Book 33: The Inner Circle, by T.C. Boyle

This book is a fictionalized account of the life of Alfred Kinsey as seen through the eyes of one of his assistants in research. After reading the book, I found myself wishing that last year's biopic of the infamous sex researcher had taken this approach, as it made for a deeper, more emotionally impacting story. Where the film primarily centered on Kinsey himself and the effects his beliefs and devotion to his cause had on his own health and personal relationships, with The Inner Circle, the reader is made privy to a man who is far more ambivalent about what he is doing than Kinsey. Kinsey, after all, fervently believed in what he was studying and contended that sex between humans was an act driven purely by animal instinct. The protagonist of The Inner Circle, John Milk, was not a real person involved in Kinsey's life, but is clearly based on the professor's research associate Clyde Martin. We see Milk evolve from naïve undergraduate student who discovers Kinsey in the professor's marriage course to a young disciple who eagerly accepts the man's teachings as he goes to work for the man. Once Milk marries his young sweetheart, however, things get ever more complicated. Though Milk completely agrees with the tenet that any sex amongst the "inner circle" is purely for research purposes, he does have trouble reconciling it with his own feelings for his wife and her reaction to what is happening around her. The book offers a fascinating look at marriage and relationships through a very unusual avenue, showing the personality of the professor through the eyes of a young man who alternately loved and was befuddled by him. I actually believe that reading the book and watching last year's biopic in tandem could make for a strong educational experience.