Casey McQuiston's latest novel The Pairing is a sexy European adventure that celebrates queer love
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When two people break up, it's usually for the best, right?
Getting readers to root for exes getting back together is no easy task. But it's one Casey McQuiston accomplishes seamlessly in their latest novel, The Pairing.
The Pairing tells the story of Kit and Theo, two exes with a long history of love and friendship. They accidentally end up on the same European food and wine tour after not seeing each other for four years.
To make matters worse, they originally planned to take that same trip together, years earlier, but they broke up on the flight there — leaving them both with unresolved feelings, frustrations and a need to prove that they're totally, 100 per cent over each other.
Trapped together at some of the most romantic places in the world, Kit and Theo jump headlong into a friendly European hookup competition to get their mind off their ever-present chemistry.
But the book's called The Pairing for a reason — and their shenanigans find them closer together than they could have imagined.
Writing this plot required "a lot of tightrope walking," said McQuiston on Bookends with Mattea Roach. They were determined to make sure neither of the main characters were "the bad guy" or seemed cringe for all their pining.
"You have to come up with a reason for the breakup that's big enough that it was justified … but not so big they can't come back from it."
Part of what made it successful, they explain, is the foundational friendship the characters shared even before they got together. "If it was this person who was your 'person' for so long, of course there's that void that you can't really move on from. I was intrigued by that connection. I felt like there was so much to work with in there."
The draw of romance
This is McQuiston's first take on the "exes-to-lovers" trope, but it's not their first rodeo when it comes to romance novels.
McQuiston started writing their debut novel Red, White & Royal Blue after they lost their father to brain cancer in 2014. Dealing with that grief, and a rough breakup at the same time, they tried different ways of coping — from cake decorating to textile art and then revisiting their dream of being a writer.
"I had somewhat given up on being a novelist for a while. I saw it as a very impractical career choice. I was really scared of chasing it," they said. "And then all of the worst things that could happen, happened." So they had nothing to lose.
There's something about the satisfaction of the connection between two people being consummated or being completed.
After reading The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan and feeling "unqualified happiness" for the first time in a while, they became inspired to write a contemporary romance featuring a secret love story between a fictional U.S. president's son and a prince of England.
They set to work — typing away at the story in a Google Doc at their day job — and in 2019, Red, White & Royal Blue was released.
Thanks to its endearing characters, compelling plot and a healthy amount of social media buzz, it became a blockbuster success. It was later adapted for the screen starring Nicholas Galitzine, Taylor Zakhar Perez and Uma Thurman — making McQuiston the new face of queer romance writing in North America.
Do LGBTQ films get harsher content ratings?
They followed up Red, White & Royal Blue with the sapphic romance One Last Stop and the YA novel I Kissed Shara Wheeler. And with their latest novel The Pairing, they haven't looked back when it comes to writing stories within the genre of queer romance.
"There's something about the satisfaction of the connection between two people being consummated or being completed — in this really poetic and symmetrical and satisfying way — that just scratches something in my brain," they said.
Ever-evolving storytelling
While McQuiston's books are known for being about queer joy and escapism, the way it manifests in their storytelling has evolved — as has their own relationship to their queer and non-binary identity.
In fact, when they were writing Red, White & Royal Blue, they weren't out as queer to their family.
I've come into my own as a non-binary person and as someone who experiences a lot of different kinds of love.
"A big part of what I was trying to create for myself with Red, White & Royal Blue was all of the things I wasn't getting from my physical life: the validation and support, the community, the celebration of my own queerness that I feel like I hadn't been able to fully let myself have yet," they said.
"Fast forward to many years later and to many times of being in rooms of hundreds of people who are in community, in queerness and transness, around my books. The way that has healed me, and given me this sort of 'do-over queer adolescence', has changed me a lot."
It's also altered the way they write about sex and love in their novels — particularly after having grown up in purity culture and worked through the shame that comes with it.
"I've come into my own as a non-binary person and as someone who experiences a lot of different kinds of love. I am able to write about it a bit more confidently," said McQuiston.
"So much of what I reach for now with wish fulfilment is not about big loud moments, but it's about these quiet moments of peace."
Representing queer joy
When it comes to representation, McQuiston is strong in their stance that their books are written for the people who see themselves in the characters.
"From my experience, a lot of my early relationship with queerness and transness was concealment ... I'm [now] able to begin dismantling the little shelter I built around my truest self," they said.
McQuiston is not so concerned about teachable moments in their books, but rather making people feel seen.
I'm now able to begin dismantling the little shelter I built around my truest self - Casey McQuiston
"For a long time in U.S. publishing, the way to get a queer story published, if it wasn't tragic, was for it to be doing a public good — which is a very didactic kind of storytelling," said McQuiston.
"That was why there was such a huge barrier of entry for queerness and romance because romance is a pleasure genre. Whereas I often come to representation from a place of, 'Well, sometimes what's important is having a good time and being horny.'
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Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 'Our impression was that there was nothing really like this in Whistler,' said Lorette co-owner James Paré. 'People will do French or whatever, but no one is really doing what we're doing. And I feel like the culture is growing. Customers are becoming more aware and more excited to try different things. We have some unique flavours and some items that people are excited to try, and maybe not just one night, but maybe a couple nights in a row.' Along with his uncle Jay, James is co-owner and operator of Lorette's parent company, Paré Restaurant Group, which includes two other Whistler restaurants, Quattro and Caramba. 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Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Springsteen opened his European tour by calling Trump 'unfit.' The president fired back, dismissing The Boss as a 'dried out 'prune' of a rocker.' As a regular Trump punching bag, Christie could relate. Christie 'fell in love' with Springsteen and his music when he first saw him perform some 50 years ago – and loyalty to party or president won't change that. 'The politics, if I take some hits – and I do take some hits – that's fine,' he said. Christie is far from the only Republican standing with Springsteen, with several Republican operatives saying the rocker's music is bigger than politics – even if that means they have to compartmentalize a bit. 'I don't think it matters that he is a liberal,' said Chris Pack, a longtime Republican operative whose office wall has images of Republicans such as former speaker John A. Boehner and former president George W. Bush alongside the framed lyrics to Springsteen's 'Darkness on the Edge of Town.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'These amazing life lessons aren't Democratic or Republican lessons. They're just lessons,' said Pack, who described Springsteen's music as a soundtrack to his life, with 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' inspiring him to leave state politics in New York and take a shot at national politics in D.C. 'I can compartmentalize his politics. … I get that politics is a full-contact sport, but you have to be able to turn that off.' Pack is just one of the fervent Springsteen devotees who work in Republican politics. They exchange messages in Springsteen-focused group chats, endure ribbing from colleagues (especially now) and try to convert the skeptics. For Mike Marinella, a spokesperson at the National Republican Congressional Committee who was born and raised in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold, New Jersey, the artist is a hero. But Marinella is clear that his Springsteen love is just about the music. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Freehold loves Bruce for the art, not the politics,' said Marinella, whose uncle bought the music store where Springsteen bought his first guitar. The Republican operative even remembers making a pizza for Springsteen during his high school job at Federici's Family Restaurant – immortalized by a signed take-out menu that now hangs on Marinella's office wall. 'He is a hometown hero, even if we don't always agree with what he says.' Pack and Marinella exemplify Republicans whose love of Springsteen is bigger than politics, conspicuous in a world where everything – sports, music, movies, arts – is political. Springsteen's politics are no secret: He has endorsed every Democratic nominee since 2004. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But the rift with Trump, someone known to disown Republicans who buck him by supporting his opponents, has made the relationship between the Republican political class and Springsteen more challenging. Not a single member of New Jersey's congressional delegation responded when asked about Trump's feud with the Jersey icon, nor did the three top Republicans running to be the party's gubernatorial nominee. And when Pack spoke of a 'ton' of Republican Springsteen fans in Washington, he declined to provide names. 'I don't want to out people,' he said with a laugh. Christie, whose relationship with Springsteen has gone through rough patches, questioned New Jersey Republicans declining to back Springsteen. 'What the public wants from their politicians more than anything else is authenticity, and so it is not only weak personally, but it is also stupid politically, to act as if you don't have an opinion,' he said, noting that Springsteen is arguably the greatest entertainer from the state, alongside Frank Sinatra. 'If you are a New Jersey person and you are trying to claim you don't have an opinion on this, people know that you are full of it,' he added. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey Democrat who succeeded Christie as governor, agreed. 'Bruce Springsteen is a Jersey – and American – icon,' said Murphy. 'If you want to win an election in this state, you don't criticize The Boss.' A representative for Springsteen declined to respond to questions when asked about the artist's rift with Trump and exchanges with Christie. Springsteen's music has long been intertwined with politics, most notably during the 1984 presidential election when President Ronald Reagan invoked Springsteen, whose 'Born in the USA' was topping the charts, to say his Republican agenda was 'all about' trying to 'make those dreams come true.' Springsteen disagreed and let it be known days later. Politicians including Reagan and other right-wing commentators at the time treated 'Born in the USA' as a patriotic anthem – in reality, it is an anti-war protest song that tells the story of a Vietnam veteran unable to find his way in the country. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Anyone who is surprised by Springsteen's position on the current administration … isn't maybe the truest Springsteen fan they think they are,' said Frank Luna, a former Republican campaign operative who has worked for multiple New Jersey Republicans and lives on the Jersey Shore. 'The people who, over the years, have told Bruce Springsteen to shut up and sing are the same people dancing in the aisles to 'Born in the USA' with an American flag.' While Springsteen's politics have appeared consistently liberal, the politics of some of his fans – and the men and women he wrote about for much of his career – have shifted. Much of his early work focused on the plight of the working class versus the rich: His 1980 ballad 'The River' tells the story of a working-class couple looking to make it out, his 1984 song 'My Hometown' is about the boom-and-bust nature of some small manufacturing towns and his 1978 song 'Badlands' is about greed, wealth and feeling unseen. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But where Democrats were once seen as the party of the working class, under Trump the GOP has made such successful inroads with working class Americans that a recent CNN poll found Democrats and Republicans are tied when it comes to public perception about which party better represents the middle class, a marked departure from the last decades. 'A lot of it has to do with the flight of industrial jobs. The jobs he remembers, the jobs his dad had at the rug factory, don't really exist in the U.S. anymore,' said Marc Dolan, the author of 'Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll,' invoking Springsteen's 1978 song 'Factory' about what his father's factory work gave him and took away. Dolan said he believes Springsteen is aware of this shift, which may be why he made these comments abroad. 'He is very good at pulling the audience in, making them feel like they are having a collective experience, but also challenging them,' said Dolan. 'He has never been one to totally turn off his audience. He is one to put them in a pickle where they don't know how they feel for a bit. But … how do you challenge the congregation without them leaving the church?' Pack was intentionally vague when asked why he thought so many New Jersey Republicans declined to respond to questions about Springsteen amid his spat with Trump. 'Don't wanna piss off the boss,' he said. 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