The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

by Michael Chabon

Art Bechstein is the son of a mob money launderer, who wants him to succeed in a legitimate career (He has even set up a job for him at the end of the summer in Baltimore at a financial firm managed by one of his old friends.). When Art graduates from the University of Pittsburgh, he has only a vague hope for a summer of adventure before he commits to the rest of his life. Bechstein almost immediately meets a charming young gay gentleman, Arthur Lecomte, and his friend, a highly literate biker, Cleveland Arning, who become his partners in many summer adventures. Art begins a relationship with an insecure young woman named Phlox Lombardi. As Art's attraction to Arthur grows, it destabilizes both relationships and reveals he may be bisexual. Art is also troubled when Cleveland begins moving deeper into the city's organized crime families, drawing him closer to his father's dangerous mob connections. Art's relationships with his dog, friends, and lovers become more and more entangled, causing a series of fallings out and unforeseen consequences.