Gay Reading

[justaguy]

The thread on gay cinema yielded a lot of good titles. Could you all give titles for good gay novels? (I'm not all that much for collections of short fiction.) Of late I've read White's A Married Man (beautifully written with recognizable characters, a bit depressing but not in a sentimental way) and James Lear's The Palace of Varieties (my first go at a gay porn novel, okay but could have been much better in terms of realism). Thanks.

[Guest gryphone]

Nightswimmer byJoseph Olshan is best gay fiction I've ever read.

Also, anything by Joseph Hansen, his gay detective hero series as

well as his semi autogiographical Living Upstairs captures 1940s

gay LA perfectly, so Im told

[Guest sexantexan]

Any of the Mark Manning books by Michael Craft. Start with Flight Dreams, I think.

The Todd Mills series by R.D. Zimmerman. Start with Closet.

The Benjamin Justice books my John Morgan Wilson are a lot more gritty and violent.

The Stan Kraychick books by Grant Michaels. A Body to Dye For is first, IIRC.

[+ Lucky]

At Swim Two Boys is an all-time favorite gay novel, as discussed in this old thread on gay books:

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?t=39500&highlight=Edmund

 

Armistead Maupin is a favorite gay writer, as is Edmund White. Then there are the steamier novels by William Mann among others. The Lord Won't Mind was one of my early favorites...it got trashier as it went along!

All through The Night is Suzanne'sBrockman's good gay novel. Don't forget The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren, and old favorite. Here's another link to an old thread:

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?t=43934&highlight=novels

[Kevin Slater]

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim is a great novel, perhaps better than the movie.

 

Isherwood's diaries are a good read.

 

Kevin Slater

[edjames]

Greg Herren

 

Some very good suggestions posted here.

 

Greg Herrren, writes good gay-themed mysteries about Chanse MscLeod solving murders in New Orleans. To date he has written 5 novels. Murder in the Rue Chartres, Murder in the Rue Daphine, Murder in the Rue Ann, Muder in the Rue Ursulines, and Murder in the Garden District. They are short and easy to read.

 

Also, Anne Rice's son, Christopher Rice's books might interest you.

 

ED

[edjames]

A freind reminded me yesterday that insightoutbooks.com is a good website for gay literature.

 

ED

[body2body]

"The Line of Beauty" by Alan Hollinghust a novel set in Thatcher era London is beautifully written. It won the Booker prize in the U.K.

[+ Italiano]

Nightswimmer byJoseph Olshan is best gay fiction I've ever read

 

And Joseph Olshan is hot!

[NoahDriver]

dancer from the dance novel by Andrew Holleran. A great page turner!

[Rod Hagen]

Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim is a great novel, perhaps better than the movie.

 

Isherwood's diaries are a good read.

 

Kevin Slater

 

Mysterious Skin the book was, to my eyes, a nice stab at a Dennis Cooper novel.

 

Mysterious Skin the movie was fantastic. And such a surprise because, although I've always admired Araki's intensity, his movies are generally a mess. A fun mess, but a mess. I had no confidence he'd nut up for MS, but he did. And so when I see him at the Gay Starbucks, I tell him.

[buzz]

All good suggestions. I'd also recommend the mystery series by Michael Nava, a wonderful writer from California. Couple of classics. "The City and the Pillar" by Gore Vidal. It gives you a real feeling of American gay life 50 or 60 years ago. Also "Giovanni's Room" by James Baldwin.

[justaguy]

Ed, thanks for the website. I hadn't heard of it before and it is really good.