What are the gay "stations of the cross"? If a "straight" coming-of-age novel tends to involve dating, followed by commitment, followed by the start of a family, then how does a gay writer work with "straight" conventions? Thomas Grattan's "In Tongues" involves a young gay man who is lost in Minneapolis. His father runs a red light and almost commits (unintentional) homicide--and this leads to a rupture in the family. Dad slips away and finds Jesus--which means that he has an excuse to disown his son. Later, this son, Gordon, buys a train ticket to New York City, where the disaster of his twenties will unfold. By chance, Gordon finds himself employed as a kind of domestic assistant to an older wealthy gay couple. (The two older men own a gallery.) Gordon acquires some helpful tips: how to dress, how to handle yourself in a European city. But there is a steep price. The older men are lecherous; one seduces Gordon, and the other encourages Gor...