Boys Like Us (Stonewall Inn Editions) [Paperback]

Peter McGehee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1992 | Series: Stonewall Inn Editions

Zero left Arkansas for the cool, contemporary tones of gay life in Toronto. Now his best friend has been diagnosed with AIDS, and in the midst of trying to organize a support group, Zero is called home to attend his mother's second marriage. Funny and bittersweet, Zero's adventures suggest that, although God is unfathomable, she must at least have a sense of humor.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McGehee's first novel, about gay relationships in the age of AIDS, is filled with unrealized good intentions. The sadness of those who have lost loved ones to the disease comes through clearly enough in the narration by Zero MacNoo, an Arkansas native transplanted to Toronto, where he is involved in a confusing array of ambiguous relationships. When his best friend, Randy, is diagnosed with AIDS, Zero belatedly realizes his true feelings for him. Unfortunately, he's also torn by bittersweet feelings for ex-lover David and his fluctuating attraction to his one-dimensional, oversexed bedmate of the moment, Clay. Revolving around cliched perceptions of gay men as unfaithful, the plot sinks to ridiculousness when Zero has a fling with an untrustworthy drag queen named Jesus Las Vegas, who in turn goes after Clay. McGehee segues into farce by sending Zero back home to Arkansas, where he encounters his eccentric mother, about to be wed again, and his closeted Uncle Markus. Nothing much comes from these episodes; in fact, McGehee leaves many questions unanswered and several characters unexplored. Although he tries to employ humor to alleviate a somber situation, McGehee never provides enough insights into his stock characters to elicit the reader's sympathy.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Zero MacNoo is a gay man in his 30s living in Toronto. He is working hard to make a go of his new relationship with Clay while coping with the break-up of his eight-year relationship with David. Meanwhile, he cares for his best friend Randy, who has AIDS, and who Zero realizes he loves, "More than Clay. Or David. Or anybody, for that matter." In the midst of all this, he returns to his home in Arkansas to attend the wedding of his mother, and to have some time alone to sort things out. This is a pleasant, often humorous novel, with fun and imaginative characters. The three Toronto chapters are reminiscent of David Feinberg's Eighty-Sixed ( LJ 11/1/86), without the deep introspection, while the two chapters in Arkansas could be right out of Steel Magnolia s .
-James E. Cook, Dayton & Montgomery Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312069138
• ISBN-13: 978-0312069131
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,623,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite gay books, September 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Boys Like Us (Stonewall Inn Editions) (Paperback)

I am putting together a list of gay/lesbian books for teens. This had been among my all-time favorites; when I saw it was still in print, I knew it had to go on the list. Like Weetzie Bat and its sequels, Boys Like Us fits into an American magical realism movement. We lost a leading light in literature with the death of McGehee. Fortunately, Doug Wilson, McGehee's lover, completed the Boys Like Us/Sweetheart series with Labour of Love.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Tale from the Nicest of Towns, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Boys Like Us (Stonewall Inn Editions) (Paperback)

This is one of the first Gay books I read, so you'll forgive a sentimental bias. It's funny, and Toronto is very accurately rendered, a Toronto that's fading into memory.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable, January 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Boys Like Us (Stonewall Inn Editions) (Paperback)

I found Zero to be extremely likeable, and his group of Toronto friends are familiar, without being stereotypical. The true power of the book lies in McGehee's gift for humor. The Arkansas sequences were particularly funny, filled with some classic Southern eccentrics. The straight characters were more three-dimensional than is often the case in a gay novel. I enjoyed this book, as well as "Sweetheart", the sequel. Readers are fortunate to have these novels as testimonial to McGehee's talent, though we mourn his death.