Summary

The Professor of Desire opens in David Kepesh’s childhood. His parents own and operate a hotel in upstate New York called the Hungarian Royale. David and his parents live in the hotel year-round. The main entertainer at the hotel is a singer and bandleader named Herbie Bratasky. Young David idolizes Herbie for his charisma and his adeptness at performance and entertainment. However, David’s parents worry that Herbie’s penchant for crude humor will be a bad influence on David. The narrative then moves ahead to David’s first year in college. He attends Syracuse University and is often in actor in the college’s stage productions. He wants to be an actor, but he soon comes to view acting as a vain and frivolous pursuit. He stops acting in plays and declares a major in English. He focuses assiduously on his studies...