Pl Burston's top 10 gay fictn books | Books | The Guardian

Contents:

• 21 BOOKS EVERY GAY MAN NEEDS TO READ RIGHT NOW
• 10 OF THE BT MORN NOVELS WRTEN BY LGBTQ WRERS LGBTQ HEADG | © DANIELLE BRISENO/FLICKR JW MCCORMACK 01 DECEMBER 2017 COPY LK FACEBOOK EMAIL TWTER PTERT NO LIST OF LGBTQ WRERS N CLAIM TO BE EXHSTIVE, AS THE HISTORY OF QUEER WRG IS THE STORY OF LERATURE SELF, OM THE VERY FIRST NOVEL, SATYRIN BY PETRONI, BEG A MASTERPIECE OF GAY THEM. SUCCSORS CLU EVERYONE OM JEAN GE AND WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS TO ARMISTEAD MP’S TAL OF THE CY AND E.M. FORSTER, WHOSE MRICE HAD TO WA TO BE PUBLISHED POSTHUMOLY 1971. BUT EVEN THE MORN VANGUARD OF LGBTQ THORS HAS HAD TO NTEND WH CHANGG SOCIAL MOR, CENSORSHIP, AND EVEN ATH UNTRI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS STILL ILLEGAL OR OTHERWISE DANGERO. THE NTEMPORARY WORKS GIVE A TASTE OF THE RICHNS AND SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF MORN LGBTQ LERATURE BY WRERS WHO HAVE BORNE THEIR SOULS, SOMETIM AT GREAT PERSONAL RISK, RULTG ONE OF THE MOST IMMEDIATE BODI OF LERATURE THE WORLD TODAY. VIEW ALL TRIPS INFILS BY ABLLAH TAïA A LEADG WRER OF THE ARAB WORLD, MOROCN-BORN ABLLAH TAïA HAS CHALLENGED THE PREJUDIC OF HIS HOME UNTRY AS BOTH WRER AND FILM DIRECTOR. INFILS SCRIB THE GRADUAL RADILIZATN OF A PROSTUTE’S SON WHO FDS LOVE THE MLIM WORLD. FOR THE TIME BEG, MAY WELL BE HIS MASTERPIECE, PECIALLY IMPRSIVE GIVEN THAT SAME-SEX LOVE HAS BEEN ILLEGAL MOROC SCE 1962. TAKE A SP TO FD YOUR PERFECT SMALL-GROUP TRIP STATN PASSPORTS READY? YOUR NEXT STATN IS... VIEW TRIP SP MEXI CROATIA TURKEY INDIA JAPAN MOROC ECUADOR SPA ICELAND EGYPT BALI GREECE THAILAND SOUTH AI COURTY OF SEVEN STORI PRS THE WALK- CLOSET BY ABDI NAZEMIAN BORN IRAN, ADBI NAZEMIAN NOW WORKS AS A SCREENWRER L.A., BUT NTU TO RETURN TO PERSIAN THEM, AS THE LAMBDA LERARY AWARD-WNG THE WALK- CLOSET OM 2015, WHICH A WOMAN POS AS HER GAY BT IEND’S GIRLIEND. ONE OF THE FIRST NOVELS OM IRAN TO AL EXPLICLY WH GAY THEM, IS A TREASURE OF A NOVEL AND A TTAMENT TO THE URAGE OF S THOR, WHOSE HOME UNTRY ALS HARSHLY WH S HOMOSEXUAL POPULATN, THE VERY EXISTENCE OF WHICH WAS NIED BY PRINT MAHMOUD AHMADEJAD 2007. COURTY OF CURTIS BROWN DIGAL A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD BY MICHAEL CUNNGHAM MA TO A FILM WH COL FERRELL 2004, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD IS THE PRECSOR OF MICHAEL CUNNGHAM’S PULZER PRIZE-WNG THE HOURS. IT ALS WH AN AD-HOC FAY PRISED OF BOBBY AND JONATHAN, TWO CLEVELAND OH-BORN MEN, AND CLARE, THE MOTHER OF BOBBY’S CHILD. ALL THREE CI TO LIVE AS A THREOME A UNTRY HOME OUTSI OF NEW YORK, CHALLENGG TRADNAL NOTNS OF THE FAY THROUGH THEIR LOVG, POLYAMORO RELATNSHIP. CARIBBEAN COLOMBIA DISVER COLOMBIA’S CARIBBEAN AST, OM CARTAGENA TO PALOMO VIA JUNGL, RIVERS AND ISLANDS. VIEW TRIP COURTY OF PIDOR FUN HOME BY ALISON BECHL AN TOBGRAPHIL GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT WON ALISON BECHL A MACARTHUR GENI GRANT AND THE BASIS OF A BROADWAY MIL, FUN HOME IS THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF A FUNERAL DIRECTOR FATHER, HIMSELF A CLOSETED HOMOSEXUAL, AND THE YOUNG ALISON’S OWN STGGL WH SEXUAL INTY. IF THAT’S NOT ENOUGH, BECHL IS ALSO THE ORIGATOR OF THE “BECHL TT,” APPLIED TO WORKS OF FICTN WHERE TWO WOMEN TALK ABOUT SOMETHG OTHER THAN A MAN. COURTY OF MARER BOOKS MUNDO CEL BY LUIS NEGRóN LUIS NEGRóN’S STORY LLECTN MUNDO CEL ADDRS THE TIGHT-KN WORLD OF PUERTO RIN GAY CULTURE. TRANSGRSIVE AND SPARSE, S STORI ADD UP TO A POSE PORTRA OF AN UNRREPRENTED BUT VIBRANT MOGRAPHIC AND THEIR STGGL WH PREJUDICE. NEGRóN HAS GONE ON TO NTRIBUTE TO THE VISIBILY OF QUEERNS HIS HOME UNTRY AS -EDOR OF THE ANTHOLOGY LOS OTROS CUERPOS. BEE A CULTURE TRIPPER! SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO SAVE UP TO 40% ON OUR UNIQUE TRIPS. SIGN UP SEE PRIVACY POLICY. COURTY OF SEVEN STORI PRS FGERSMH BY SARAH WATERS SARAH WATERS HAS DONE AN ENORMO SERVICE TO LERATURE, GAY AND OTHERWISE, WH HER EXPLORATNS OF LBIAN LOVE VICTORIAN SOCIETY. PERHAPS THE BT OF THE IS FGERSMH, A RIVETG HISTORIL ADVENTURE NOVEL OF TWO WOMEN WHO REBEL AGAST THEIR STRICT SOCIETY, MEMORABLY ADAPTED TO THE SOUTH KOREAN FEATURE FILM THE HANDMAIN 2016. COURTY OF RIVERHEAD BOOKS EXQUISE CORPSE BY POPPY Z. BRE PROOF THAT QUEER NOVELS KNOW NO GENRE NSTRATS, TRANSMAN BILLY MART WROTE THE EROTIC HORROR NOVEL EXQUISE CORPSE AS POPPY Z. BRE. THE STORY OF A SERIAL KILLER REMBLG REAL-LIFE KILLER JEFEY DAHMER WHO FALLS LOVE WH AN HIV-POSIVE RAD HOSE. CHALLENGG AND VLENT, AL EXPLICLY WH THE QUTNS OF VICTIMHOOD RAISED BY SAN SONTAG HER LANDMARK AIDS AND ITS METAPHORS. COURTY OF TOUCHSTONE ORANG ARE NOT THE ONLY F BY JEATE WTERSON IT’S HARD TO CHOOSE A FAVORE AMONG JEATE WTERSON’S ENERGIZG OVRE, EQUENTLY NCERNED WH LBIAN ROMANCE, BUT HER FIRST, THE TOBGRAPHIL NOVEL ORANG ARE NOT THE ONLY F, GETS HIGH MARKS FOR S PORTRA OF A RELIGLY-RAISED YOUNG GIRL’S FIRST BSH WH LOVE AND HER REBELLN AGAST THE MUNY THAT THREATENS TO SUFFOTE BOTH HER ARTISTIC AMBNS—THROUGH METHODS WHICH CLU EXORCISM—AND HER YEARNGS FOR OTHER WOMEN. COURTY OF GROVE PRS VALENCIA BY MICHELLE TEA MICHELLE TEA IS A PROLIFIC AND BELOVED THOR WHO HAS WRTEN EXTENSIVELY ON BLUE-LLAR QUEER THEM. BUT HER BREAKTHROUGH, ARGUABLY, MAY BE 2000’S VALENCIA, WHICH BRGS TO LIFE SAN FRANCIS’S THRIVG GAY SUBCULTURE, PICTG SADO-MASOCHISM AND G-OF-AGE STORI THROUGH TWENTY-ONE VIGTE-LIKE CHAPTERS WHERE WE MEET SUCH CHARACTERS AS THE TROSPECTIVE POET WILLA AND IRIS, A SOUTHERN-RAISED BUTCH ADAPTG TO LIFE THE CY. COURTY OF SEAL PRS SPHX BY ANNE GARRéTA ORIGALLY PUBLISHED FRANCE 1986 AND TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH 2015, SPHX IS A RAVISHG EXPERIMENTAL NOVEL WRTEN WH AN GEN SELF-IMPOSED RTRAT: THE GENR OF THE PRCIPAL CHARACTERS IS NEVER DISCLOSED, REFERRED TO ONLY AS “I” AND A***. THE RULT IS A TOUR FORCE OF STYLE AND AN EXQUISE, MOVG ROMANCE STORY. COURTY OF DEEP VELLUM PUBLISHG VOLNIC ICELAND EPIC TRIP MEET OUR LOL INSIR HANNA HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE? 2 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB? IT'S THE PERSONAL NTACT, THE PERSONAL EXPERIENC. I LOVE MEETG PEOPLE OM ALL OVER THE WORLD... I REALLY LIKE GETTG TO KNOW EVERYONE AND FEELG LIKE I'M TRAVELG WH A GROUP OF IENDS. WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST? I HAVE SO MANY PLAC ON MY LIST, BUT I WOULD REALLY LOBE TO GO TO AI. I NSIR MYSELF AN “ADVENTURE GIRL” AND AI FEELS LIKE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE! EVERY CULTURE TRIP SMALL-GROUP ADVENTURE IS LED BY A LOL INSIR JT LIKE HANNA. SEE OUR CULTURE TRIPS KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?
• PL BURSTON'S TOP 10 GAY FICTN BOOKS
• GAY AUTHORS BOOKS
• THE BT CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS OF GAY MYSTERY
• BT GAY SHORT FICTN ANTHOLOGI

21 BOOKS EVERY GAY MAN NEEDS TO READ RIGHT NOW

fictn, gay, gay-fictn, gay-romance, genre-fictn, lgbtq, love, m-m, male, male-thor, men, queer, romance, transgenr. Their varly humane and hilar portras of queerns and same-sex love and lt—and the everyday liv of those who experience them—are illumatg, whether you’re gay, straight, or somewhere between.

Meticuloly rearched and ttly plotted, books such as The Last of the We (1956) and The Persian Boy (1972) naturalistilly pict gay love agast a vivid, betifully renred backdrop of war and polil BaldwJam BaldwUPI/Bettmann ArchiveBaldw’s semal novel Gvanni’s Room (1956), about a tragic love affair between a nfed Amerin man and his Italian boyiend Paris, unflchgly exam the societal prejudic that kept (and ntue to keep) many people om acknowledgg their sexual AokiAoki is an Amerin wrer of Japane scent who is bt known for her llectns, cludg Seasonal Veloci (2012) and Why Dt Shall Never Settle upon This Soul (2015), and her novels, cludg He Mele a Hilo (2014) and Light om Unmon Stars (2021). Michael ChabonChabon has long had a gay followg due to his 1988 novel The Mysteri of Ptsburgh, which featur a protagonist who has both homosexual and heterosexual enunters. Many of his later works feature gay characters, though their sexualy is ambient rather than LorLor’s wrg reflects her experience as a Black lbian and a mother.

The closens of the iendship between the two young men hts at homosexualy. Wgh’s own homosexual relatnships lend crence to that terpretatn. Christopher IsherwoodIsherwood, 1966Camera Prs/Pictorial ParaIsherwood’s 1964 novel A Sgle Man follows a gay man grievg for his lover over the urse of a day.

10 OF THE BT MORN NOVELS WRTEN BY LGBTQ WRERS LGBTQ HEADG | © DANIELLE BRISENO/FLICKR JW MCCORMACK 01 DECEMBER 2017 COPY LK FACEBOOK EMAIL TWTER PTERT NO LIST OF LGBTQ WRERS N CLAIM TO BE EXHSTIVE, AS THE HISTORY OF QUEER WRG IS THE STORY OF LERATURE SELF, OM THE VERY FIRST NOVEL, SATYRIN BY PETRONI, BEG A MASTERPIECE OF GAY THEM. SUCCSORS CLU EVERYONE OM JEAN GE AND WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS TO ARMISTEAD MP’S TAL OF THE CY AND E.M. FORSTER, WHOSE MRICE HAD TO WA TO BE PUBLISHED POSTHUMOLY 1971. BUT EVEN THE MORN VANGUARD OF LGBTQ THORS HAS HAD TO NTEND WH CHANGG SOCIAL MOR, CENSORSHIP, AND EVEN ATH UNTRI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS STILL ILLEGAL OR OTHERWISE DANGERO. THE NTEMPORARY WORKS GIVE A TASTE OF THE RICHNS AND SOCIAL RELEVANCE OF MORN LGBTQ LERATURE BY WRERS WHO HAVE BORNE THEIR SOULS, SOMETIM AT GREAT PERSONAL RISK, RULTG ONE OF THE MOST IMMEDIATE BODI OF LERATURE THE WORLD TODAY. VIEW ALL TRIPS INFILS BY ABLLAH TAïA A LEADG WRER OF THE ARAB WORLD, MOROCN-BORN ABLLAH TAïA HAS CHALLENGED THE PREJUDIC OF HIS HOME UNTRY AS BOTH WRER AND FILM DIRECTOR. INFILS SCRIB THE GRADUAL RADILIZATN OF A PROSTUTE’S SON WHO FDS LOVE THE MLIM WORLD. FOR THE TIME BEG, MAY WELL BE HIS MASTERPIECE, PECIALLY IMPRSIVE GIVEN THAT SAME-SEX LOVE HAS BEEN ILLEGAL MOROC SCE 1962. TAKE A SP TO FD YOUR PERFECT SMALL-GROUP TRIP STATN PASSPORTS READY? YOUR NEXT STATN IS... VIEW TRIP SP MEXI CROATIA TURKEY INDIA JAPAN MOROC ECUADOR SPA ICELAND EGYPT BALI GREECE THAILAND SOUTH AI COURTY OF SEVEN STORI PRS THE WALK- CLOSET BY ABDI NAZEMIAN BORN IRAN, ADBI NAZEMIAN NOW WORKS AS A SCREENWRER L.A., BUT NTU TO RETURN TO PERSIAN THEM, AS THE LAMBDA LERARY AWARD-WNG THE WALK- CLOSET OM 2015, WHICH A WOMAN POS AS HER GAY BT IEND’S GIRLIEND. ONE OF THE FIRST NOVELS OM IRAN TO AL EXPLICLY WH GAY THEM, IS A TREASURE OF A NOVEL AND A TTAMENT TO THE URAGE OF S THOR, WHOSE HOME UNTRY ALS HARSHLY WH S HOMOSEXUAL POPULATN, THE VERY EXISTENCE OF WHICH WAS NIED BY PRINT MAHMOUD AHMADEJAD 2007. COURTY OF CURTIS BROWN DIGAL A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD BY MICHAEL CUNNGHAM MA TO A FILM WH COL FERRELL 2004, A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD IS THE PRECSOR OF MICHAEL CUNNGHAM’S PULZER PRIZE-WNG THE HOURS. IT ALS WH AN AD-HOC FAY PRISED OF BOBBY AND JONATHAN, TWO CLEVELAND OH-BORN MEN, AND CLARE, THE MOTHER OF BOBBY’S CHILD. ALL THREE CI TO LIVE AS A THREOME A UNTRY HOME OUTSI OF NEW YORK, CHALLENGG TRADNAL NOTNS OF THE FAY THROUGH THEIR LOVG, POLYAMORO RELATNSHIP. CARIBBEAN COLOMBIA DISVER COLOMBIA’S CARIBBEAN AST, OM CARTAGENA TO PALOMO VIA JUNGL, RIVERS AND ISLANDS. VIEW TRIP COURTY OF PIDOR FUN HOME BY ALISON BECHL AN TOBGRAPHIL GRAPHIC NOVEL THAT WON ALISON BECHL A MACARTHUR GENI GRANT AND THE BASIS OF A BROADWAY MIL, FUN HOME IS THE STORY OF THE CHILDREN OF A FUNERAL DIRECTOR FATHER, HIMSELF A CLOSETED HOMOSEXUAL, AND THE YOUNG ALISON’S OWN STGGL WH SEXUAL INTY. IF THAT’S NOT ENOUGH, BECHL IS ALSO THE ORIGATOR OF THE “BECHL TT,” APPLIED TO WORKS OF FICTN WHERE TWO WOMEN TALK ABOUT SOMETHG OTHER THAN A MAN. COURTY OF MARER BOOKS MUNDO CEL BY LUIS NEGRóN LUIS NEGRóN’S STORY LLECTN MUNDO CEL ADDRS THE TIGHT-KN WORLD OF PUERTO RIN GAY CULTURE. TRANSGRSIVE AND SPARSE, S STORI ADD UP TO A POSE PORTRA OF AN UNRREPRENTED BUT VIBRANT MOGRAPHIC AND THEIR STGGL WH PREJUDICE. NEGRóN HAS GONE ON TO NTRIBUTE TO THE VISIBILY OF QUEERNS HIS HOME UNTRY AS -EDOR OF THE ANTHOLOGY LOS OTROS CUERPOS. BEE A CULTURE TRIPPER! SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER TO SAVE UP TO 40% ON OUR UNIQUE TRIPS. SIGN UP SEE PRIVACY POLICY. COURTY OF SEVEN STORI PRS FGERSMH BY SARAH WATERS SARAH WATERS HAS DONE AN ENORMO SERVICE TO LERATURE, GAY AND OTHERWISE, WH HER EXPLORATNS OF LBIAN LOVE VICTORIAN SOCIETY. PERHAPS THE BT OF THE IS FGERSMH, A RIVETG HISTORIL ADVENTURE NOVEL OF TWO WOMEN WHO REBEL AGAST THEIR STRICT SOCIETY, MEMORABLY ADAPTED TO THE SOUTH KOREAN FEATURE FILM THE HANDMAIN 2016. COURTY OF RIVERHEAD BOOKS EXQUISE CORPSE BY POPPY Z. BRE PROOF THAT QUEER NOVELS KNOW NO GENRE NSTRATS, TRANSMAN BILLY MART WROTE THE EROTIC HORROR NOVEL EXQUISE CORPSE AS POPPY Z. BRE. THE STORY OF A SERIAL KILLER REMBLG REAL-LIFE KILLER JEFEY DAHMER WHO FALLS LOVE WH AN HIV-POSIVE RAD HOSE. CHALLENGG AND VLENT, AL EXPLICLY WH THE QUTNS OF VICTIMHOOD RAISED BY SAN SONTAG HER LANDMARK AIDS AND ITS METAPHORS. COURTY OF TOUCHSTONE ORANG ARE NOT THE ONLY F BY JEATE WTERSON IT’S HARD TO CHOOSE A FAVORE AMONG JEATE WTERSON’S ENERGIZG OVRE, EQUENTLY NCERNED WH LBIAN ROMANCE, BUT HER FIRST, THE TOBGRAPHIL NOVEL ORANG ARE NOT THE ONLY F, GETS HIGH MARKS FOR S PORTRA OF A RELIGLY-RAISED YOUNG GIRL’S FIRST BSH WH LOVE AND HER REBELLN AGAST THE MUNY THAT THREATENS TO SUFFOTE BOTH HER ARTISTIC AMBNS—THROUGH METHODS WHICH CLU EXORCISM—AND HER YEARNGS FOR OTHER WOMEN. COURTY OF GROVE PRS VALENCIA BY MICHELLE TEA MICHELLE TEA IS A PROLIFIC AND BELOVED THOR WHO HAS WRTEN EXTENSIVELY ON BLUE-LLAR QUEER THEM. BUT HER BREAKTHROUGH, ARGUABLY, MAY BE 2000’S VALENCIA, WHICH BRGS TO LIFE SAN FRANCIS’S THRIVG GAY SUBCULTURE, PICTG SADO-MASOCHISM AND G-OF-AGE STORI THROUGH TWENTY-ONE VIGTE-LIKE CHAPTERS WHERE WE MEET SUCH CHARACTERS AS THE TROSPECTIVE POET WILLA AND IRIS, A SOUTHERN-RAISED BUTCH ADAPTG TO LIFE THE CY. COURTY OF SEAL PRS SPHX BY ANNE GARRéTA ORIGALLY PUBLISHED FRANCE 1986 AND TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH 2015, SPHX IS A RAVISHG EXPERIMENTAL NOVEL WRTEN WH AN GEN SELF-IMPOSED RTRAT: THE GENR OF THE PRCIPAL CHARACTERS IS NEVER DISCLOSED, REFERRED TO ONLY AS “I” AND A***. THE RULT IS A TOUR FORCE OF STYLE AND AN EXQUISE, MOVG ROMANCE STORY. COURTY OF DEEP VELLUM PUBLISHG VOLNIC ICELAND EPIC TRIP MEET OUR LOL INSIR HANNA HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A GUIDE? 2 YEARS. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR JOB? IT'S THE PERSONAL NTACT, THE PERSONAL EXPERIENC. I LOVE MEETG PEOPLE OM ALL OVER THE WORLD... I REALLY LIKE GETTG TO KNOW EVERYONE AND FEELG LIKE I'M TRAVELG WH A GROUP OF IENDS. WHAT DESTINATION IS ON YOUR TRAVEL BUCKET-LIST? I HAVE SO MANY PLAC ON MY LIST, BUT I WOULD REALLY LOBE TO GO TO AI. I NSIR MYSELF AN “ADVENTURE GIRL” AND AI FEELS LIKE THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE! EVERY CULTURE TRIP SMALL-GROUP ADVENTURE IS LED BY A LOL INSIR JT LIKE HANNA. SEE OUR CULTURE TRIPS KEEN TO EXPLORE THE WORLD?

Armistead MpMp’s effervcent novels about gay life San Francis, startg wh Tal of the Cy (1978), brought to life a i foreign to much of the JordanJordan primarily wrote through the lens of bisexualy and racial jtice. "There was an urgency, a novelty to the whole thg, " said the gay thor, who won the Man Booker Prize for The Le of Bety.

PL BURSTON'S TOP 10 GAY FICTN BOOKS

" Maybe that's bee Baldw said the book isn't actually about beg gay.

GAY AUTHORS BOOKS

"Gvanni's Room is not really about homosexualy, " said Baldw a 1980 terview about queer life. Go Tell It on the Mounta, for example, is not about a church, and Gvanni is not really about homosexualy. SJ Sdu, thor of Marriage of a Thoand Li, lled , "One of the first Anglophone works to challenge the trope of the sad/suicidal gays who die at the end, this book gave a blueprt of what queer fictn uld look like.

Forster (A Passage to India, A Room Wh a View, Howards End) wrote the benchmark gay novel Mrice cir 1913, was published posthumoly a lh tale of manners, posn, and sire, the tular character meets and falls for his classmate Clive while at Oxford. The pair embark on a two-year affair until Clive leav Mrice to marry a woman and live out his proscribed life as part of the land gentry, leavg Mrice shambl and seekg to cure his Forster's novel do not end gay tragedy. The thor of Night Drop, Marshall Thornton lled the novel "the origal gay romance.

THE BT CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS OF GAY MYSTERY

Alan Hollghurst famoly qutned the future of the gay novel this year, which is strikg sce he's often viewed as helpg make queer books accsible to a mastream dience. Hollghurst set his pen on the sexual hypocrisi of homophobic policians, many of whom had their own discretns behd closed doors. The book follows Nick Gut, a gay graduate stunt unofficially adopted by the fay of a schoolmate.

The queer g-of-age novel about Jim Willard and his search for love was the first novel om a rpected wrer (Gore Vidal) to speak directly and sympathetilly about the gay experience an era when homosexualy was still very much taboo. The book is remembered today for this legacy as well as for var them -- Hollywood's glass closet, beg gay the ary, the poisono effects of homophobia on society -- that still reverberate today. The only novel by the great Osr Wil may not be overtly gay, but there's plenty of gay subtext there for the reful rear - about as much gay subtext as a popular thor uld get away wh 's iends Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton exprs tense admiratn for his bety, and passag that show Basil's feelgs for Dorian as more clearly homoerotic were excised by an edor, acrdg to Nicholas Frankel, who eded an edn prentg Wil's origal text the text as origally published has referenc to Dorian's rptn of not only young women but young men: "There was that wretched boy the Guards who mted suici.

Cy of Night, a 1963 novel by John Rechy, is a semal piece of fictn that follows the life of a gay htler New York Cy, Los Angel, New Orleans, and San Francis. "This epic chronicle of gay culture the Amerin sixti is as far-reachg as is important, givg a glimpse to inty and motive, " affirmed SJ Sdu, the thor of Marriage of a Thoand Li.

BT GAY SHORT FICTN ANTHOLOGI

Gay lerature was forever changed the day Mary Ann Sgleton first met her transgenr landlady, Anna Madrigal, when she moved to San Francis's 28 Barbary Lane. The 1982 book by Edmund Whe, which begs wh the first sexual enunter of a 15-year-old boy, is based on his own experienc g to terms wh his gay inty as a youth the Midwtern Uned Stat. Whe would later wre two addnal novels, The Betiful Room Is Empty (1988) and The Farewell Symphony (1997), which follow his gay protagonist to young adulthood.

Together, they form a poignant trilogy that chronicl a gay life the latter half of the 20th century. Integral to the lbian non (spe s beg nsired somewhat problematic) Brish wrer Radclyffe Hall's 1928 novel foc on Stephen Gordon, an upper-class lbian who dons men's clothg and be a novelist who eventually be a part of a lerary salon Paris at a time when there were no overt laws exprsly barrg homosexualy. Hall's novel was groundbreakg her troductn of the views of "sexologists" Richard von Krafft-Ebg and Havelock Ellis, who posed that homosexualy was an born, unalterable tra that was nsired a ngenal sexual versn that simply meant a "difference" and not a fect.