer. Beginning with PrideFest and the Pride Parade, PrideNight at the Brewers, the lakefront ethnic festivals, that weird political convention, jets screeching through the skies, creampuffs and finally SSBL’s Dairyland Classic softball tournament, trying to make the most of our few warm and sunny months has been exhausting. Now, however, the waning weeks of summer provide a well-deserved respite, indoors or out, to finally relax and open a good book.
In years past, I’ve devoted my annual summer reading column to selections across the LGBTQ spectrum. This time, I’ve focused on a single author, Milwaukee’s own D.H. Gutzman. More familiarly known as Dale Gutzman, he has long been recognized as a local theater impresario, who, for two decades, directed Milwaukee’s Off the Wall Theatre.
His self-published novels, a dozen in all, offer a range of genres from historic to horror, and from romance to murder mystery. Set in exotic locales like Tsarist Russia, Victorian England, ancient Egypt, Belle Epoch Paris or contemporary New York City (but with a distinct Milwaukee connection), all serve as mise en scene for the reader’s grand world tour with Gutzman as guide.
Fast-Paced Page Turners
Following the writer’s mantra write what you know, Gutzman, as playwright, director, actor and instructor, has always had a creative mind. Now packed with decades of personal experiences and a penchant for history and literature, the result is a collection of page-turners full of fast-paced action framed in detailed and sensory prose. The reader may find him or herself in a private gay London club replete with naked waiters or in an aging composer’s cluttered NYC flat. In any locale there will be a cast of highly developed characters whose storied personalities are full of quirks and, on occasion, secrets. Of course, there is no dearth of emotional relationships from long-term friendships and intergenerational love to those of darker human motivation.
While the novels are fiction, they are deeply rooted in not only in historical fact, but also in Gutzman’s personal story. In many ways, his fiction provides a hidden autobiography. Whether producing theater for the Thai royal family in Bangkok, directing Shakespeare as resident director at the Odessa Oblast Russian Academic Drama Theater (“Russian” has recently been removed from the name) in Ukraine or staging his own Sondheim review or drag parody of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane at Off the Wall Theatre, Gutzman’s lifetime is one of accrued human interaction and observation. One can well presume that what may seem like fantasy in his writing is indeed reality.
Beyond the intriguing plots and settings, the queer component as common thread from novel to novel should also pique the reader’s curiosity. Because many of Gutzman’s characters are based on true historic figures of gay persuasion (among them Peter Tchaikovsky, Bram Stoker, Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton and even Nazi Ernst Roehm), sympathetic or heartless, the reader should find all the more connection to them.
If nothing else, aside from a good read, the novels should provide an education as well. You’ll definitely come away with some insights into queer intellectual history hitherto unexplored.
Two Noble Kinsmen by D.H. Gutzman
I asked Gutzman which of his novels he would recommend as late summer fare and he obliged with several fun titles. The first is his most recent. Set in 1938 Cairo, Death at the Dirty Camel: A 1930’s Murder Mystery finds gay art investigator Derek Hoar immersed in a “good old-fashioned murder mystery” with an Agatha Christie meets Casablanca cast of characters. Next is the thriller Two Noble Kinsman: The Boy Who Sold His Underwear, in which former British spy Alistair Cornwall must come out of hiding to search for his kidnapped gay son. The action moves from London to Hong Kong and from Rome to Afghanistan. The journey also forces Cornwall to understand his son’s gay lifestyle. Gutzman recommends another thriller, this time in a Victorian mode, Dracula and Mr. Hyde: A Novel of Gothic Horror. In this twisted tale, vampire Christian Gable, lover of Lord Byron and victim of Count Dracula, finds hope in the experiments of Dr. Henry Jekyll. Violence, love, sex and bestial hunger ensue. Finally, Gutzman recommends Agitato, which he describes as a tale of torture and salvation. Set in Venice where love and art converge, Gutzman’s characters find themselves immersed in sexual discovery and a search for a murderer.
My own suggestion is Trunk Songs: A Humorous Novel About The Show Business. The delightful comedy is set in New York City’s contemporary Broadway theater scene where a once successful lyricist and composer are at a loss for words and music. An up-and-coming young writer inspires the couple in more ways than one. Based on the author’s local stage career, for Milwaukee theater folks, some of the characters may seem familiar but with name changes to protect the not-so-innocent.
These and his remaining titles may be found on amazon.com under D. H. Gutzman. Sadly, they are not yet to be found on local booksellers’ shelves. They should be.
Get Death at the Dirty Camel at Amazon here.
Get Two Noble Kinsmen at Amazon here.
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