Be Specific About Books Concering The City and the Pillar
| Original Title: | The City and the Pillar |
| ISBN: | 1400030374 (ISBN13: 9781400030378) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Paul Sullivan, Maria Verlaine, Jim Willard, Bob Ford, Ronald Shaw |
| Setting: | United States of America Virginia(United States) New York City, New York(United States) …more Los Angeles, California(United States) New Orleans, Louisiana(United States) Yucatán(Mexico) Denver, Colorado(United States) Hollywood, California(United States) …less |
Gore Vidal
Paperback | Pages: 207 pages Rating: 3.85 | 6909 Users | 478 Reviews
Define Appertaining To Books The City and the Pillar
| Title | : | The City and the Pillar |
| Author | : | Gore Vidal |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 207 pages |
| Published | : | December 2nd 2003 by Vintage (first published January 10th 1948) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. LGBT. Classics. GLBT. Queer. Gay |
Chronicle In Pursuance Of Books The City and the Pillar
A literary cause célèbre when first published more than fifty years ago, Gore Vidal's now-classic The City and the Pillar stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience.Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in "awful kid stuff", the experience forms Jim's ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship. Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, The City and the Pillar remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.
Rating Appertaining To Books The City and the Pillar
Ratings: 3.85 From 6909 Users | 478 ReviewsWrite-Up Appertaining To Books The City and the Pillar
Ughhh...I see why this was important for its time, but you know what? Go check out James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room which came out in the same time period but was unpublishable in the US because publishers didn't believe that readers would accept a black author writing about homosexuality. I mean, unless you haven't read enough stories about gay men being ashamed of who they are. In that case maybe Vidal's your cup of tea. Masculine tea, certainly, because femininity is just gross here. Or, uh,An interesting capsule of its time, The City and the Pillar examines the nuances of queer identity at the height of the closet. Set against the backdrop of the Depression and WWII, the story follows all-American Jim Willard as he wanders about the country searching for his tough-minded high school crush Bob Ford, who left the pairs small Virginian town after graduating a year before Jim. Jim and Bob hooked up on the eve of the latters departure, and the formers desperate to reunite and build a
Update: I just read this author's "The Messiah". No matter what one might think about this author's writing ability, one has to admit he was not afraid to take on any subject, which did indeed end all of his political aspirations. Review: This title shouts to us: "I'm meaningful and important! Read me with respect!" I was ready to dislike this book. I found the opening chapters ridiculously childlike. And then the characters grow up, the writing gets better. Then tough decisions have to be made.
Rtc but I was going to rate this three stars but then that completely unnecessary rape scene happened so nooooooope. Okay, here's the actual review. This book wasn't the best portrayal of homosexuality ever - it was sexist and awful in a way, lesbians apparently only existed as gross stereotypes - but it's an important book nevertheless. It was written in the 40's and I don't feel that this book has aged badly or that it's dated; rather it shows what life was like, used to be like. And again I
Yes, I'm sort of reviewing this backward, but the largest part of the book was the title story and thus deserves a bit more attention.The seven early stories were unique & entirely worthwhile. I'd expected more of the same upon having finished the novel portion, but Vidal clearly had a gift for exploring nuances in a variety of circumstances. I had to abandon expectations, and that's always a plus. The City and the Pillar was dark, unvarnished, and 'Come on, man, you really think that nothi
3.5, rounded up.I'm pretty sure I read this a long, long time ago, but the memory is rather vague. As the first in a planned year-long look back at some of the seminal works of gay literature, this was de rigueur for a revisit. First off, it is fairly amazing that a book so upfront and forthright about its subject ever got published in 1948. It's not particularly shocking now, but 70 years ago, especially as the work of someone barely 20, the shock waves were deserved. But that's part of the
This is a great book, a good read. Gore Vidal explores relationships, particularly homosexual relationships, tastefully, delicately, and above all elegantly.This short book has a cleverly constructed story line. It follows the development of young Jim Willard who develops a serious crush on his school friend Bob Ford just before both of them set off from their home towns to begin their lives in the wider world. Jim encounters a series of colourful characters including a flamboyant gay Hollwood
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