Katharine Bucknell’s new Isherwood biography is the most important non-fiction book QueerReader has reviewed so far. Because of his background, education, talents and personality, Christopher Isherwood was uniquely positioned to meet most of the important queer authors of the twentieth
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Ethel Rosenberg did time here. So did Angela Davis and Afeni Shakur. Andrea Dworkin endured its notorious cavity search and, with the help of Grace Paley, publicized this barbaric practice. You won’t find their names on a plaque at the
Women’s House of Detention is Timely and Insightful. Read More »
Alison Bechdel’s latest book is her most autobiographical and it’s also arguably her best. Once again, Ms. Bechdel takes a simple true story and fortifies it with insights and literary references which are both interesting and educational. The result is
Alison Bechdel Edifies. Read More »
As much as Queer Reader enjoyed Richard Ellman’s Oscar Wilde biography, one finished it with the impression that certain parts of the the story weren’t completely fleshed out. Although all the important events were covered, the book lacked a certain
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Queer Reader approached Sarah Schulman’s latest book with some trepidation. As a veteran of ACT UP, this reviewer had grown tired of the misrepresentations, innaccuracies, and false narratives. As much as Queer Reader admired David France’s impeccably researched How to
Let the Record Show is Magnificent. Read More »
John Maynard Keynes is a somewhat awkward queer icon. In his youth he had numerous gay affairs and was a member of the Bloomsbury Group, but he ultimately married a woman: the Russian ballerina, Lydia Lopokova. Throughout his life, it
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It’s astonishing how good How We Fight For Our Lives is. Though the title implies a polemic, Saeed Jones’s latest book is oh, so much more than that. It is a lyrical memoir: an important book that will be read–and
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Edmund’s White’s The Unpunished Vice is a serendipitous journey through a lifetime of reading. It begins with a lyrical, almost mystical discovery:
I remember toddling into my mother’s room, where she was taking a perfumed bubble bath in the late
Edmund White’s The Unpunished Vice is a Bibliophile’s Delight. Read More »
This queer reader approached How to Survive a Plague hesitantly. Might it just be too difficult to return to that painful time: a time when so many friends were dying of AIDS? Well, perhaps the biggest surprise in David France’s
How to Survive a Plague is a Page-turner. Read More »
Fans of openly gay stand-up comedian, Bob Smith will be delighted with his new book, Treehab. It’s filled with humorous stories and brilliant one-liners. Nevertheless, there is a dark shadow hanging over these dozen essays, because Mr. Smith reveals
Treehab is Bob Smith’s Gift to Us. Read More »