From the award-winning writer, “a passionate manifesto for gay rights by an author who openly and unapologetically identifies himself as a participant” (People).
In this angry, eloquent outcry against the oppression of homosexuals, the author of the classic City of Night gives “an explosive non-fiction account, with commentaries, of three days and nights in the sexual underground” of Los Angeles in the 1970s—the “battlefield” of the sexual outlaw. Using the language and techniques of film, Rechy deftly intercuts the despairing, joyful, and defiant confessions of a male hustler with the “chorus” of his own subversive reflections on sexual identity and sexual politics, and with stark documentary, reports of the violence our society directs against homosexuals—“the only minority against whose existence there are laws.”
“An intelligent, persuasive and, in its way, heartbreaking manifesto.” —The New York Times
“A jolting book … An intense, personal, and courageous document. A book written out of rage, unnerving, thought provoking.” —Los Angeles Times
Praise for John Rechy
“Rechy shows great comic and tragic talent. He is truly a gifted novelist.” —Christopher Isherwood, author and playwright
“His tone rings absolutely true, is absolutely his own, and he has the kind of discipline which allows him a rare and beautiful recklessness. He tells the truth, and tells it with such passion that we are forced to share in the life he conveys. This is a most humbling and liberating achievement.” —James Baldwin, novelist, playwright, and activist
“His uncompromising honesty as a gay writer has provoked as much fear as admiration . . . John Rechy doesn’t fit into categories. He transcends them. His individual vision is unique, perfect, loving and strong.” —Carolyn See, author of Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America
