Giovanni's Room

 Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) 192 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Matt Bomer. It included an Introduction by poet Kevin Young that provided a lot of context. In a not-quite chronological narrative we meet David, a white American, having a "gap year" in Paris. There are conventional expectations back home and he is engaged to a young woman, but she is spending time away from him in Spain. David has a passionate affair with Giovanni, an Italian working in a bar in Paris. The two young men become roommates, but through self-denial and homophobia, David cannot admit that he is gay. When his fiancé joins him some sexist views come to light and a murder adds tension to the situation. The mysteries of the human heart are brilliantly explored by Baldwin.  

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Anaïs Flogny (2024) 240 pages 

Cinematic and expansive. Parallels some of the Godfather trilogy organized crime milieu, but with a gay man at the center. Closeted gay men, who are both immigrants in America, find the underworld of importing and selling alcohol and, later, other drugs to be their way to success and power. Jules, the younger protege, and Adam are scrappy. The story moves from 1930s Chicago to 1940s New York. Eufrasio is a more violent and ambitious partner from the Mafia family in New York who comes between Jules and Adam. Jules begins to hate himself as he confronts betrayal and guilt.

To Broadway

 To Broadway by Maurane Mazars (2025) 248 pages

This is historical fiction set in the late 1950s about a young gay German man studying modern dance who dreams of Broadway or Hollywood in America. The watercolor art is brilliant. We ride the ups and downs of Uli's career, love life, and friendships. Fantastically emotive with the use of visuals without too many words. And the Epilogue reveals some of the real people involved in the story. Translated from French.

This town sleeps

This town sleeps / Dennis E. Staples, read by Kaipo Schwab, 211 pgs.

Marion is a twenty-something Ojibwa Indian who returns to his hometown after breaking up with his boyfriend in the twin cities.  He is looking for love an ends up in an affair with a former classmate who insists he is straight.  Marion has other things going on, he is visited by the ghost of a murdered man whose daughter Marion met on accident. This subplot is interesting as Marion doesn't really believe in spirits or anything like ghosts as he is told by an elder, those are white man beliefs.  However, he accepts the appearance of this spirit and helps to introduce him to his daughter.  The magical realism part of the book didn't put me off.  The audio was slightly hard to follow as points of view changed and it was difficult to keep up at times.  Still, a nice job by Kaipo Schwab, a new narrator to me.

Disasterama!

Disasterama! Adventures in the Queer Underground 1977 -1997 by Alvin Orloff (2019) 232 pages

Disasterama! is a simultaneously entertaining and sobering look behind the curtain at the lives of gays in San Francisco in the era beginning just before the AIDS epidemic took off. Chapter 1 shows author Alvin Orloff, just 16, getting off the bus in a gay ghetto area, wandering about, watching young gays primp as older men eye them and choose them. Fast forward over the next 20 years: Orloff's adventures include his friendships, love interests, earning a living as a stripper, and much more. AIDS has a large part in the story: Orloff indicates that if one hadn't seen a friend around for a time, it was more likely that the person had died from AIDS than that he had simply moved away.

Being deficient in gay culture, I'm sure I missed a number of references that would have meaning for others, but I have no complaints. This memoir provided me with a captivating education.

Enter the Aardvark

Enter the Aardvark / Jessica Anthony read by Matt Amendt, 182 pgs.

Congressman Alexander Paine Wilson (R) is up for re-election but running against a strong contender and thinks maybe getting married will help his chances.  Unfortunately, he prefers spending time with men, one of whom has sent him a taxidermy aardvark after killing himself.  There is a parallel story of the taxidermist who stuffed the aardvark back in the 1800's and HIS preference for men.  In the end, the aardvark plays a large role in each man's life. Satire at its best. Well read with the right amount of snark by Matt Amendt.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, 256 pages.

Stunningly beautiful writing from the award-winning author of Night Sky with Exit Wound.
Told in a series of letters to his mother, Little Dog recounts their shared history as immigrants to Hartford, Connecticut, from Vietnam. The trauma of the war haunts Little Dog, his mother, and his grandmother. It shapes all of the movements they make during the protagonist's youth. His fraught relationship with his mother gives way to his telling of his self-discovery, of who he is and who is becoming.
Really, one of the best books of the year (2019).

Beautiful on the outside

Beautiful on the outside / Adam Rippon, read by the author, 246 pgs.

America's sweetheart delivers!  Funny, heart warming, honest, and sassy. Olympic medals could be in your future too.  Adam gives up the details on how to be a successful athlete.  It boils down to having talent, working your ass off and banishing your mental demons. See how easy?  Along the way, it helps to have support from your family and friends and a sense of humor to help you cope.  Rippon was the first out gay athlete to compete in a Winter Olympics for the U.S. thus also the first to win a medal.  He has overcome some obstacles but his story is mostly a testament to hard work. Fun listening to hear about everything in his own voice.

My ex-life

My ex-life / Stephen McCauley read by George Newbern, 325 pgs.

David lives in a beautiful cheap apartment in San Francisco.  (Does that exist in real life?)  His landlord is a sweet old lady who loves him and never raises his rent.  But now she is selling the place and to David's ex who is in a new relationship with a younger, richer man.  David is at wits end and can't really afford market rates with his job as a college entrance counselor.  He helps kids (really their parents) get into good schools.  When he hears from his ex-wife Julie, he takes the opportunity to visit and rekindle their friendship.  Julie's daughter Mandy is a thinking about college.  She is a bit different than most of her classmates but is also suffering over her parent's divorce, wondering where she fits in and is prone to bad decisions.  Richard is Julie's soon to be ex who is now with Carol, an organized exercise freak who has taken over his life.

David is visiting for a few weeks which turns into the summer.  Can he help Julie and Mandy with their problems while fixing his own?

Like all good dysfunctional family stories, everyone here is a bit of a mess. This book is a pleasure to read or listen to with wonderful narration by George Newbern.

Logical Family

Logical Family: a memoir / Armistead Maupin, read by the author, 292 pages

A fun memoir from the author of "Tales of the City" that tells of his early life as a conservative firebrand.  Ok, maybe not a firebrand but he did work for Jesse Helms.  His early years were spent looking for the acceptance of his father but one day realizing he just had to be himself.  He moves from North Carolina and makes a wonderful life in San Francisco. In San Francisco he is a life witness to AIDS, the assassination of Harvey Milk, and marriage acceptance.  Maupin is so fun to listen to, you really can't stop.  I need to go back and re-read his earlier work and catch up on anything I missed. The audio version ends with a bonus conversation between the author and Neil Gaiman. 

Less

Less / Andrew Sean Greer, 263 pgs.

Arthur Less is on the run, sort of.  He is trying to escape the wedding of an ex so accepts EVERY invitation he receives to assure he will be out of the country on the wedding day.  This book recounts his travels, includes some background on Less himself and shows us an interesting, slightly sad-sack character.  Less is pretty awesome to me in the way that he isn't too self aware.  He spends a mint in Paris buying new clothes from a tailor thinking he is very French chic until he is identified as an American at a party with strangers.  At this point he realizes the tailor sold him what HE considered to be the quintessential American outfit.  I loved so many of the small moments in the book because Less thinks he is doing one thing but doesn't really have the knowledge to DO that thing and is quite stymied.  But in the end, he isn't too upset about it, he sort of just rolls with the punches.  There are so many tiny moments in this book that are perfectly rendered that it is an easy title to recommend.

The easy way out

The easy way out / Stephen McCauley, 298 pgs.

Patrick one of three brothers, he is the gay one but the only one in a long term relationship.  But he is wondering if he should continue the relationship.  Arthur is a good guy but a bit boring.  He wants them to buy a house together which might be too much commitment for Patrick.  Brother Tony is engaged but also in the middle of a torrid love affair with a woman he clearly prefers over his fiance.  Ryan has been separated from his wife for three years and living in his parent's basement.  The parents, Rita and Jim are the perfect picture of dysfunctional marriage.  They only know how to fight and don't seem to have ever liked each other much.  They are not very helpful to their sons as far as figuring out relationships even though they are clearly devoted to them.  This summary seems kind of bleak but the book itself is very funny. McCauley has a great perspective on family matters, nothing is taken too seriously.  Also, love that Patrick is a travel agent...does that job even exist anymore?  Great fun.

The Commitment

The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family by Dan Savage  291 pp.

Dan Savage, author of the syndicated column "Savage Love", takes on gay marriage in this memoir from the days when only a couple states had that option. His mother wants him to get married. His boyfriend of ten years, Terry, doesn't want to marry because it is "acting like straight people" and would rather get tattoos showing their commitment. Their adopted son says that two men can't get married but he will come to a reception if there is cake. Various other family members have an assortment of ideas on the subject. The result is a ridiculously over priced reception (especially for ten years ago when this was written) to celebrate Dan & Terry's tenth anniversary. There will be cake (and arguments about cake) . . . and maybe a marriage.

Alan Turing: The Enigma

Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges  736 pp.

This biography of Alan Turing, the British scientist and mathematician who helped crack the Nazi enigma codes, was the basis for the film "The Imitation Game" starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Turing. Alan Turing also developed what we now know as computer science and with the invention of the "Turing Machine", a mathematical computation machine began the "computer age". During World War II Turing and a host of others working in the once secret Bletchley Park where the British set up their code breaking efforts. The work of Turing and others there shortened the duration of the war and very possibly made the Allied defeat of Germany possible. During wartime Turing's homosexuality was ignored by the authorities who needed his expertise. With the advent of the cold war government attitudes changed and homosexuality was looked upon as a security risk. Turing was arrested in 1952 and agreed to undergo chemical castration in lieu of prison time. At that time he also lost his government security clearance. Turing committed suicide in 1954. Hodges book contains very detailed descriptions of Turing's work from childhood on and is interesting, if occasionally heavy on the mathematics. Unfortunately, Hodges goes on to posthumously psychoanalyze Turing in the last chapters, much of which is speculation on the author's part. Those chapters could have been deleted and the book would have been much better.

Hide

Hide by Matthew Griffin  272 pp.

Wendell and Frank are an elderly gay couple. Wendell is a taxidermist who meets Frank when he returns to their small town after the end of World War II. The story begins with Frank suffering a stroke while out tending his tomato plants. Through multiple flashbacks we learn the story of how Wendell and Frank first met and their illicit and, back then, illegal love affair. After the death of Frank's mother, he and Wendell and a series of dogs settle in a secluded house outside of town and live a very closeted life together. Frank works in a local factory and Wendell runs his taxidermy shop. Frank's stroke changes the dynamics of their decades old relationship as Frank fights the disabilities and depression he is left with. Wendell adopts a Bassett Hound mix named Daisy which helps to bring Frank back to life. They learn to adjust their lives with Daisy in tow. This book is touching, humorous, and is a realistic, well written, if heartbreaking story. In many ways it reminds me of the novels of Reynolds Price.  

Bettyville

Bettyville by George Hodgman, 278 pages.
George Hodgman, a book and magazine editor in NYC (Simon and Schuster, and Vogue, among others) returns to Paris, Missouri, to care for his aging mother. This is an interesting memoir, particularly because of the author's admitted reticence. He tell tales of his refusal to open up, and yet he seems to be truthful, as far as he can be, with us, his audience. His beloved mother, quickly becoming a shell of her former self, wants to live independently, but can no longer do so. George spoke at the Library in February and he was a wonderful speaker. He shared many of the stories that went into or surrounded those in the book. It was a great talk about a very interesting and engaging book. I look forward to reading his next book.

Bettyville

Bettyville / George Hodgman 278 pgs.

George Hodgman is one of those guys who never felt like he fit in.  He was gay and grew up in a small town.  He never doubted the love of his parents, however, the awesome Betty and Big George.  Now Big George is gone and Betty may not be able to live by herself anymore.  George returns home to Paris, MO from New York City and tries to figure out what to do while he cares for Betty.

This book is full of fun anecdotes and stories of the family.  As you read, you feel for everyone involved.  At first it seems like George is sacrificing to help his mother but then you realize  he is also helping himself quite a bit.

Plenty of local color and interesting "place dropping" for those of us in Missouri.

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The Family Man

The Family Man / Elinor Lipman 305 pg.

This book is a total delight.  I'm not sure who recommended it to me but I'm so happy I listened to them.  Henry is a retired lawyer whose ex-wife re-enters his life with a bang.  She cheated on Henry years ago and left him for the other man.  This isn't too big a deal really, because Henry is gay so the marriage wasn't going to last too long anyway.  However, when the ex left, she also took Henry's step-daughter and that was a tragedy.  Now newly antiquated, he is making up for lost "father" time. Thalia is 29 now but still the fun and sweet girl that Henry remembers.

Thalia and Henry embark on a couple of adventures. Thalia is trying to kick start her acting career and Henry is trying to stay away from his ex but liking the new guy she introduced him to.  New guy has an elderly mother and a "coming out" scene that is pretty priceless.

This book will make you smile.

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A Single Man

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood  186 pp.

If you look up this book on Amazon you will see pages of 4 & 5 star reviews. I can only think they read a different book than I did. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad story and it is well written. But I just didn't find it a "beautiful" or "fantastic" "gem." The novel is basically a character study of a gay man named George whose partner, Jim, has died in a car accident. George muddles through a day in his life, having breakfast then going to work, the gym, a dinner with a friend, and finally a drunken visit with one of his students.  Quite frankly, I found it boring.

American Savage

American Savage: insights, slights, and fights on faith, sex, love and politics by Dan Savage 301 pg.

This is a collection of essays by Savage about a variety of topics, mostly controversial topics if you are to look at the headlines.  But there are other reflections on his family, his faith, and his life in general that are very personal.  Savage is not one to shy away from an argument about topics he is passionate about.  Somehow that led him to host an activist against marriage rights at his home...for dinner followed by a debate.  I think the reaction of his husband to this crazy idea might be my favorite part of the book.  But I like a lot of parts of this book.  I have always admired Savage and his ability to use logic to make his points.  Hopefully logic is something that will be effective to some bystanders who are undecided or unsure of their beliefs.  Clearly it won't work on some.

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