Simple Simon

A fictional autobiography, Simple Simon takes readers from rural Arkansas to life in Reverend Moon’s Unification Church in New York, Chicago, Texas, and California. Showing how Simon Powell was alienated by society because of his homosexuality, it also details his experience in drug rehab with Harris, a sympathetic and understanding counselor who persuades him to write his story. Hoping Simon will fully accept himself as a gay man, Harris urges him to embrace his successes and failures and find the gestalt that will allow him to become a complete individual worthy of love.Although reunited with his lover following a bitter break-up, Simon remains filled with self-loathing and believes his life would have been better if only he had been born straight. As he struggles to overcome his addiction and learn from the suffering he endured in Simon Says, William Poe’s first novel, he begins to yearn for a fresh start. Why did he drop out of college, forsake the dream of becoming an artist, and live in a communal religious group for ten years, only to leave in despair?An ironic title, Simple Simon is about a life that is anything but simple. As Simon reflects on himself and his journey, he realizes that his search for fatherly love drove his decision to join Reverend Moon’s movement. It is when Simon abandons faith in Reverend Moon as a cosmic father that he loses hope and drifts into drug addiction.Looking at the social aspect of Simon’s life, Poe’s latest novel shows the importance of striving to understand one’s place in the community. From a religious aspect, it examines the dynamic between mainstream Christianity and fringe beliefs, while at the same time exploring the opposition of scientific thought to spirituality. Simon closely examines his emotional life and tries to figure out how sexual orientation fits into the fabric of society. The novel also covers how we confront, or fail to deal with, what often seem like insurmountable problems, such as drug abuse. Finally, it reveals what it takes to become a whole person who can carve out a life that finally makes sense.