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RJ, Farrah and Me: A Young Man’s Gay Odyssey from the Inside Out Paperback – June 14, 2022

by Jack Hilovsky (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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1976… Ford was ruling… the Bicentennial was blaring… Farrah Fawcett was flying and two Ohio boys were cavorting.

Jack is an only child growing up in Cleveland and by the time he is seven, he knows he’s different. The one constant in his young life is friendship and when Jack meets RJ the two find solace and discovery in one another. From their mutual obsession for Charlie’s Angel and pin-up girl Farrah Fawcett to exploring their sexuality one humid, summer night, they embark on a journey that forces Jack to grapple with his strict Catholic upbringing and an emerging, yet conflicted awareness that he is gay.

Set against the backdrop of the disco dance era, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, sun-kissed lifeguards, high school musicals and college fraternity hijinks, Jack’s pursuit of anything-but-gay personas leads to humor and heartache with people who help and thwart him.

Ever resilient, he navigates an uncertain future on the path to self-discovery in his quest for a happy, Technicolor ending.
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  1. Print length
    347 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 14, 2022
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.79 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1953610242
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1953610249
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NFB Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 14, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 347 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1953610242
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1953610249
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.79 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
30 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's narrative style engaging, with one review noting how religion and themes are intertwined throughout the story. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with one customer describing it as a wonderful coming-of-age love story.

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Narrative styleReadability
5 customers mention "Narrative style"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the narrative style of the book, with one describing it as a wonderful coming-of-age love story where themes of identity and religion are intertwined in different combinations.

"...Themes of identity, family, friendship, love, and religion are intertwined in different combinations...." Read more

"...The story, told in deeply intimate scenes in close-up details, has a cinematic intensity which, because it's being read and not watched on a screen,..." Read more

"...The author was amazingly transparent and each detail interesting. What a beautiful story about coming out...." Read more

"...It is brave, warm, meaningful and a truly honest look at coming of age and all that goes along with that including sexual awakening...." Read more

4 customers mention "Readability"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable, with one describing it as a fun summer read.

"This is a wonderful coming of age memoir written by a gifted author...." Read more

"What a wonderful book! The author was amazingly transparent and each detail interesting. What a beautiful story about coming out...." Read more

"...A fun summer read!" Read more

"I love this book!..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Brian
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful and relevant coming of age story
    Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This is a wonderful coming of age memoir written by a gifted author. Coming from my perspective as a millennial reader, this memoir vividly illuminates an experience of growing up and coming out in an earlier decade. I enjoyed the descriptions of life as a youth in that time, contrasted with the author’s commentary looking back from the present day. Themes of identity, family, friendship, love, and religion are intertwined in different combinations. I was most surprised to discover, despite the general lack of acceptance or even acknowledgement of gay relationships in society at the time, the story of a loving gay relationship before labels and identity crystalized or could be spoken about. In some ways this relationship feels contemporary and liberated in that the relationship could exist independently of rigid labels. I found myself revisiting my own experiences through the lens of this memoir, and learned more about myself. Others who have come out, are questioning, or know someone who is gay will find much to reflect on.

    Although it is only briefly discussed in this memoir, it is hard to read a work set in this time period without allowing the knowledge of the looming AIDS epidemic and culture wars to sneak in. One tries to also remember the subsequent advances in acceptance and legal rights for the LGBT community. In fact, for millennials, the consequential Supreme Court decisions in Lawrence (2003) and Obergefell (2015) are bookends for our coming of age experiences. In our present moment of overlapping pandemics, political uncertainty, and renewed homophobia and transphobia in conservative politics, it is comforting to be reminded, by this memoir’s depiction of a happy time, that history is cyclical. That things can improve, get worse, and yet improve again. And, joy, happiness, and love can exist despite all this. I eagerly await the sequel.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Forrest F.
    5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This memoir gave me vivid impressions of what it was like for someone else who, like me, grew up in a place where he felt he could not stay past his youth, because being openly gay there was not an option. And though I've never visited Cleveland nor wanted to, I got a keen sense of the place and would now love to go visit there, even if just for a few days, to enjoy the feel that lakeside city (I grew up close to the ocean).

    The story, told in deeply intimate scenes in close-up details, has a cinematic intensity which, because it's being read and not watched on a screen, had me taking pauses after every two or three chapters, as I was so drawn into each episode I wanted to stop and savor the experience, as I might do while working my way through an elaborate buffet meal.

    I want to see more from this writer, as many good fiction writers started out with a personal memoir, and this one to me is very promising.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Ruth Oskolkoff
    5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, Interesting, and Inspiring.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    What a wonderful book! The author was amazingly transparent and each detail interesting. What a beautiful story about coming out. I'm really glad the author chose to write his story down. It will give courage to all those faced with some of the same issues. For those of us who are not, I think it helps us understand a little more.

    It's really a must read. I highly recommend this for all readers. Bravo!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Carolyn from Maryland
    5.0 out of 5 stars A big juicy slice of American Pie with a Gay twist
    Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    If you have ever been a teenager, wondered about your place in life, and/or lived through the 70’s you’ll love this book. It is brave, warm, meaningful and a truly honest look at coming of age and all that goes along with that including sexual awakening. It is sweet, it’s spicy and it reminds me we are all so much more alike than the differences that sometimes divide us.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • excellenceidaho
    4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful coming-of-age love story…
    Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    For this authors first book I am so impressed. The coming of age love story between him and RJ kept me glued to the pages hoping for a happy ending. The pages and story are full of descriptive threads, you could picture each triumph and loss easily relating to his story. I did want to reach out and slap the boy who kept going back to the wrong people and gender. A fun summer read!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Howard Rayner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 5, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Not the most elegant word to use for such a well written book, but accurately descriptive for my experience of reading it. I think anyone who reads this book will be gripped by the author's journey to discover their true self and then live that truth openly and proudly. But for someone like myself, who spent their own formative teen years in those seemingly never ending summers of the seventies, this was like stepping into a time machine. The summer smells of Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion, the sensual disco beat, Charlie's Angels on TV, Rona Barrrett's Hollywood and movie magazines in the supermarket and experimentation with home perms for men brought back vivid memories. This is an illuminating and moving memoir. Hope for more from this author after such a stunning debut.
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