Joyce Wadler, originally from this area, will be giving a book talk/reading at Skene Library on July 26 at 2 PM featuring her new novel The Satyr in Bungelow D.  Set in and around Fleischmanns in 1963, it features a hidden colony of satyrs, the mythical half-human, half-goat creatures — complete with hooves and horns.

Joyce grew up in Halcott and later Pine Hill, so her familiarity with the area shines through every page.  For many years Joyce penned the “I Was Misinformed” humor column for The New York Times, has written several other books, and now publishes on Substack. She will have copies of her latest novel available for sale and signing.

The Satyr in Bungelow D

The resorts in the Catskill Mountains are struggling in 1963, but the town of Fleischmanns has a secret that keeps the tourists coming back: A hidden colony of satyrs.

Strikingly good-looking and differing in appearance from humans only because of their short horns and delicate hooves, it is easy for satyrs to pass. In the summer, when New York City ladies take solitary and hopeful walks up the mountain paths, they frequently do. That great-looking guy who gave a New York City college girl the best sex of her life behind the tennis courts and refused to take off his hat? Most likely a satyr.

Danny, a young satyr who hunts for books on the hotel grounds when no guests are around, is different. Danny is scandalizing his community because he does not want to make love to every woman he meets. He wants the one great love he read about in “The Great Gatsby,” which he found near a hotel pool. Danny could not finish the book as the last chapters were ruined in a June thunderstorm, but he is certain that a love as powerful as Gatsby’s can end only in one way: with Gatsby and the woman he adores together for the rest of his life.