DECEMBER 9, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 25
EVENINGS OUT
For holiday gifts, a cornucopia of lesbian and gay books
by Timothy Robson
One of the most telling signs of how far gays and lesbians have moved into the mainstream of society is the unprecedented number of books dealing with gay and lesbian themes published by mainstream publishing houses. Only a few years ago it was possible to be aware of all gay and lesbian books; most were published by small independent publishers. Now, even the bi-monthly Lambda Literary Review has trouble keeping up with all of them.
There are major new fiction and nonfiction books for for both men and women. So, in this annual round-up of notable books from the past few months, we bring you some books for gift-giving suggestions, or to take with you to the beach on your winter vacation, or just to snuggle up with at home when your date stands you up.
Leading the pack in fiction is the publication this fall of Harlan's Race, Patricia Nell Warren's long-awaited sequel to The Front Runner, in which Harlan Brown challenges his memories of the past after Billy Sive's death and deals with new threats to his life. (Wildcat Press, $21.95 hardcover) The Front Runner was the first "gay" book many of us read; Harlan's Race is a worthy successor and is highly recommended.
Matricide, by Carla Tomaso (Plume, $9.95 paper) is a dark, irreverent, surprising book about lesbian life. If you've ever wanted to kill your mother, this is the book for you.
Fawcett Columbine has re-issued the 1972 novel Patience and Sarah, by Isabel Miller, as part of its "Classics of Lesbian Literature" series. (Fawcett Columbine, $10 paper) It is a romance set in early nineteenth-century New England.
For those with a taste for the unusual, The Sex Offender, by Matthew Stadler (Harper Collins, $22 hardcover) is recommended. Based on extensive research of treatment programs for sex offenders in the U.S., the novel chronicles the "therapy" of a male schoolteacher found guilty of having had an affair with a twelve-year-old boy. Convicted by a Jesse Helms-ian court, he is subjected to a series of bizarre treatments. This satirical novel parodies a government in which its functionaries are so scrutinized that a change in facial expression signals a change in foreign policy.
The ever-prolific Naiad Press continues to publish a large number of lesbian novels. Veteran mystery writer Katherine V. Forrest has published Flashpoint (Naiad, $22.95 hardcover; $10.95 paper), which combines a timely story of gay political activity with explicit sex scenes.
The Final Bell, by M.S. Hunter (Alyson,
CURBSIDE SPLITTIN' TIME &
THE DECISION
$8.95 paper) is a lightweight but unusual men's romance about a gay prize-fighter boxer and his lover. Good beach material.
"Susie Sexpert" Bright edited The Best American Erotica 1994 (Touchstone Books/ Simon and Schuster, $12 paper). While not an exclusively gay or lesbian book, some of the stories deal with gay themes, and there are contributions by such noted authors as Pat Califia (the Advocate's sex advisor), John Preston, and Leslie Feinberg (whose Stone Butch Blues [Firebrand Books] is very highly recommended). One of the funniest stories, "Better Safe" by Michael Lowenthal, is about a condom fetishist, for whom safer sex is the best thing to ever happen.
My favorite non-fiction book of the year is A Queer Reader, edited by Patrick Higgins (New Press, $25 hardcover). A cross between a history book and a queer Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, it is a collection of quotations by gay and straight actors, writers, politicians, historians, and others who have spoken on or out on homosexuality. Arranged chronologically from antiquity to the present "shadow of the plague," this book records an astonishing breadth of attitudes about gay men. Very highly recommended.
Alyson has published two important books about gay youth: Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay and Lesbian Youth, edited by Ann Heron ($17.95 hardcover) and Death by Denial: Studies of Suicide in Gay and Lesbian Teenagers, edited by Gary Remafedi ($9.95 paper). It becomes ever more evident that young people are in many cases more victimized by societal homophobia than are adults. Of these two books, Two Teenagers in Twenty is the more accessible. These are courageous essays, and may provide comfort to a struggling young person.
One Teacher in 10: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories, edited by Kevin Jennings (Alyson, $9.95 paper) looks at the same set of circumstances from a different view. Often highly at risk to lose their jobs, only recently have teachers become more open about their homosexuality. These essays by teachers speak to their efforts.
What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality, by Daniel A Helminiak (Alamo Square Press, $9.95 paper) is a very useful compendium of liberal theological writing. Each biblical mention of homosexuality is discussed in light of recent scholarship and interpretation.
Two of the most significant books of 1993 have been re-issued in paper versions: The Culture of Desire: Paradox and Perversity in Gay Lives Today, by NPR correspondent Frank Browning (Vintage, $11) and Bruce Bawer's controversial A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society
1994 BY ROBERT KIRBY HONEY, IT'S BEEN A GREAT FIVE YEARS BUT I REALLY FEEL THE NEED TO MOVE AWAY TO NEW YORK AND START MY LIFE UP ALL OVER AGAIN...
YEAH, I HEAR YA... I'VE BEEN THINKING I'D LIKE TO TRY LIVING ALONE AGAIN MYSELF...(YAWN) So can I Keep the toaster?
SURE, WHATEVER.. NOW
IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I'M GONNA START THE BALL ROLLING AND GO SHAVE MY HEAD...
YEAH, I BETTER GET TO
APARTMENT HUNTING...
THE HEARTACHES
Sniff -sniff
THE RAP SO YOU SEE, WE'VE BEEN MOVING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS FOR SOME TIME NOW
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WHO'S GONNA COOK FOR THE END You? HOW WILL YOU GO
GROCERY SHOPPING WITHOUT ME TO DRIVE YOU?? choke it's so sad.....
(Touchstone Books/Simon and Schuster, $12). If you haven't read these books, don't delay, buy them now! Even if you don't agree with the authors, they are among the groundbreakers of current gay thought.
Gay parenting continues to be a hot topic. From Crown Publishers we have Reinventing the Family: The Emerging Story of Lesbian and Gay Parents by Laura Benkov ($22 hardcover). Instead of people merely questioning whether or not homosexuals should have children, lesbian and gay parents are now challenging society with even more complicated questions: how are parenting roles defined in gay and lesbian families? What do children call parents in same-sex families, and does it matter? What happens to children of lesbians and gays when one dies or when the parents split up? This is an important contribution to a growing body of work about gay and lesbian families.
The Science of Desire: The Search of the Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior, by Dean Hamer and Peter Copeland (Simon and Schuster, $23 hardcover) is a popular treatment of the sensational discovery of a gene marker allegedly linked to male homosexuality. Dr. Hamer explores the many scientific, social, and ethical questions raised by his research.
This fall has seen a big batch of biographies of well-known gay men and lesbians. Filmmaker John Waters's most famous star is the subject of Not Simply Divine (Fireside Books/Simon and Schuster, $12 paper) by Bernard Jay, the actor's manager for eleven years. This biography is not just about the cult star of Pink Flamingos and Polyester; it is also about the person once known as Glenn Milstead, the confused man from Baltimore who would do anything to succeed.
Vintage has reissued Edmund White's monumental Genet: A Biography ($17 paper). This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award and will stand as the cornerstone work on the great French writer Jean Genet for the foreseeable future.
Other writers whose lives are featured in paperback reprints are Cuban novelist Renaldo Arenas, in Before Night Falls, A Memoir (Penguin, $11.95) and Allen Ginsberg, in Dharma Lion by Michael Schumacher (St. Martin's Press, $18.95). Composer Ned Rorem has added a "prequel" to his series of diaries. Knowing When to Stop: A Memoir (Simon and Schuster, $30 hardcover) traces the first twenty-eight years of Rorem's life up to 1951, when he went to Paris the first time.
Rounding out the notable biographies are two gays-in-the-military stories. One is Soldier of the Year: The Story of a Gay AmeriContinued on next page
WE STILL LOVE EACH OTHER BUT I THINK WE WANT DIFFERENT THINGS OUT OF LIFE
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THE EMERGING STORY OF LESBIAN AND GAY PARENTS
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A QUEER READER
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I REALLY THINK I WILL
MONEY TO BURN
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WELL WHO'LL COVER UP YOUR FEET AT NIGHT WHEN THEY GET COLD? NO ONE ELSE KNOWS. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOU THE WAY I DO... (308)
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