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One of them, Never Eat In (Serpent's Tail; $24), follows in the footsteps of My Worst Date and The Sex Squad. In his previous novels, Leddick drew upon his experiences as a dancer and a long-time resident of South Miami Beach. Never Eat In, set in the worlds of fashion and advertisement, owes much to its author's previous life as worldwide creative director for L'Oreal cosmetics. No one has ever accused a Leddick novel of being profound, and Never Eat In is no exception. In fact, the plot is rather silly: Nina, a happily-married ad copy writer falls in love with a bisexual porn star with the dreadful name of Chase Manhattan. Next thing you know, Nina has left her husband and moved from New York to El Lay, where she gets involved with Chase and the porn industry. Leddick's experience with porn is obviously not as extensive as his experience with advertisements, and his idea of a porn director, fat drag queen Mimi Fandango, is but a weak copy of the legendary Chi Chi LaRue. Still, there is nothing wrong with a little trash now and then, and readers who are not too demanding will find Never Eat In to be delightful beach reading. In all fairness to David Leddick, his genius comes across in the series of male art books that he edits, two of which won Lambda Literary Awards. George Platt Lynes (Taschen; $39.99) is a massive coffee-table collection of portrait, dance and fashion photography by the masterful Mr. Lynes (1907-1955). Yes, there are naked men here (for those who are into that kind of stuff) but also fashion photos from Vogue and portraits of such celebrities as Orson Welles, Salvador Dali, Lotte Lenya and even Dr. Alfred Kinsey.
Like his celebrated nudes, the men and women who posed for Lynes
epitomized beauty and glamor, even when their reality belied the myth. As
Leddick put it, "The world of George Platt Lynes is nothing more than a
timeless and beautiful extension of our own, one in which we, or rather,
idealized versions of ourselves, forever young and handsome, ultimately but
only for a brief visual moment, end up making love to ourselves."
Politics in America has gotten so crazy lately that any attempt at satire or parody is sure to fall short. Nevertheless, James McCourt does a credible job on our much screwed-up political system in his Delancey's Way (Knopf; $25). Gay reporter Danny Delancey, who readers might remember from McCourt's 1993 novel Time Remaining, goes to Washington to cover environmental legislation pending before the 104th Congress. While at the Capital Delancey meets and mingles with D.C.'s best and brightest, including socialite Anastasia Harrington (a thinly-disguised Arianna Huffington), assorted Congressmen, and even a hustler or two. Like Primary Colors, Delancey's Way is a roman a clef; and like any book in that genre, the reader will enjoy trying to figure out who is who.
Leslea Newman has written so many books it's almost impossible to keep track of them. Girls will be Girls: A Novella and Short Stories (Alyson; $12.95) is the fourth short fiction collection by the prolific Ms. Newman. Ranging from "A Religious Experience" (from Friday the Rabbi Wore Lace, a collection of lesbian Jewish erotica) to the novella “Girls Will Be Girls”, Newman's stories are funny and frightening, sad and silly, challenging and thought provoking but never dull. Here is a "summer fiction" book that's worth reading year-round. Would you believe Men on Men 2000: Best New Gay Fiction for the Millenium (Plume; $12.95) is the eighth book in this award-winning series? Newcomer Karl Woelz joins long-time editor David Bergman in this new collection, which like its predecessor showcases the best gay fiction and gay writers.
Mention of Edmund White brings to mind other classic gay authors, and novels that have withstood the test of time. Any short list of gay fiction will surely include Joseph Hansen and his "Dave Brandstetter" series of detective fiction. Fadeout, the first novel in the Brandstetter series, is now available in a new edition (Alyson; $11.95), 30 years after it was first published. Though times have changed, and Brandstetter has changed along with them, Fadeout is as much fun to read now as it was back in the 1970's when I first read it. Perhaps, if the book sells well, Alyson will be moved to publish other books in Hansen's Brandstetter series. I sure hope so. |
David Leddick is a South Florida author known for his light, breezy
novels and his collections of male photography. For the summer of 2000 the
talented Mr. Leddick has published no less than four books.
Edmund White, a veteran of the first Men on Men, is back with a
new short story. Though much has changed in the 15-year interval, much
remains the same, most notably this series' commitment to good gay
literature. Editors Bergman and Woelz, not to mention contributors like Jim
Grimsley, Brian Bouldrey and Bruce Morrow, made sure of that.
© 1997-2000 BEI