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manwithanagenda's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Unbelievable. I've had my eye on this for a long time, but I was a little skeptical of the (relative) hype surrounding the content. The title story was written in 1938 and suppressed by Wescott himself as unpublishable. It is written in a verbose, confessional style and Wescott, like so many others even today, had trouble finding adequate words to describe sex itself and even the well-endowed "Priapus" his alter-ego Alwyn Tower hooks up with. That story, however remarkable, is underwhelming, but the rest of the collection will not disappoint.
Wescott was a gifted writer and all of the stories and essays collected here touch on his experiences as a queer youth, his early career and his thoughts on the world. I've always thought it a shame that though he lived into the late '80s he was unable to produce any longform fiction after World War II. THis collection adds some welcome material to his catalog.
Wescott was a gifted writer and all of the stories and essays collected here touch on his experiences as a queer youth, his early career and his thoughts on the world. I've always thought it a shame that though he lived into the late '80s he was unable to produce any longform fiction after World War II. THis collection adds some welcome material to his catalog.
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