The World's Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

GLBT literature

Hi everyone! I didn't know whether to post this in the Book Club instead, so I apologise if this is in the wrong place.

Is anyone else here interested in GLBT literature? I'm currently following the Celaeno series by Jane Fletcher, and I'm really enjoying it. The books are escapist rather than challenging, but they are still very much worth it if you fancy a relaxing read. I'd recommend it to everyone who likes lesbian sci-fi and fantasy.

I also love Mary Renault's "The Persian Boy"- it's a very beautiful queer historical novel, although I admit the prose style isn't for everyone.

Does anyone else have any particular favourites or recommendations?

Tags: literature

0 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jason on March 1, 2009 at 2:22pm

I 'm an enormous fan Chuck Palahnuik and Brett Easton Ellis. Both have some classic stereotypes but both being gay authors immerse homoeroticism so subtlely in their text it's absolutely hysterical to see if my hetero counterparts can discern between the subtle imagery and the blatant innuendoes. Also "City of Night," by John Rechy was one of my favorite books as well!!!

Permalink Reply by Manny Espinola on May 30, 2009 at 2:08pm

Mary Renault's "The Persian Boy" reads much much better if you prequel it first with "The Last of the Wine," which is about classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War--with Socrates and Plato in it, and sets the stage for that enfant terrible from Macedonia. Read "Fire From Heaven," next, when Aristotle went to Macedon to teach the young Alexander how to be a king. Then, after that, "The Persian Boy," which is of course, Alexander's accession and short but exhilaringly eventful life, then death at a young 33 in Babylon. Finally, "Funeral Games," the resulting power struggle among Alexander's generals after his death. I have yet to read another historical fictionist whose literary talents are as dazzling as Ms Renault's. Historians to this day salute her scholarship and powers of source criticism, over and beyond literary skills (the appearance of Bagoas, the eunuch, for instance was barely historically necessary, but as a literary devise to limit the narrative to a simpler string of highlights---from such a full and busy life!---is literary craftmanship unmatched anywhere in modern literature)

Permalink Reply by Little Name Atheist on August 17, 2009 at 1:40pm

"The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. LeGuin I read this a long time ago, but loved it. The Gethen are a species of intersexed humans.

"Wraeththu" by Storm Constantine Contains all three volumes of the Wraeththu trilogy. I'm not sure I'd describe the Wraeththu as intersexed, as they seem to be the next step in human evolution. One of my favorite books.

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker Do I need to describe "The Color Purple"?

"The Dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin More sci fi.

"The Fifth Sacred Thing" by Starhawk Not sure I'd like it as much now as I did when I was a Neo-Pagan.

"The Left Hand of Darkness" Ursula K. Le Guin More sci fi

Too hot. May list more later.