Narrow Rooms (Gay Modern Classics) [Hardcover]

James Purdy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 1985 | Series: Gay Modern Classics

Gore Vidal’s recent feature profile of James Purdy in the Sunday New York Times Book Review signaled the long overdue arrival of a major literary cult hero into the American canon. Purdy’s exquisitely surreal fiction has been populated for more than 40 years by social outcasts living in crisis and longing for love. However, Purdy was also among the first novelists to incorporate transgressive renderings of gay life into his work, including unapologetic, sexually explicit material. Narrow Rooms—his 1978 classic that ranks among his most masterful novels—is a passionate and sometimes bloody love story about adolescent obsession and revenge.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Purdy has written sixteen novels, ten full length plays, three books of short stories and five books of poetry. He has been translated into over 32 languages. Purdy has been profiled by both Gore Vidal and Edward Albee in the New York Times and been featured in Vanity Fair, the Lambda Book Report, and the James White Review. His novel Eustace Chisholm and the Works was named by the Publishing Triangle as one of the Top 100 Gay Novels of the 20th Century. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: GMP Publishers Ltd; New edition edition (May 16, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0907040586
• ISBN-13: 978-0907040583
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,880,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gay american "wuthering heights", November 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Gay Modern Classics Series) (Paperback)

a beautifully written story of love and hate going to the extremes which resembles "wuthering heights" in more than one respect; semi-articulate passion in a deserted land bordering on madness and advancing slowly into a near intolerable showdown. it's amazing with which composure Purdy manages to tell this pitch black "romantic tale"; never corny, never embarassing, a perfectly clear, simple plot and language. Highly recommended (for everybody by the way, gay or not gay)

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully dark, a brilliant articulation of desire & power, June 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Gay Modern Classics Series) (Paperback)

Purdy is poetic in his descriptions of some of our darker places. I've never read anyone write about pain, pleasure, desire, hate with such beaut

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange, wonderful, and erotic, February 22, 2009

By 

P. Theroux "yuppie perfectionist" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Paperback)

This is my favorite Purdy book. It is one of the most original novels ever written - straightforward, brilliant, and weirdly kinky. I had the pleasure of telling Purdy so in person. He is a charming and kindly old fellow and I think he still lives in Brooklyn.