Monica Szabo is in her 50s, divorced, with grown children, and responsible only to herself. For years she's taught art and taken care of a family rather than full-time
creating art. What would it take to truly throw herself into the artist's life?
A sugar daddy.
It's a great premise, and Gordon explores it thoughtfully. At the start of the book Monica gives a talk at a friend's gallery. Mid-talk, she takes an unplanned detour. This quote gives a sense of her ironic voice:
Now I ask you, mothers and fathers of America, are your boys dreaming of these things? Where, I ask you, lovers of the arts, where are the male Muses?"
And he stood up, just there, in front of everyone, and said, "Right here."
The man who volunteers is a cipher known only as "B". His life apart from Monica is vague. His explicit purpose is to be her foil, her support, her lover, her inspiration, her concierge; he's extraordinarily perfect in the role. (Remember, this is Utopia.)
clipped from: readpleasure.blogspot.com