When Gay Fiction Lost Its Appetite for Sin

Especially since the pandemic, fiction has become something of a monolith. Every novel nowadays must possess some level of romance or romantic angst. As well these books do not reflect reality as there is always this underlying saccharine tone, even with novels that claim to be dark. Now I know the people who eat this shit up will always say that it’s a fantasy and its not suppose to mirror real life. Okay! Fine! I understand that and I am cool with fantasy, but even it supposed to retain some level of resonance. The average reader can find more relatability in a Grimm’s fairytale than in most of the moronic shit you find in Barnes & Noble these days.

Gay literature has been the biggest victims of this infantilization. In the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, gay and lesbian novels were edgy. They were taboo. They were blunt, raw, brutally honest, and emphatically unapologetic. Books like John Rechy’s City of Night and Dennis Cooper’s The Sluts were about street life and the lives of rent boys in two different eras. Neither of these novels sugarcoated or glamourized the topic. Moreover, they didn’t include a list of trigger warnings along with the dedication page. Novels like Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance and Larry Karamer’s Faggots depicted an unflinching look at the hedonistic gay life of the 1970s as it was! Once again, there was no holding back or softening the blow for audiences. Hell, even Gordon Merrick (the gay equivalent of Harold Robbins) managed to keep a level of plausibility, and his books were the paradigm of a gay male fantasy (sex, money, power, and more sex).

If you’re like me and want to read something that’s gay but is gritty or just different than the delusional, sickeningly sweet linear tales of toxic optimism, saturated angst, and unrealistically hopeful endings I would suggest the following four books.

1. The Long Firm

This 1999 novel by bisexual author, Jake Arnott, is about a gay gangster and racketeer and his criminal exploits in 1960s London’s underworld. Romance is pretty much an afterthought in this book. The main character, Harry Starks, does what is necessary to preserve his place amongst the criminals, corrupt politicians, and reprobates he encounters. There’s a good amount of graphic violence but whatever… Suck it up, buttercup. The BBC turned the book into a four-part miniseries in 2004 starring Mark Strong as Harry and a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey.

2. The Purple Don

This novel by SLMN came out in 2020 very much under the radar. Joey Diamonds is the son of a powerful and well-established New York mafia don. When his father discovers that his son has a boyfriend, he has Joey’s boyfriend whacked and disowns his son. This sends Joey into a ruthless revenge driven power trip while also seeking fame and fortune. In comparison, Joey Diamonds makes Harry Starks look timid as to the shit he gets up to. The character is truly a combination of Tony Soprano and JR Ewing with a heavy dash of Frank Underwood. Joey will fuck and fuck over anybody to get what he wants. This is a novel that should’ve been the first entry of a series because it has great potential to become a TV series let alone a film.

3. No Night Is Too Long

Published in 1994 by English author Ruth Rendell under her pseudonym, Barbara Vine, is a crime novel about a bisexual love triangle. The main character, Tim, travels to Alaska with his long-term older boyfriend, Ivo, who has been financially supporting him for years. Tim, however, has grown tired of Ivo, especially after Ivo declares his love for him. Tim’s ungrateful ass has become infatuated with an older woman by the name of Isabel and the story goes downhill from there. There isn’t any explicit sex in this book so don’t be annoyed but the novel keeps you hanging in suspense until the end. The novel was adapted into a TV movie in 2002 by the BBC.

4. The Rules of Attraction

This is Gen X author, Bret Easton Ellis’s sophomore 1987 novel after his hit, Less Than Zero. The book follows a few characters but mainly Sean Bateman, Lauren Hynde, and Paul Denton and all the drug fueled debauchery they get up to at Camden College. Both Sean and Paul are bisexual and mess with each other while both also mess with Lauren. Camden College is a staple in Ellis’s work and is a fictional depiction of his alma mater, Bennington College. Each point of view is told in the first person and even has a few chapters written completely in French as those sections are the POV of Sean’s French roommate. If you’re looking for something messy, cynical, fucked up, and nihilistic this will make for a great read! The novel was adapted into a 2002 film starring the late James van der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, and Faye Dunaway.