This June, as the world comes together for a celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender love, we invite you to mark Pride Month by exploring the struggles and triumphs of queer people in their pursuit of freedom of expression in literature. From timid forays into queer fiction to sensational bestsellers, we have rounded up twelve LGBTQ novels that may appeal to gay readers and anyone who wants to broaden their literary horizons.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Told from the point of view of Patroclus, this poetic retelling of a famous legend of Greek mythology exploits the deep attachment between two comrades in the Trojan War. Achilles meets Patroclus at the lowest point of his life- his slave is abducted and his pride is wounded. Yet the hero who is often depicted as fearless and indestructible lowers his guard to reveal his gentle nature to his companion, planting the seed of love in the heart of the young man. Sadly, this fragile union is short lived when Patroclus meets a tragic end at the hands of Hector.
Driven by revenge, the man of honour and the most gifted warrior in Greece plunges into a ruthless battle against a man who robbed Achilles of his chance for happiness. Despite his efforts to find his inner peace, the death of his sworn enemy does not beguile him from his grief. The final scene of “simple, unadorned and glorious tomb” where star-crossed lovers are laid to rest will strike the cords of your heart, haunting you long after you have turned the last page.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
“This letter from a young Vietnamese immigrant to his mother who doesn’t know how to read is raw, impactful, achingly sad, painful to read. It is filled with flashbacks to his childhood when he is bullied at school, physically abused by his mother, protected by his grandmother. It is filled with stories and memories of his parents’ past fleeing Vietnam as their pasts become part of his story.
It is a story of a young boy trying to find his place in this country. It’s an intimate portrait of his first relationship as he falls in love with another boy. This book is not for everyone, but it’s worth reading for the beautiful language and amazing portrait of the Vietnamese immigrant experience, for the intimate piece of his heart and soul that this writer shares.”-Angela M.
Buy it on AmazonCecil Dreeme by Theodore Winthrop
Robert Byng has recently returned from his Grand Tour of Europe to settle in New York City. An old friend lends Byng his rooms at Chrysalis College (an equivalent of real-life New York University, perhaps also partially modelled on the Tenth Street Studio Building). It is there that Byng meets his mysterious and reclusive neighbor Cecil Dreeme, and the two strike up a romantic friendship. However, Byng is also tempted by the villainous Densdeth, who seems to want the protagonist to fall into a life of unspecified sin and debauchery. Published posthumously by the author’s friend George William Curtis in 1861, Cecil Dreeme has been called “one of the queerest American novels of the nineteenth century” by scholar Peter Coviello, and it addresses themes of gender and sexuality.
Read it Free Here Buy it on AmazonYoung Mungo by Douglas Scott
“Young Mungo is the heartbreaking story of a young boy growing up in Glasgow. With no father and a largely absent mother, it falls to his older sister Jodie to bring him up and keep their small family together. Mungo’s is a world of unemployment, poverty, alcoholism and violence – sectarian, mindless and all kinds in between. He befriends James, a boy slightly older than himself and their friendship soon transforms into something more, something exciting and wonderful that they must keep hidden at all costs. For it is bad enough that Mungo is Protestant and James Catholic, but to be gay in this environment, to dare to love and dream of a better world is dangerous – particularly when your older brother heads a violent gang with a ferocious reputation to maintain.”- Amazonian C.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde’s tale of vanity and eternal youth sparked controversy in 19th century England. Many considered the novel, exploring selfishness, cruelty and homosexuality to have a corrupting effect undermining the morals of the society. The life of Dorian Gray changes dramatically upon his arrival in London, where he is introduced to a superficial circle of friends, bringing the worst out of him. In his shallow obsession with youth and beauty, Gray commissions his portrait destined to preserve his youth. But how far will Dorian go to satisfy his ego?
Read it Free Here Buy it on AmazonSwimming in The Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
Poland, 1980. Anxious, disillusioned Ludwik Glowacki, soon to graduate university, has been sent along with the rest of his class to an agricultural camp. Here he meets Janusz – and together, they spend a dreamlike summer swimming in secluded lakes, reading forbidden books – and falling in love.
But with summer over, the two are sent back to Warsaw, and to the harsh realities of life under the Party. Exiled from paradise, Ludwik and Janusz must decide how they will survive; and in their different choices, find themselves torn apart.
Swimming in the Dark is an unforgettable debut about youth, love, and loss – and the sacrifices we make to live lives with meaning.
Buy it on AmazonDeath in Venice by Thomas Mann
“In each heart there are unrequited desires; desires that hibernate for years only to awaken after the last days of summer have passed into the time when “To love that well which thou must leave ere long” is the only option. While on vacation aging writer Gustav von Aschenbach beholds the beauty of Tadzio, a teenage boy vacationing with his family. After this one look he is enthralled – and cursed – to follow that path which will lead to his destruction.”- Nakapalau J.
Read it Free Here Buy it on AmazonA Marriage Below Zero by Alan Dale
All is not well in the Ravener household. Arthur shows little interest in his pretty new bride. He disappears after dinner. Elsie waits up for him into the wee hours of the morning. His bedroom door is locked. Arthur prefers the company of Jack, his “bosom friend” from his college days. A Marriage Below Zero is a tragicomic account of a desperate woman’s attempts to uncover the secret at the center of her husband’s life. Her quest for the truth will take her to London, New York, and Paris, where she finally discovers what everyone else has suspected all along.
Read it Free Here Buy it on AmazonGiovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
“It is under the foreign sky of Paris, where identity is protected by anonymity and the most darkest secrets do not transcend the limits of a room, that David, an American young man, is forced to face the convoluted layers of the true nature of his sexual identity. Told in the first-person narrator, Giovanni’s Room bewilders the reader because of the perturbing sensitivity with which Baldwin portrays an extremely delicate predicament; that of listening to the self-deprecating inner voices that corrode the consciousness of those who deny their true selves for the sake of indoctrinated conventionalism and a false sense of security.”- Dolors
Buy it on AmazonAristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has a unique perspective on life. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they develop a special friendship – the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about the universe, themselves and the kind of people they want to be. This incredibly moving and powerful Printz Honor Book follows two teen boys learning to open themselves up to homosexuality, despite the world being against them.
Buy it on AmazonBrideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
“In Brideshead Revisited, Waugh paints a marvellous picture of the romantic symbolism and obsession with sex and death of the Roman Catholic religion. Viewed from the eyes of Charles, as though it and the Flyte family are a foreign country, the reader is transported into a world of times gone by, in early 20th century, where the upper classes all have large estates in the country and their offsprings are the bright young pretty things whom everyone is infatuated with.
A core theme is Sebastian’s Catholic belief and that of his titled family. To the narrator, Charles, this is a foreign, strange, world. They meet at Oxford and straightaway, Charles is fascinated by Sebastian’s mysterious air. Sebastian has nursery habits and surrounds himself with nursery toys at his Oxford rooms. He is also rebellious, flamboyant and loves to party. As the tale progresses, Sebastian descends into alcoholism. Charles enjoys intimate relationships with Sebastian’s family, with an affair with a close relative thrown in for good measure.”- Mauve Peace
Buy it on AmazonTin Man by Sarah Winman
Ellis and Michael are twelve-year-old boys when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more. But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question: What happened in the years between?
With beautiful prose and characters that are so real they jump off the page, Tin Man is a love letter to human kindness and friendship, and to loss and living.
Buy it on Amazon
Stella
Stella is a Marketing Consultant and has been writing content for Full Text Archive since 2015. When she is not writing, she is meticulously planning our social and e-mail campaigns. Stella holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Russian Literature, which has provided a broad foundation from which she continues to explore the written world.
She spends her free time reading, visiting old castles and discovering new coffee shops. She can be reached at stella