Buddies [Paperback]

Ethan Mordden (Author)

Book Description

Series: Buddies | Publication Date: June 15, 1987

"What unites us, all of us, surely is brotherhood, a sense that our friendships are historic, designed to hold Stonewall together," muses on character in Ethan Mordden's Buddies. This need for friendship, for nonerotic affection, for buddies, shines forth as an American obsession from Moby-Dick through Of Mice and Men to The Sting. And American gay life has built upon and cherished these relationships, even as it has dared-perhaps its most startling iconoclasm-to break new ground by combining romance and friendship: one's lover is one's buddy.

This book is about those relationships-mostly gay but some straight and even a few between gays and straights. Here also are fathers and brothers and stories of men in their youth, when rivalry often develops more naturally than alliance. In Buddies Mordden continues to map the unstoried wilderness of gay life today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Homosexuality is a sexual inclination, but being gay, observes Mordden in his third fictional work (after One Last Waltz, is about joining a city culture. One's lover is also one's buddy, which he says gives gays one up on straights. Mordden writes like early Henry Miller; instead of linear plot development, there are well-crafted vignettes, structured like short stories that interlock as we jerkily progress from the narrator's childhood to the present. But while Miller was a participant, Mordden has chastely cast himself as the objective observer. In an introduction, he notes that "these are more pieces than stories, counting character studies, nostalgic recollections and essayistic analyses as well as outright tales." Depicting himself as a brat of a child, he also describes his family as the enemy. ("You know how parents send clan photographs at Christmas? The Morddens send their portrait by Charles Addams.") The adult Mordden uses his writing skill like a meat cleaver. He wheedles and cajoles stories from his friends, though they all know that what they tell him goes straight into the typewriter. The gay community may receive this book with some acclaim, for it is a finely drawn portrait of a lifestyle that blossomed before AIDS struck terror into the culture; but one wonders whether straights will have the same patience with the unpleasant, skulking character Mordden paints of himself, for the narrator is a tough guide to accompany.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"[This viewer has] considerable admiration for the collection." --The New York Times Book Review

"There are too few writers who can turn a phrase with as much wit and style as Ethan Mordden. You are dealing with an unusually major talent." --Torso

"Undeniable an outstanding gay writer, with Manhattan to the Pines as his turf." --Kirkus

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (June 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312010052
• ISBN-13: 978-0312010058
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #477,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ethan Mordden is God., July 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddies (Paperback)

OK, that's too strong, but the man can write. The Buddies series is a "Tales of the City" for the New York '80s. This collection of short stories tied together by the main characters that inhabit Mordden's world is at turns hysterically funny and deeply poignant. I cannot get enough of his work. I ripped through two books in three days which demonstrates his books to be an easy read as well as compelling. You care about the characters as much as you memorize the brilliant put-downs and asides which dot the stories. Have I said enough?

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars JUST BUY THIS BOOK, September 7, 1999

By 

Kirk Keeter (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Buddies (Paperback)

I picked this book out of the blue from Amazon, and man-oh-man was I thrilled by my lucky choice. I ended up reading every book in the series, and I continued to be blown away by how high quality the writing/story telling/dialogue was. He emphatically chose not to "dumb down" these books. They are written intelligently, and intelligibly. Yeah, I had to grab the dictionary occasionally -- but that's a good thing. There's something for everyone in this book, love - justice - psychology - counseling - sex - politicization of the cause - etc. It's great. Buy it, and you'll be happy.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, October 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddies (Paperback)

Buddies, and the rest of the Buddies Cycle, represent an important piece of literature not only for the gay movement, but for everyone. Unlike many authors, Mordden doesn't gloss over the uncomfortable facts of life. He tells of abusive lovers and the sometimes truly bizarre relationships we find ourselves in. And yet, at the end of the book there is some hint of hope that the world is a good place and that we CAN rely on our buddies.