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b o o k s |
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These are some of my favorite books, the ones
I think you'll like. Many of them can be purchased through Amazon.com
directly from this site... (hey, a boy's gotta make a living
somehow). |
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f i c t i o n |
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Patricia Nell Warren's The
Front Runner was one of the first works of gay fiction published
by a major house. It's ground-breaking, heart-breaking, and history-making.
Followed by the sequals Harlan's
Race and Billy's Boy (which isn't out in paperback yet).
She also wrote The Beauty Queen and The Fancy Dancer. Probably
the most famous gay-male love story written by a straight woman. |
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Ethan Mordden's series, I've
a Feeling We're not in Kansas Anymore, Everybody
Loves You, Buddies,
and Some
Men Are Lookers are the reason I moved to New York in the
first place. Following the lives of a group of friends in Manhattan
through the 70's, 80's, and 90's these interconnected collections
of short stories are insightful masterworks of characterization. |
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Also by Ethan Mordden, How
Long Has This Been Going On? tells the history of modern
gay culture from the 30's to the present. His gift for creating
compelling and complete characters astounds me every time I pick
up one of his books. |
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The
Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt. His language is
poetic and beautiful, the story moving and realistic, and the
book a hell of a lot better than the movie. |
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Swimming
Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. A hauntingly beautiful
story, as only the British can do. Delicate, almost mystical. |
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Gordon Merrick's books, including Forth
Unto Light, An
Idol For Others, The
Lord Won't Mind, Now
Let's Talk About Music, and One
For The Gods written in the 70's are gay bodice-rippers (codpiece-rippers,
someone called them). Not deep by any standards, but lots of
fun. Good for long plane trips. Expect Greek Islands, gorgeous
men and rampant manhood. |
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The
Living One by Lewis Gannett. The writing isn't all that good,
but the main idea of the plot is so fascinating that I keep coming
back to it. |
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Hello
Darling, Are You Working? by Rupert Everett. Not only is
he gorgeous, and an actor, he can actually write. The story of
a high class rent boy, this will have you laughing hysterically. |
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h i s t o r y |
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Peter Cashoreli, with his Fairy
Tales and Gay
Fairy Tales has rewritten classic fairy and folktales for
gay men. He has given gay men a piece of the culture and history
that has so long been denied us. They may be the most important
books written for gay men in the last 50 years. |
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Same
Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe by John Boswell is another
important work. More technical than Fairy Tales, it is almost
as important. An academic study that gives gay men and lesbians
our history back. |
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Quentin Crisp wrote The
Naked Civil Servant about his experiences as an openly gay
man in London during the 30's and 40's. As a historical document
this book is unparalleled. |
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