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LostinRed Donating Member (292 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 01:21 AM
Original message
Giovanni's Room changed my life
I recently built a wall sized book shelf in my home office. I finally went through the 20+ boxes of books that I had been storing in my garage. I was happy to find the copy of Giovanni's Room which I discovered when I was 19. It helped me come to terms with being gay and coming out. I haven't really read any other gay literature. I was wondering are there other gay books that DU'ers could recommend?
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xfundy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 05:59 AM
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1. Giovanni's room is a classic.
I'd recommend reading anything by Edmund White, and certainly "The Best Little Boy In the World," by (Andrew?) Tobias. The Armistead Maupin series (Tales Of The City) about San Francisco is also fantastic; I tried to slow down my reading when I knew it was coming to an end.
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xfundy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 06:04 AM
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2. "A Boy's Own Story" by Edmund White
That one will always stick with me.
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Bluenorthwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 07:30 AM
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3. James Baldwin
There. This thread was bear without mention of the name of the author of Giovanni's room.
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saltpoint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 10:07 AM
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4. James Baldwin is a terrific writer. You started out with one of the
very most brave and interesting voices in literature, IMO.

In the LGBTQ genre, you might have a go at Andrew Holleran's DANCER FROM THE DANCE, Jamie O'Neill's AT SWIM, TWO BOYS, and if you want to try historical fiction, it's very hard to beat Mary Renault's trilogy:

FIRE FROM HEAVEN
THE PERSON BOY
FUNERAL GAMES

--about the life of Alexander, who had male, female, and eunuch lovers.

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mitchtv Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 01:39 PM
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5. I read that about 45 years ago
at about 19. I also read "City of Night" by John Rechy. I know, it is dated, but I lived much of that story. Rechy's second book "Numbers" didn't measure up. My friend loved " the Persian Boy " series
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dickthegrouch Donating Member (838 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 01:52 PM
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6. My favorites
The Front Runner, Patricia Nell Warren
The Catch Trap, Marion Zimmer Bradley
Dancer from the Dance, Andrew Holleran

The only problem is that the protagonist meets an untimely in each of them.
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Doc Martin Donating Member (233 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-26-09 02:41 PM
Response to Original message
7. Works by Paul Monette
Edited on Sat Sep-26-09 02:44 PM by Doc Martin
Especially "Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir" and "Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story."

Powerful stories. Breaktakingingly beautiful writing.
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