These Uncertain Times | A Book Review

[Written on a whim, for fear of forgetting June… again.]

Friends. It’s been a year—a wild and tragic year. Despite the supposed progression of humanity, we seem to be backsliding to the detriment of the LGBTQIA+ community, which makes emphasizing June more necessary because all people should have the right to (harmless) freedom of expression.

So, Happy Pride, y’all.

Growing up in the Bible Belt and engaging in evangelical hospitality taught me how misinformed people can be. I include myself in the misinformed because the person I was years ago is far from the person I have grown to be. College was the first time I had significant exposure to new ideas, and I am incredibly thankful for that exposure. The military has taught me the importance of personal freedoms, considering the lack of such freedoms elsewhere. Being a mother has taught me to love unconditionally—and I scold myself for thinking of love as anything else.

(Finally, as an editor and student of the English language, it is also my responsibility to inform you that they can be singular, as indicated by various style guides and demonstrated in oral communication.)

With that—

In the spirit of the banned books kerfuffle and pride month, I have been dying to list my favorite books with LGTBQIA+ themes to promote diversity and reading in this community. My synopses are vague snippets because I hate knowing what I’m getting into when I start a book (my reading style is more akin to Russian Roulette: pick a book from the stack, and let’s see where it goes!). I cover a slew of genres but not all. As always, I’m open to recommendations.

Comedy

Less: A Novel | Andrew Sean Greer

We must start with Less because this is easily one of my favorite books. We follow 49-year-old Arthur Less as his world seems to crumble around him. His literary dreams are flickering out with the rejection of his latest manuscript, and his ex-lover is getting married—and Less cannot grapple with the emotions of going to that wedding. The universe delivers and offers Less a way out: a series of literary engagements and friendly visits to distract him from the nuptials, allowing him to claw his way out of his ruts. From what I understand, the story was supposed to be tragic until Greer had an epiphany and rewrote the entire book, surprising himself with a Pulitzer win (and for comedic novels, that is a rare feat indeed). If you read any on this list, read Less. 

Roman à Clef-ish

Real Life | Brandon Taylor

I recently read and adored Real Life, the partly autobiographical story of Wallace, a gay, Black doctoral student navigating the culture at a predominantly White Midwestern university. It covers sexuality and race issues and is delightful and fascinating for people who enjoy reading a bit of science with their literary fiction.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous | Ocean Vuong

It’s been a while since I’ve read On Earth, but I mostly remember the writing. Vuong began as a poet, then applied his talents to this part-memoir, part-epistolary novel, which recounts his personal experiences, sexual exploration, and abuse in his youth.

Romance

Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston

I’m not a huge romance reader, and I picked up RW&RB on a whim between heavier books to create a bit of distance, but I fell so hard for the boys in this book, you don’t even know. Imagine enemies to lovers, but elevate it to the sons of the US President and the British Monarchy. It’s pleasant and lighthearted and delightful for these uncertain times™.

Science Fiction

Gideon the Ninth + Harrow the Ninth + Nona the Ninth | Tamsyn Muir

These books are an investment of time and sanity, but they deliver if you’re willing to work through their oddities. My good art friend had to tape my eyes open for me to get through the first chapter, which is the epitome of in medias res, but once I found my footing, it was delightful! As were the others (Harrow and Nona). I also appreciate Muir’s ability to flex between literary prose and meme speak—most apparent in the first book of this (soon to be) tetralogy, designed to match Gideon’s speech patterns. I add this series because the cover blurb for Gideon is “Lesbian necromancers in space.” So it’s weird, but it’s wonderfully weird. And you can’t help but be curious with that pitch.

A Memory Called Empire | Arkady Martine

Memory lacks the wildness of Gideon, but I greatly appreciate this book for its emphasis on rhetoric. (This includes how people are named in this universe based on numbers and objects.) This book is also more driven on the political side, so if you appreciate strategic endeavors and diplomacy (with LGBTQIA+ themes), then this book should deliver.

This is How You Lose the Time War | Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

TiHYLtTW coalesces the fun of a time-travel novel with poetry (and when you combine a sci-fi author and a poet, a fascinating language emerges). TiHYLtTW pits Red versus Blue—the two protagonists of this twisting little tale. I loved this novel for its language and creative incorporation of pop culture. While the diction can be thick, the poetry inspires. It’s a short read that will delight.

Literary Fiction

Fates and Furies | Lauren Groff

Groff’s Fates and Furies is one of my favorite books. While it centers on the secrets of marriage, some tangents show flexible sexuality, justifying its inclusion in this roundup. Admittedly, I’ve read and re-read the first half more than the second half, but the book was originally supposed to be two instead of one. (The first half is more lighthearted; the second is more vengeful. Told from different perspectives.)

A Little Life | Hanya Yanagihara

I knew Yanagihara’s A Little Life would be one of my favorite books before I even made it a quarter through the 720-page behemoth, but I did not anticipate the degree to which it would level me on craft and writing. In short, this coming-of-age saga follows the intertwining lives of four friends from college, starting with their humble beginnings in New York as they scrap by on dreams. While this story is gorgeous and wonderfully heartbreaking, I recommend it with a warning: there is violence and graphic depictions of abuse and suicide, which may be unsettling for some.

Conversations with Friends | Sally Rooney

Rooney’s writing is lovely, and she has a knack for taking the mundane and making it exemplary. All of her books generate a slow-burn frustration that compounds and compels you to keep reading. Fluid relationships. Sexual tension. (She could scratch gibberish on a cocktail napkin, and I’d read it.)

The Great Believers | Rebecca Makkai

So this book was a finalist for the Pulitzer years ago, and some compare it to what they wished A Little Life had been. Instead of New York, this is set in Chicago during the AIDS pandemic, so it can be rough. 

Mythical Retelling

The Autobiography of Red | Ann Carson

I like strange, well-written stories, and Carson’s Red is a strange, well-written story that re-creates and expands on the myth of Geryon. In Greek mythology, Geryon is a humanoid monster (sometimes a giant, sometimes winged) famed for his red cattle—the same cattle that Heracles is ordered to steal as part of his twelve labors. While Heracles kills Geryon in the original story, Carson creates a compelling alternate universe that focuses on a budding love between the two. (And while weird, it’s quite lovely.)

That’s all for now. If you have recommendations and must-reads that are missing from my shelf, feel free to comment.

Happy reading and celebrating diversity. And remember: it’s free to be kind.