From Publishers Weekly
Preston ( Hometowns ) collects 24 personal, intensely moving accounts of gays' family relationships in this splendid anthology. One is a reflection on the unsuspected depths of a man's blooming relationship with a much younger brother, In another, Michael Nava recalls his quiet, stern Yaqui Indian grandfather. PW contributing editor Bob Summer, Brandon Judell, Michael Bronksi and Clifford Chase are among those who write of important moments with parents, sisters, brothers, uncles, cousins and grandparents that defined both familial identities and the authors' own developing identities as homosexual adults. Distinguished by the excellence of the writing--direct, graceful, elegant, moving--this collection is, as Preston notes in the introduction, "not about being a perfect child in a perfect family . . . It is about being human in our world."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Preston, editor of Hometowns ( LJ 8/91) and The Big Gay Book (NAL, 1991), has brought forth a new collection that examines the intensely personal and often painful relationship of gay men with members of their families. These 24 essays run the gamut of human emotion--some are humorous, some sad, some poignant, some bitter. Stories range from a young black man who pays homage to a gospel-singing mother; a Southern son who grows up with a Holocaust survivor; and a gay man who tries to forgive his abusive father. Preston has chosen his selections wisely and in his introduction succinctly states his thesis: "Examining our families and understanding what they have done to us and what we have done to them is a crucial part of our learning about how we are gay in our society." In this presidential election year when politicians decry the lack of family values, this extraordinary anthology reminds us just how profound family influence is on all of us. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
- Richard Drezen, Merrill Lynch Lib., New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Richard Drezen, Merrill Lynch Lib., New York
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
