3.5
The City and the Pillar
ByPublisher Description
A literary cause célèbre when first published in 1948, Gore Vidal’s now-classic The City and the Pillar stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience.
Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in “awful kid stuff,” the experience forms Jim’s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship.
Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, The City and the Pillar remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.
Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in “awful kid stuff,” the experience forms Jim’s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship.
Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, The City and the Pillar remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities163 Reviews
3.5
Bryant
Created 10 days agoShare
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Tiara
Created 28 days agoShare
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“And here I was thinking what could be worse than raoe, that they had to change the ending, until I read the orginal ending and stood aghast.
One of the main reasons why I liked the book was the LGBTQ representation agaist the historical fiction backdrop. It was interesting to observe the society in that context. I also loved how in spite of lack of any substantial story, so the characters stood so strong.”kgo
Created 2 months agoShare
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Larissa Walter
Created 3 months agoShare
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Dana
Created 4 months agoShare
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About Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal was born in 1925 at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His first novel, Williwaw, written when he was nineteen years old and serving in the Army, appeared in the spring of 1946. Since then he has written twenty-three novels, five plays, many screenplays, short stories, well over two hundred essays, and a memoir.
Other books by Gore Vidal
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