The Beauty of Men: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: An important book but a vexing one
Review: The first time I read this book, I was moved enough to read it through in one sitting. Re-reading it two years later, I am conflicted about it. It is incredibly well-written, has many crucial observations to make about gay life in the late twentieth century (as Holleran always has), and has a distinctive, authoritative voice. Yet, the same things that will make some readers love this book will make others want to hurl it through a window. The protagonist is unsympathetic, whiny, pretentious, dolorous, self-pitying and even at times self-hating in the extreme, and repetitious (parts of the book feel inadequately edited; you will read certain details in one chapter only to run across them in almost exactly the same guise a chapter later, which appears to be a case of a novel having been cobbled together from what could have more successfully stood as a novella or a group of vignettes). The author tacks on the usual disclaimer about no resemblance between the story being told and events in real life, but an essay he has included in a more recent anthology is a transparent re-write of the same story he tells here, down to the details of dialogue he exchanges with the object of his obsession. Thus, any protest that this is fiction is almost irrelevant. But what the book does do, even if it is not truly a work of fiction, is cast a discerning light on the way a number of men in Holleran's generation, the set of urban gay white men who came of age in the late seventies, view life now that they are no longer the kings of the mountain. The sentimental, often self-indulgent tone of this vantage point will be resonant to some, but to others, particularly those who did not participate in the grand guignol of "Dancer from the Dance," it will grate, and it will sound like a serious case of sour grapes. The essayistic exposition that the narrative breaks into does not help matters. Again, it feels as though parts of this book could have been edited out, parts could have been more successfully trimmed to a novella, and parts could have been more useful as essays. Nonetheless, a lot of what the book says, even if it could be better told, rings shockingly true, and is stark witness to the way gay life continues to be, even at this late date, a life of lies, secrets, and despair for many who live it.

Rating:
Summary: So "on target" it hurts
Review: There were several times I came close to putting this novel away, but something...call it curiousity, involvement, identification with the main character--whatever--wouldn't let me quit reading until the end. Unremmitingly depressing (which is even sadder because the novel is so true), it tore me apart emotionally, and I'm still not quite the same. But rarely will you find a book so honest in its depiction of loneliness. It's almost overkill. I kept asking "My God, is THIS what I have to look forward to as I age???" I'm not even sure it's a cathartic novel, because I was just as sad when I finished it as I was during the entire reading. Even the title is mocking and ironic. But one thing is for sure...you won't find more captivating, powerful writing anywhere else with novels dealing with aging and homosexuality as you have here. It's almost a anti-novel. Is this Holleran's own self-study?? Whatever the case, be prepared (and warned) before you read.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and sad existentialism
Review: This book has moved me deeply. It asks so many difficult questions about life after loss. Lark, the main character has outlived all his friends, he leaves his home in New York and moves to Florida to comfort his elderly mother and help her die peacefully. We read about his day to day rituals of survival and his attempts at trying to find meaning in a life that seems void of any significance. Lark is gay, but he could be anyone. Many of my friends describe this as a very depressing read. I found it sad but strangely life affirming.