Isherwood himself later felt ambivalent about the commercial success of his writings that touched on real suffering that he, as a foreigner, could only hint at.Ĭontent warnings for anti-Semitism, abortion, medical trauma.Īn American expat has spent much of his life convincing himself he isn’t gay.
It’s considered a classic, although many real-life figures on whom characters were based have since lamented the tweaks he made to their lives or dialogue. His real experience became inspiration for Goodbye to Berlin. He fled Germany as it descended into Nazi rule. While there, he befriended young flapper Jean Ross, shared an apartment with her, and would help her get an abortion that she nearly died from. Isherwood was a gay man living in pre-Nazi, Jazz Age Berlin, interacting with the eclectic, queer, and poor - many of them marginalized people who would later be at the greatest risk of persecution from the Nazis. Tragically, this book is not available in translation.ĭid you know that Cabaret was based on a book that was also semi-autobiographical and based nearly entirely on real people and events? No, me neither. Even as an out lesbian and independent woman at a time when both were rare, her work was very popular - she was one of modern Japan’s most commercially successful authors. She was open about her personal life and her relationship with life partner Monma Chiyo (in 1957, she adopted Monma as her daughter, because it was the only legal way to ensure that they could share property or make medical decisions for each other). The work revealed Yoshiya’s own queerness, and the author was open in her androgynous style, fierce independence, and queer personal life. Her second work, Two Virgins in the Attic, was semi-autobiographical, a book about a relationship between two female roommates who eventually decide to live together permanently, spurning what was at the time an intensely male-oriented society.
OSCAR WILDE GAY BOOK SERIES
Her early work, Flower Tales, is a series of 52 stories about romantic friendships, longing, and unrequited love. Yoshiya is considered a pioneer of Japanese lesbian literature. Please do additional research if you have specific concerns. As most (all) of these books have some kind of homophobia, I have not noted that warning specifically under each book. Note: I included content warnings where I was able, but things slip through the cracks, and I myself was not able to read every book on this list, particularly in the nonfiction category.
I’m blessed that we have enough seminal, crucial queer literature that it was painful to to “only” feature 100 books on this list, and I’m sure each reader will have several books in mind that I was foolish to leave out. The simple truth is that some of the books that were most influential towards my own queer awakening haven’t made this list, simply because a list like this is a gigantic task. If you are determined that I’ve missed something crucial, please tweet at me, and I’m happy to hear about it. By signing up you agree to our terms of useĪnd before we get into it, I should note: this list was not easy to make and not easy to narrow down. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. I have many books to put on hold at my local library. This has meant that centuries of authors writing about the experiences, love, and pain of the queer community have been crucial in making progress towards a radical acceptance.įrom the delicate art form of the semi-autobiographical novel - a life story veiled behind fictional names and twists - to the roar of poetry to a deep dive into the history that has too often been erased and purged, queer literature has helped to challenge, move, and shape generations of readers.Īs a pansexual, demisexual cis woman on my way into another Pride Month, researching and crafting this list was a singular joy. To be understood, to be accepted, the LGBTQIA+ community needs first to be seen. It’s one of the most crucial needs of the queer community. Twitter: All posts by Leah Rachel von Essen She is an avid traveler, a passionate fan of women’s basketball and soccer, and a lifelong learner. She was one of a select few bookstagrammers named to NewCity’s Chicago Lit50 in 2022. She writes passionately about books in translation, chronic illness and bias in healthcare, queer books, twisty SFF, and magical realism and folklore. Her blog While Reading and Walking has over 10,000 dedicated followers over several social media outlets, including Instagram. By night, she reviews genre-bending fiction for Booklist, and writes regularly as a senior contributor at Book Riot. By day, Leah Rachel von Essen is the editor-in-chief of Chicago Booth Magazine at the University of Chicago.
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