by J.S. Hall
I'd like to preface this article by saying that it took me much longer than usual to pick out 10 books released in 2000 that I thought worthy enough to mention; few of them honestly stood out. And since my interests/specialties lie within the entertainment industry, some may find my choices slightly shallow compared to the larger issues facing us these days; so be it. Here they are in no particular order ... .
In gay fiction, the teenage coming out/coming-of-age story has become a hoary tradition verging upon cliché, but two remarkable debut novels breathed fresh life into it: Paul Lisicky's Lawnboy ( Turtle Point Press, $13.95 ) and K.N. Soehnlein's The World of Normal Boys ( Kensington Books, $22.00 ) . The former takes place in the dreary confines of present-day suburban Miami as well as the wilder wastelands, where the swamp languidly reclaims asphalt; the fetid environment serves as an apt metaphor for the main character's adolescent angst. The latter places its protagonist in suburban New Jersey in 1978, and beneath the polyester veneer lies a darkly fascinating tale of self-actualization and familial disintegration in a tragedy's wake.
Another cliché&emdash;that the entertainment industry holds a particular fascination for gay men&emdash;proved true for two novels in which reality and make-believe collide with unpredictable results. In William J. Mann's The Biograph Girl ( Kensington Books, $23.00 ) , a journalist discovers that Florence Lawrence, Hollywood's first movie star, faked her suicide and lives in a Buffalo nursing home, aged approximately 106. A thoroughly engaging "what if" premise brings a long-gone Hollywood era back to raucous life, and allows the woman who started it all to transcend her lurid legacy. The Night Listener ( HarperCollins, $26.00 ) , Armistead Maupin's long-awaited return to the fold, concerns radio personality Gabriel Noone, who becomes obsessed with discovering whether or not young fan Pete Lomax really exists. By skillfully interweaving parallels of his own life into Gabriel's, Maupin creates a search for truth and reality that satisfies ( and vexes ) on several levels.
Books like Vanity Fair's Hollywood capture celebrities in perfect, near-iconic poses, but Gary Lee Boas brings the stars down to earth in Starstruck ( Dilettante Press, $27.95 ) . A fan of fame and the famous, he's taken 50,000 celeb snapshots over the decades, and his favorite 500 are amassed here. In addition to the artful artlessness of the candids are Boas's remembrances of the days when "fans weren't something ... to avoid."
Conversely, Steven Capsuto's Alternate Channels ( Ballantine, $18.00 ) is a sweeping study of television and radio's portrayals of gays, lesbians and bisexuals over the past 60 years. Breathtaking in scope, it chronicles the evolution of our depiction from shrill comic relief ( men ) and killers or victims ( women ) to more well-rounded individuals, and gay characters' surprising proliferation over this past decade.
Since Ellen DeGeneres became one of our most visible representatives, her mother Betty has become a celebrity and role model for unconditional love and acceptance. Her second book, Just a Mom ( Alyson, $21.95 ) is a must-read for parents with gay and lesbian children everywhere as she relates her coming to terms and acceptance with her daughter's sexual orientation. Unfortunately, Ellen and Anne Heche's very public break-up may become more remembered than this fine book.
The Adonis Complex ( The Free Press, $25.00 ) reveals what some of us have known for years: that the health, fitness and beauty industries prey upon ( and profit from ) men's insecurities, creating a pressure for perfection which some guys will do anything to achieve. While not specifically aimed at a gay readership ( indeed, its gay chapter cries out for further study and expansion ) , this wake-up call to a growing psychological epidemic is perhaps one of this year's most socially "significant" releases.
He's large, he's funny, and lives in Los Angeles. No, it's not John Goodman's character before he returned to Normal, Ohio, but Joel Perry, the author of Funny That Way ( Alyson, $12.95 ) . Definitely the odd man out in image-obsessed L.A., he's amused readers of Frontiers and Instinct for quite some time with his hilarious takes on not fitting the gay mould; anyone who reads his "Athletically Challenged: Confessions of a Try-Athlete" without laughing out loud is certifiably humor-impaired. If anyone has a chance of wresting the Best Comedy Lammy from Michael Thomas Ford this year, it's Mr. Perry.
Lastly, we come to a tribute to a fallen icon. In The Stately Homo: A Celebration of the Life of Quentin Crisp ( Trafalgar Square, $22.95 or by import from England, Bantam Press L12.99 ) , editor Paul Bailey has assembled a variety of friends, admirers and critics of the late wit and eccentric to present a more well-rounded portrait of the man behind the makeup and flowing cravats. Instead of diminishing Crisp, the less flattering contributions flesh him out. As Andrew Barrow notes, "In the last resort, Quentin Crisp was not a heraldic beast, a mechanical toy, a vehicle for delight, a stopped clock, a stick insect or an anthropomorphic character out of children's fiction, but an immensely lively and real human being."