Gaudy Image [Paperback]

William Talsman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: MASQUERADE BOOKS INC
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563332639
• ISBN-13: 978-1563332630
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,749,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A novel about the search for an idealized love, March 17, 2004

By 

gac1003 "gac1003" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gaudy Image (Paperback)

Titania (a.k.a. Thomas Schwartz) moves to New Orleans hoping to find his dream man: the Gaudy Image. He's an idealized sort, with dark, curly hair, very masculine, well-built and still likes to put out. The image is also a remembrance of Robert, the first boy with whom he had any kind of physical relationship. Through the bars, clubs and backstreets of 1950's New Orleans, we follow Titania on his quest, meeting friends and acquaintances, until he finally meets Pelvis, whom he hopes to be the one.

At the beginning of the novel, it's a bit confusing as to what is going on: who's the main character, what's the story about, etc. However, once things are clearly established, the story of a gay man searching for his idealized match snares you and keeps you hooked through the very end. The characters are wonderfully drawn and really give you a glimpse into the homosexual hierarchy of the times, with everyone calling each other she, stereotyping members of their own community (Pelvis is considered Old Pelvis; Sir Denis is fat (and proud of it) which, in the book, makes him less desirable; Burnished Rose is a Queen well beyond her reign) like a caste system, accepting nothing but the idealized image of the perfect man. I found it interesting that none of the charactes uses his real name, instead choosing or being given an identity and, in effect, creating their own world in which to live.

"The Gaudy Image" is a very good novel both as a story and as a look into gay culture. A great book.