Customer Reviews

Big Trips: More Good Gay Travel Writing

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Among the more apt stereotypes of gay men is that we are globetrotting leisure travelers. As such, we'd be a good source of suggestions for unique travel locales and experiences, although many of us rarely venture too far from home.

This is a collection of travel memoirs from a variety of published gay authors, ranging from recollections of travels experiences decades ago (and not likely to be accurate today), to more modern itineraries, from out-of-the-way places to popular tourist destinations. The writing style is mostly narratives, and some are parts of a larger work by the author, with one actually a scene (complete with stage directions) from a play. Like any short story collection, there are some you will love, others that may not be so enjoyable (A couple of them bored me to tears, but that could be a result of my having no real interest in the destination being written about.) The authors' list reads almost like a who's who of gay authors, including Bruce Benderson (a former San Francisco hippie, who takes us on his trip revisiting the Haight twenty years later), Aaron Hamburger, Trebor Healy (my favorite story in the book, on an emotional stopover in a small California town), Andrew Holleran (journey to a tacky retirement village in Florida), Dale Peck (checking out the club scene in London) and Edmund White (travels to Morocco and Paris). Those who are familiar with their regular works will recognize some of their style, although these stories generally go beyond the scope of their usual writings.

I found the book to be an interesting "escape" from everyday life, and recommended as such. Four stars out of five.

A beautiful collection of travel writing that

is the perfect read for anyone who likes to travel, who likes to

vicariously travel, or who just enjoys good writing. Variously

moving, funny, and romantic (there are a lot of love stories

tucked in here), almost all the pieces offer a pay-off. Especially

strong: Edmund White's harrowing story of Morocco; Duncan

Fallowell's quietly erotic story of a flirtation in Sicily;

Raphael Kadushin's very funny and very sad coming of age story, set in a rainy England; Andrew Holleran's vision of a

dessicated Florida; and Martin Sherman's portrait of two castaways

on a Greek island.

Pretty grim stuff. The stories are depressing, not especially interesting, and hardly at all favorably illuminating about the countries and people they're supposedly about.

As a very mature (72-year-old) gay man who sought desperately and futilely in the 1950s to find uplifting gay reading material, I was disheartened to find this work -- filled from cover to cover with stories reminiscent of the ghastly downbeat self-pitying self-loathing era of my youth. I was reminded how awful it was (as if I needed reminding!?).

If you are young and didn't live through that terrible time, or if you are my age and have forgotten how bad it was, this book will provide a very accurate glimpse of an epoch not so long ago when gays were despised not only by society at large but by themselves as well.

Otherwise, for a more upbeat experience, I strongly recommend an Ethan Mordden book...

Big Trips is one of the best anthologies of the year, and a must for anyone who loves good writing, and especially great travel writing. Kadushin starts things off perfectly with a very smart, funny introduction and the mix of well-known writers and fresh talents follow with a series of stories that jump all over the world (Cairo, Paris, San Francisco, Sicily, Greece, Prague). There isn't a weak piece in the bunch so you can dip in anywhere. Dale Peck's romance about a young man in London is sexy and sad; Michael Klein's piece about a perfect Provincetown summer is a moving romance; Trebor Healey's story about a man traveling cross country with his lover's ashes is poignant, and Kadushin's piece about a boy following his mentor through Yorkshire is a gorgeous story. Andrew Holleran's trip through a Florida wasteland is a great satire and Duncan Fallowell's flirtation with a Sicilian waiter, like all the pieces here, defies expectations. A real showcase of talents.