If you’re looking for a good summer read, consider James Magruder’s Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall. It follows the stories of the residents of a Yale dormitory in the school year of 1983-1984. In all the there are nineteen central characters. Normally following that many characters might present a challenge to the reader, but Mr. Magruder renders them crisply–without resorting to caricature. They are gay, straight, bisexual and above-all questioning. This is a college dormitory where the quarters are close and the hormones are raging and these characters find themselves in situations that seem to surprise even themselves.
Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall bears a resemblance to Armistead Maupin’s best work, but Mr. Magruder has a style that is all his own. This is a brilliantly-constructed novel, with enough plot twists to keep the pages turning on a sunny summer’s day.
For those of you who seek a fun read, Queer Reader strongly recommends this book.
James Magruder’s Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall is published by Queen’s Ferry Press.
7/19/2016