Domesticity Isn't Pretty [Paperback]

Tim Barela (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Palliard Pr (November 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884568009
• ISBN-13: 978-1884568008
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,095,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for every gay man, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Domesticity Isn't Pretty (Paperback)

Leonard is a timeless comic strip that is as fresh today as when it was written. If you would like to see what we are really like and how similar we are to the straight couples in this great land of our BUY THIS BOOK.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See you in the funny pages, December 6, 2004

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Domesticity Isn't Pretty (Paperback)

This book is a must. Not just for gay men, but for members of your family. I have given so many copies of "Domesticity Isn't Pretty" to friends and family members that I have lost count. It deals with the reality of gay couples, with humor and a realistic touch, so lacking in many gay author's work. Besides, once you give them "Domesticity Isn't Pretty," you can bet they'll seek out Tim Barela's three other Leonard and Larry books, as well!

Leonard Goldman is an architect. Larry Evans runs a Leather Store on Santa Monica Boulevard. Together, they deal with marriage, divorce, children, childbirth of grandchildren, the fact that a son may be gay, and who stole the cookies. Well, maybe the cookies aren't the most typical dilemma in anyone's family, but these men feel real, like neighbors.

When Larry's son David makes a very public coming out at his local high school prom, it completely unsettles his fatherhood expectations. Given that Larry, a gay man, is as rattled by the discovery that his offspring is gay makes him just like the rest of us. He's not a Super Human, he's just an Every Dad. Larry must suddenly face a reality that he takes for granted in his everyday life, and it's revelatory to come from a gay book.

One of the other fun things about this volume is that you get to watch the evolution of Leonard and Larry from being side characters in Barela's other strips to the heroes of their own. The introduction by Andy Mangles chronicles Tim's early strips for biker magazines, and how Tim came to terms then eventually came out through his art. Reading about Barela's growth and self realization parallels the growths of Leonard and Larry, making the stories all the more essential and commonplace to gays and lesbians everywhere. Maybe "Domesticity Isn't Pretty," but it sure is realistic. Funny, too. Get this! Get two. Spread the Leonard and Larry world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hysterically funny and touching as well!, April 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Domesticity Isn't Pretty (Paperback)

This book was one of the best I have read in a long time. Leonard and Larry are the more realistic couple I have seen in a comic in years. Their shenanigans are awesome and their relationship is truly touching as well. Nice to see two "normal" men with "normal" lives who are so much in love.