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S'està carregant… The Gay Haunt (1970 original; edició 2007)de Victor J. Banis (Autor)
Informació de l'obraThe Gay Haunt de Victor J. Banis (1970)
S'està carregant…
Apunta't a LibraryThing per saber si aquest llibre et pot agradar. No hi ha cap discussió a Converses sobre aquesta obra. At the beginning of "The Gay Haunt", formerly gay Paul is having a dinner party for his new fiancée Margo, his boss' daughter when a strangely familiar appears out of nowhere. A strangely naked man, too, however no one but Paul seems to notice him. Trying to regain his composure, Paul excuses himself from the party and hides away in his bedroom, locking the door behind him, stretching out on the bed and closing his eyes. Only then does he recognize the naked man: his former lover Lorin. But that would be impossible because Lorin passed away a few years ago. Even more shocking is when he opens his eyes to see a naked Lorin standing over him with a huge grin on his face. Through a series of comedic and very bawdy -- VERY bawdy -- adventures, Lorin leads Paul on a romp of self re-discovery, re-visiting old memories and friends while trying to show Paul that he can't change his nature, that doing so would only be lying to himself and to others. It's actually very funny, in a 1970's sex-comedy-meets-"Ghost" kind of way. I enjoyed the adventures of Paul and Lorin, their interactions with other characters, and just the simple fun of the book. With Banis' writing I found it very easy to picture all the events (ahem), and though it took place during the early 1970s, it didn't come across as dated. And what a surprise to find it has a happy ending for the gay characters. No one committing suicide because they're oppressed by how society views them or killed outright because they're gay. It's a sexy, fun book -- not for everyone -- but good to read. Sense ressenyes | afegeix-hi una ressenya
A NAKED GHOST? "Most outstanding of the gay novels read this month," said California Scene. "An amusing and entertaining story told in the first person by Paul, an ex-Gay trying desperately to go straight. In fact, he's a couple of weeks away from marrying the boss's daughter when the saga opens...until Paul's former lover, Lorin, suddenly appears. This might seem trouble enough--but Lorin has been dead for the past five years " Borgo Press is pleased to represent a true classic of gay literature, now available again for the first time in four decades. VICTOR J. BANIS is the author of 140 books, ranging from classics of gay literature to gothic romances to major historical novels. He recently published an account of his life as a paperback writer: Spine Intact, Some Creases, which is being reprinted by Borgo Press together with many of his novels. He currently lives in West Virginia. No s'han trobat descripcions de biblioteca. |
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Since he's marrying the boss's daughter, Paul has "earned" a place in the company hierarchy without any real authority. He doesn't seem to realize that his position is more honorary than real and he thinks the future is promising.
All of Paul's illusions are shattered when, without warning, Paul's dead lover Lorin, as a ghost, shows up at a cocktail party Paul and Margo are hosting at Paul's flat, quite starkers. Only Paul can see Lorin, a man who loved to live life on the edge and evidently has no compunctions about bending the rules even in the ever-after. Lorin immediately sets about destroying Paul's relationship with Margo and reawaken desires Paul has been denying since Lorin died five years before*. Soon enough, Paul is seeking out a long-time boyfriend with whom he'd lived at one point, Elliot (who deserves kudos for patience), and discovering the joys of spending time with Margo's cousin Don.
Elliot reminds Paul of another part of his life he's forgotten, that he wanted to be a writer, before falling in with Lorin and his free-wheeling life. Lorin claims Elliot to be boring, but Paul feels a contentment and connextion with the other man he left behind when he followed Lorin. It's something he's been missing from his life and Paul begins to realize not only is he not truly happy with his current life, he's most definitely not in love with Margo.
At first glance, Paul seems to have no self control as he seems ready and willing to sleep with anyone who catches his interest, but I would like to point out that several other characters who share this trait: from Margo's own mother (who makes a pass at Paul, much to his dismay), to Don, Margo's cousin, to the lady through whose window Paul climbs after an outrageous chase on, of all things, a ladder truck, and a few other scattered folks. Again, I attribute this to the time period with its free love, which was well before the horror and shock that came in the early 80s with AIDS.
Though it took me nearly half a year to finally finish this book, I'm glad I did. It's interesting to see how a book written in 1970 approaches certain situations as opposed to one written, say in the past 5 years. How attitudes towards homosexuality/gays have changed in the past 40 years. It's no longer a "disease" nor a "scene" but becoming more and more part of the norm (in spite of certain narrow minded individuals). I'm sure members of PFLAG would have something to say about those words, none of them complementary. Everyone who does the horizontal dance in this book does so w/o protection, which is a bit of a shock if you're not used to reading such things, especially since everyone switches partners without thinking about any possible consequences. The only one who could get away with that these days is Lorin, since in essence, he's a ghost.
*choking on a diamond, no less, if appropriate!