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A review by swmppsm
The Dust of Wonderland by Lee Thomas
5.0
(If at all possible, don't read the descriptive blurb to this book!)
I found this book on a list of essential queer horror novels.
I had never heard of Lee Thomas before. My search for a copy of this book led me to weightless books.com and an entire trove of lgbt (mostly gay, white) novels, especially those of Lethe Press. After an hour of looking through titles I ended up purchasing the Dust of Wonderland, Lee Thomas's other novel The German, and about 8 more ebooks. I highly suggest those interested in queer and small press books check this site out.
I've never been to New Orleans, but the descriptive prose of Lee Thomas made me feel as if i could smell the air. His descriptions of the city were accessible, unlike New York or L.A. novels where street names and locales are thrown about as if we all are supposed to know every part of those cities.
This book introduced me to storylines about gay men i usually don't see in more recent books. It may be due to Lee Thomas being of an older generation of gay men, those who lived through AIDS and a pre internet homophobia. Either way it was illuminating to read about the struggles of a gay man who has children from a previous marriage.
Overall I found this book to be haunting, poignant, and mysterious. I didn't want it to be over as much as I wanted to get to the end to figure out all it had to offer. Decent psychological horror dealing with gay men is hard to find, especially those that don't bend to the cliche of homophobia or self hate.
I highly suggest this book to anyone seeking queer horror or for fans of novels such as Plain Bad Heroines, Summer Sons, and the Picture of Dorian Gray.
I found this book on a list of essential queer horror novels.
I had never heard of Lee Thomas before. My search for a copy of this book led me to weightless books.com and an entire trove of lgbt (mostly gay, white) novels, especially those of Lethe Press. After an hour of looking through titles I ended up purchasing the Dust of Wonderland, Lee Thomas's other novel The German, and about 8 more ebooks. I highly suggest those interested in queer and small press books check this site out.
I've never been to New Orleans, but the descriptive prose of Lee Thomas made me feel as if i could smell the air. His descriptions of the city were accessible, unlike New York or L.A. novels where street names and locales are thrown about as if we all are supposed to know every part of those cities.
This book introduced me to storylines about gay men i usually don't see in more recent books. It may be due to Lee Thomas being of an older generation of gay men, those who lived through AIDS and a pre internet homophobia. Either way it was illuminating to read about the struggles of a gay man who has children from a previous marriage.
Overall I found this book to be haunting, poignant, and mysterious. I didn't want it to be over as much as I wanted to get to the end to figure out all it had to offer. Decent psychological horror dealing with gay men is hard to find, especially those that don't bend to the cliche of homophobia or self hate.
I highly suggest this book to anyone seeking queer horror or for fans of novels such as Plain Bad Heroines, Summer Sons, and the Picture of Dorian Gray.