Michael Arditti's The Celibate is an ambitious work that challenges the standard parameters of the gay novel: although it could be classified as a coming-out tale, the book is more accurately described as the record of a spiritual journey with historical and overtly sexual overtones. Told in the first person, The Celibate is the story of an almost-priest who, after a nervous breakdown, begins dealing with his sexuality, a path that includes hustlers and s&m. The narrator's day job is guiding tourists through Jack the Ripper's crime scenes, and Arditti uses this material to show how the historical and the personal, the spiritual and the political inform one another, giving The Celibate depth and compassion. It is, in essence, a meditation on sex, violence, forgiveness, and faith.