HE SAID
Balancing Act, the apparently autobiographical debut novel by Terry
McMillan's notorious ex-husband, Jonathan Plummer (written with Karen Hunter), follows young model Justin, his older lover (a successful black businesswoman), and the fallout after he reveals he's gay. Plummer even winks at the best-seller he famously inspired. ''That damn woman and her
book ruined it,'' says Justin. ''Now all [Jamaican men] get are these
women thinking they can get their groove back.''
LOWDOWN
Justin sounds disingenuous claiming his first gay tryst was unexpected.
Still, Act is so juicy, it sweats.
DISHINESS Three (on a scale of one to four)
SHE SAID
In a 13-page essay addressed to Plummer for last winter's anthology of
marital stories, The Honeymoon's Over, Terry McMillan sounds less like
an at-peace divorcée than a shrill ex-lover. Her ''100 Questions I Meant
to Ask Him'' range from self-revelatory (''Do you miss me?'') to overheatedly homophobic (''Have you ever been surprised by the promiscuous behavior of a lot of gay men?'') to pornographic (''Are
orgasms and sex really that important?'').
LOWDOWN
A rant so cringingly honest that even Dr. Ruth might blush.
DISHINESS Four
