User:ArohaKingPuru

Nights in the Gardens of Spain

''This wikipedia entry is based on the book published in 1995. For the film based on the novel, see Kawa (film)''

Nights in the Gardens of Spain is a novel written by Witi Ihimaera, published in 1995. It is his sixth published novel and his first semi-autobiographical work. The story is spoken from the perspective of David Munro, a man who leads a double life: one where he has it all - a beautiful family and a great career. Behind closed doors, David finds himself frequenting places he comes to call 'the Gardens of Spain', places within Auckland City where gay and bisexual men meet during the night for spontaneous hook-ups. A New Zealand film adaptation of the novel named Kawa: A Coming Out Dream directed by Katie Wolfe and starring Calvin Tuteao, George Henare and Dean_O'Gorman was released October 17th 2010 at the Hawaii International Film Festival. The name Nights In The Gardens of Spain is an affectation inspired by the impressionistic piece by Manuel de Falla

Plot Synopsis

David is a thirty-one year old married University Professor who frequently makes night visits to the elusive establishment 'The Steam Room', a safe place where he allows himself to freely explore his sexuality with the other regulars - namely Hope Springs Eternal, Wet Dream Walking, Snake Charmer, Always A Bridesmaid and Fat Forty And A Fairy - as well as the staff; chiefly The Spaniard (the owner of the establishment) and the ever-changing towel boys.

The next day he visits his conservative elderly parents to pick up his young daughters Rebecca & Miranda and tells his parents that he has been living seperate from his family in his own flat for six weeks. On the way to dropping the girls off to his former home, The House on The Hill, David reminisces on how he met his wife Annabelle. Upon dropping the girls off and briefly dodging an argument with his wife about the situation the couple find themselves in, David delays telling both his parents and his wife the inevitable truth - that he's gay, and has been his whole life. Only when his sister, Pamela, physically and verbally confronts him at his apartment a few days later does David feel compelled to come out.

David then comes out to his father retelling a fond story of a time when his Father was proud of him, as intimacy has always evaded the relationship of father and son. He carefully chooses his words to tell his father that he prefers the company of men. Sobbing, David's father begins to scrutinise his son. The repeated sentence "I'm gay, Dad" triggers David's father who, being a former military man and still very physically fit, backhands his son across the room. Later that night, David tells Annabelle who expresses her distress with screams and great sobs.

Later on in the week, David, at the request of his love interest Chris who is a ballet dancer, attends the opening night of Petrushka. He sits enamoured throughout the duration of the performance, listening to the praise of Chris's performance around him. During the second half of the show David briefly glimpses up towards the grand circle to see Annabelle, who after seeing him there leaves the event with an unknown male friend. David then spends the duration of the night with Chris, who is incredibly happy after his time on the stage.

The next day David finds himself thinking of the past two years of his marriage and he feels guilty for leaving his wife. Tearfully, he goes to her and sleeps with her. Deep in the night, Annabelle admits that part of her loves him deeply, wanting him back in her and the children's lives as her husband while another part of her is enraged because she feels betrayed that she was kept in the dark.

As a consequence of listening to this David thinks back to his days at St. Crispin's boarding school, remembering his early experiences as a youth exploring his sexuality. One experience he particularly remembers is the horrific treatment of his dorm mate Choirboy - who was brutally raped by bullies in the bathroom. It is this experience that David remembered to encourage himself to come out. It would later be revealed that Choirboy is another figure within David's life - Hope Springs Eternal real name Jack Alwyn -Jones. David would later find out after Choirboy's suicide, as a result of the toxic relationship with one of David's ex-flings and his own battle with mental illness, that Choirboy was the one who comforted David when he was crying in his sleep after losing his virginity on a nudist beach, a secret David had never spoken aloud before.

Subsequently by recalling those boarding school memories, David thinks back to his first love Charles - the two met in University and shared an intense but brief fling in their youth. During a trip down through Hamilton to retrieve precious film files for his department at work, David visits Charles (who is dying of HIV/AIDS) and his husband Dennis. Following David's visit, Dennis calls to thank him for the ongoing gifts that he has sent for Charles over the years and the support David has been to both of them.

Following his visit with Charles David's daughter Miranda suffers an asthmatic attack. While waiting at the hospital, David mends the bridges with his now ex-wife and his parents as well as Chris who appears to give Miranda the wand she lost while out on the beach just before her surgery. It is during this time that David has won forgiveness from his family and begins the steps to move on forward in his life - happily.