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< The Price of Salt > < Strangers on a Train > < Tipping the Velvet: A Novel > < The Well of Loneliness: A 1920s Classic of Lesbian Fiction > < A Suspension of Mercy > < Beautiful Shadow: A Life of Patricia Highsmith > Patricia Highsmith,W. W. Norton

price： 279
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customer 's review
(Good Novel, Strong Love Story)

(The Price was Worth It)

(A love story that's surprising --- for how good it is)

(Very Moving Work)

(A beautifully told love story)

Unlike Terry Castle of "The New Republic", I'm not convinced that Nabokov used Carol and Therese's trip in "The Price of Salt" as a template for the extended "vacation" that Humbert Humbert and Dolores Haze took in "Lolita". If he did, he expanded it in richness and depth about a thousand-fold. "The Price of Salt", while no "Lolita", is an interesting work in its own right. Carol and Therese meet in the toy section of the department store where the latter works; they embark on a friendship, and fall in love. Carol happens to be married, albeit unhappily. She also happens to have a young daughter. It takes the two quite awhile to sleep together, so those in search of quick, cheap thrills--not that there's anything wrong with that--might be disappointed. And when they finally do, Highsmith's prose drifts into the nebulous vagaries of poetry, reminding us that this was, indeed, written in the 1950's.
"The Price of Salt" didn't grab and possess me the way Jane Rule's "Desert of the Heart" did, which isn't all bad. It sort of insinuates itself gradually into your mental nooks and crannies. And what lesbian, repressed or not, could turn these strange pages without wanting, at least a little, to take Therese's place one night in one of those not-so-anonymous hotel rooms?
The ending, I have to say, is rather abrupt. It left me with the exasperating "That's it!?" sensation. All and all, though, "The Price of Salt" is a solid novel with a strong love story, made even more compelling because of the taboo nature of homosexuality at the time. Most of all, it speaks volumes about the omnipotence of fate.
I love Patricia Highsmith with her sadistic view of human nature. Her description of the character's boyfriend (his forehead reminding her of a whale and his hands looking like paws) was hilarious. She is an excellent writer who uses similes and metaphors well. Not to mention the unconventional story for that day and time!
It's Christmas, and money's tight, so Therese Belivet does what any unemployed 19-year-old stage designer might --- she takes a temp job in the toy department of a Manhattan department store. Her days define dreary. The aging sales clerks seem "stricken with an everlasting exhaustion and terror." As for her customers, they're also desperate, but for a doll, any doll.

Then Mrs. H.F. Aird walks in.

Calm gray eyes. Blonde. Pale, thin ankles. Suede high heels. Her voice was "like her coat, rich and supple, and somehow full of secrets."

Therese has a boyfriend, who "talked like any of the people one saw in Village bars, young people who were supposed to be writers or actors, and who usually did nothing." After ten months, they aren't growing closer. This isn't love.

But Mrs. H. F. Aird --- what is that attraction?

Therese sends a card that says nothing much. But just sending it is provocative. Carol Aird, 32 and unhappily married and a mother, responds. And so it begins...

Patricia Highsmith, known for thrillers that show how easily evil can masquerade as goodness, wrote "The Price of Salt" right after Strangers on a Train. She was short of cash, so she took a job in a department store. A cool beauty walked in. After she left, Highsmith felt "cool and swimmy" in her head; that night, she wrote an eight-page outline. Her publisher had been pressing her for another suspense novel, but she said that she didn't regard "Strangers on a Train" as suspense --- and she considered this new plot, she has written, "simply a novel with an interesting story."

That is so disingenuous. This was the late 1940s and early 1950s, and even in wicked New York, Highsmith notes, "those were the days when people wanting to go to a certain bar got off the subway station before or after the convenient one, lest they be suspected of being homosexual." So to write a love story about two women --- could Highsmith have been completely surprised when Harper&Bros. rejected it?

The happy ending: A "specialty" press published "The Price of Salt" --- under the byline of "Claire Morgan" --- in paperback in 1952.

It sold a million copies.

It deserved to. In a swift 275 pages, Highsmith creates a world that's seems entirely plausible. First, there's the love story: the push-pull of the flirting, the heart-stopping looks, the thrill of a touch. Then there's the suspense aspect. Divorce wasn't no-fault anywhere in America in the early 1950s; it was a time of private detectives and blame. And so, when Carol and Therese take a trip, they're not alone --- Mr. Aird's private eye follows. This is not a romance without consequences.

And, of course, there is the sex.

But do not think for a second that this book has appeal only to women who love women --- or men who get off on lesbian sex.

There is, in fact, almost no sex in the novel. This is not a book about Tab A and Slot B, and then Tab A being banished.

And that is its power. The book is about two women coming to terms with forbidden love --- about wanting to be together and having trouble saying how much they want that, and being scared and having misunderstandings. It's got all the stuff of a love story between heterosexuals. Just with higher stakes. And an ending that's surprising...

"I never wrote another book like this," Highsmith said.

Well, you never read one like this.

This is a very good book in many different respects, as the other reviewers have noted. For me, it contains one of the best, most well-timed, and well-placed "I love you" statements in all of recent literature.
Therese works as a shopgirl in a large department store as it prepares fro the Christmas rush. But it's only a temporary job as she wants to become a set designer, with the help of contacts provided by her boyfriend Richard. She's content but life with Richard isn't quite what she's looking for. In fact, she's not sure what she needs until Carol, a handsome older woman, walks into her department to buy a doll for her daughter. Therese manages to strike up a conversation with Carol and soon, they begin to see quite a bit of each other. Their friendship changes while on a cross country trip and soon Therease and Carol must battle to keep their romance going despite the possible threat of Carol's husband and threats to keep her away from her daughter.

This is a thought-provoking novel about coming out and trying to maintain a relationship that runs askew of societal norms. Highsmith expertly tells the story from Therese's point of view, voicing her fears, opinions, thoughts so that as a reader, I felt as if I were taking part in the story. It's also good at giving the reader a glimpse into how homosexuality was treated during the 1950's. What I enjoyed most about this novel, though, is that the characters do not have the tragic ending common to gay/lesbian characters at the time; they have the possibility of continuing the relationship. A refreshing change to novels of the time.
Now recognized as a masterwork, the scandalous novel that anticipated Nabokov'sLolita.

"I have long had a theory that Nabokov knewThe Price of Saltand modeled the climactic cross-country car chase inLolitaon Therese and Carol's frenzied bid for freedom," writes Terry Castle inThe New Republicabout this novel, arguably Patricia Highsmith's finest, first published in 1952 under the pseudonym Clare Morgan. Soon to be a new film,The Price of Salttells the riveting story of Therese Belivet, a stage designer trapped in a department-store day job, whose salvation arrives one day in the form of Carol Aird, an alluring suburban housewife in the throes of a divorce. They fall in love and set out across the United States, pursued by a private investigator who eventually blackmails Carol into a choice between her daughter and her lover. With this reissue,The Price of Saltmay finally be recognized as a major twentieth-century American novel.
Rerations
< The Price of Salt > < Strangers on a Train > < Tipping the Velvet: A Novel > < The Well of Loneliness: A 1920s Classic of Lesbian Fiction > < A Suspension of Mercy > freaks

< The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant > < The Commitment : Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family > < Skipping Towards Gomorrah > < Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > < Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems > Dan Savage

price： 480
Plume(2000-06-05)
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customer 's review
(A Serious Comedy)

(My introduction to Dan Savage's mind...)

(This book is good...)

(Honest account)

(Made Me Weep)

Dan Savage wrote an amazing account of the good and bad times of becoming a two-same-sex parent family. As a single gay man who is researching his potential of becoming a single gay dad, I definitely learned something from Dan&his partner's story. Dan's accounts drew a picture of possibility for me in a very funny way. Thanks Dan. If I wasn't sure about having kids before reading your book, I certainly am sure now!
The book was totally amusing - I found myself having to stop reading in several places to laugh out loud.

Dan expressed so well the urge of all humans - gay and straight - to leave something of themselves behind in their children.

For us straight people, it was a nice introduction to the world of gay people. Explaining the lifestyle - and how very much the same we all are.

I'm very much looking forward to reading his other books now.
I love adoption stories and after hearing Dan Savage on "This American Life" talk about the impact of TV on his young son I wanted to read this book. "The Kid" reminded me of Clara: The Early Years: The Story of the Pug Who Ruled My Life, in which the author relates the tale of adopting her son from Russia (despite the title). Adoption stories are often as long, complicated, and painful as stories of recovery from addiction. There is always a beginning of tenuous hope, a middle riddled with nagging fear, and finally, an end of joyful success which is only the beginning of a new life. Dan Savage writes with wonderful honesty and humor about an authenically scary life decision. His true talent as a writer shines forth in this book. It's a fun read and informative as well if you're planning to adopt.
This is such a cute, humorous and honest story; a very entertaining and easy read.
This is an incredibly honest recounting of how the author and his boyfriend adopted a child. It was fascinating to read about "open adoption", at the time of the book only legal in three states, Washington, Oregon and New Mexico. This system is where the birth mother is allowed to choose the adopting couple and continues to visit the child after giving birth. Worried that no young mother would choose a gay couple, they still go through with the grueling application and review process and are rewarded by being the first couple in their orientation group to be picked. The mother is truly a fascinatingly real character and Savage does a wonderful job portraying her. The scene at the hospital when they finally take the baby is heart wrenching and the author beautifully explains how experiencing the mother's grief completely validates the open adoption approach. This simple book encompasses so much about the human condition it becomes a spiritual beacon of tolerance and compassion.
Dan Savage's nationally syndicated sex advice column, "Savage Love," enrages and excites more than four million people each week. InThe Kid, Savage tells a no-holds-barred, high-energy story of an ordinary American couple who wants to have a baby. Except that in this case the couple happens to be Dan and his boyfriend. That fact, in the face of a society enormously uneasy with gay adoption, makes for an edgy, entertaining, and illuminating read. When Dan and his boyfriend are finally presented with an infant badly in need of parenting, they find themselves caught up in a drama that extends well beyond the confines of their immediate world. A story about confronting homophobia, falling in love, getting older, and getting a little bit smarter,The Kidis a book about the very human desire to have a family.

"A disarmingly frank, wickedly funny account of an ultimately successful quest to adopt a baby." --People

"Very funny . . . Compelling and moving." --Newsday
Best known for his syndicated sexual advice column, "Savage Love," Dan Savage shares his own story inThe Kid, a hilarious account of his efforts--along with his partner--to adopt a child. (Whoops, make that his boyfriend; Savage can't stand the "genderless" P-word: "Straight people and press organs that want to acknowledge gay relationships while at the same time pushing the two-penises stuff as far out of their minds as possible love 'partner.' I hated it.") Savage doesn't give an inch on the sexuality issue; it's hard to imagine that a homophobic reader would even pick upThe Kid, but if it happened, Savage's unapologetic presentation of his life would quickly scare that reader off. Which isn't to say that he paints a rosy picture of homosexual cohabitation: the very first scene finds Dan's boyfriend, Terry, locking himself in the bathroom after a fight over the music on the car stereo. The misadventures continue through each step of the open-adoption process, in which Dan and Terry get to know their baby's birth mother, and the first few weeks of parenthood.The Kidis a wonderful, charming account of real "family values" that proves love knows no limits.
Rerations
< The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant > < The Commitment : Love, Sex, Marriage, and My Family > < Skipping Towards Gomorrah > < Savage Love: Straight Answers from America's Most Popular Sex Columnist > < When You Are Engulfed in Flames > freaks

< The Angel Singers: A Dick Hardesty Mystery > < His Name Is John > < Death of a Pirate King > < First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery > < Murder Most Gay > < Schooled in Murder: A Tom and Scott Mystery (Tom&Scott Mysteries) > Dorien Grey

price： 480
Zumaya Publications, LLC(2008-08-28)
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customer 's review
(The Angel Singers)

(Dorien is "on song" with this one)

(Antoher Awesome Book)

(The Angel Singers)

An admission: I'm prejudiced. Yes, I've read the other 11 volumes in the Dick Hardesty series, several times. Therefore, my expectations for the 12th were high. And my expectations were more than fulfilled in this well-written addition to the series..

The story line is complex - the murder of a member of a gay men's chorus that Jonathan has joined. Does the murder involve the chorus or is it just a coincidence that the victim is one of the singers? We read on to see how Dick solves the mystery, following various alternatives to the solution, to the final conclusion. We delight in the process as Dick questions himself, trying to separate his emotions from the evidence, and trying to resolve sub-plots that develop during his investigation.

The main reason I enjoy the Dick Hardesty series is the development of the characters: the continued growth of Dick as an individual and in his relationship with both Jonathan and as a parent of Joshua, the maturation of Jonathan as a complete character apart from Dick, and the presentation of Joshua as a true typical five year old.

Lastly, I want to comment as a member of a gay men's chorus. Not only has Dorien gotten his facts correct as to the organization of a chorus, and putting on a concert. He expertly relates the emotional values within a chorus - the relationships between the singers, the feeling of family, the love of music..

I recommend not just The Angel Singers, but the entire Dick Hardesty series.

This is the twelfth, and most explosive, Dick Hardesty story.

In some ways I was quite relieved when Grant died. He was, to put no finer point on it, a bastard. And he isn't the only bastard to meet his end during the unwinding of this complex tale.

It's difficult to talk about the gripping main mystery plot without spoiling it for the reader. Suffice to say, Dick's loved ones are put in grave peril because of it. His investigations also bring him back in contact with the delightful Iris and Arnold Glick. Alas we saw little of his friends, Jared, Jake, Phil and Tim.

Dick's personal life continues to enthral. Joshua is a delight. He's a typical five-year-old kid. By which I mean, he's moody, melodramatic and messy, but still loveable. Grey does an awesome job in writing about life with a pre-schooler.

Jonathan. What can I say about this guy that I've not said before? He has grown from the innocent and naïve man who first appeared in Dick's life several stories back. His increased maturity is natural and believable. However, there still remains an essence of trustfulness and a willingness to try to find good in everyone he meets. The closing of the story had me blinking away tears at just how true this last statement is.

Once again, Dorien Grey writes a winner! This book adds another layer to the ongoing story of Dick, Jonathon, and Joshua. I love how the characters aren't perfect. They handle things like everyone else. Dick and Jonathon have real struggles and Joshua is a typical 5 year old. The mystery is great, and kept me going back an forth on who I thought it was. If you haven't read any of Grey's books this one is a treat and you will want to go back and read more.

Laurie
Knowing that the new Dick Hardesty book was due, I recently re-read the
first eleven books in the series. Today I finished book twelve "The
Angel Singers". Like a good wine Dorien Grey only improves with age (of
course I have no idea of his real age) but he continues to make me feel that Dick, Jonathan and Joshua are members of my extended family. I
only hope that he continues with the series as well as continuing with
more books after "His Name Is John"

Grant Jefferson joins the Gay Men's Chorus as a protege of its biggest supporter, and begins causing more dischord than harmony. Determined he's going to Broadway, Grant sees the chorus as the means to his end, and doesn't care much how many of the other members he uses as his stepping stones--or how hard they get stepped on.

So, when a car bomb ends Grant's recitative, there is no shortage of possible suspects, and when the chorus's board of directors hires Dick Hardesty to see what he can find out about the murder he ends up in a case as complicated as a madrigal.

Rerations
< The Angel Singers: A Dick Hardesty Mystery > < His Name Is John > < Death of a Pirate King > < First You Fall: A Kevin Connor Mystery > < Murder Most Gay > freaks

< The Cost of Eternity > < Male of the Species > < Without Reservations > < The Broken H > < My Fair Captain > < Bite > Shayla Kersten

price： 999
Ellora's Cave
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customer 's review
(Loved it!)

(Shayla the Great)

(Romantic, erotic and gripping.)

(The Cost of Eternity by Shayla Kersten)

(Five Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies!)

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting! I've also read other E-books by this author (Thirty Days etc) and enjoyed them so much I can honestly say I'll buy everything this author writes. Her stuff is GOOD!!!
This is my second review of this book. I wanted to write in and say that I absolutely loved this book. It was my first m/m book and I was not disappointed. Shayla has an eternal fan in me. The book is sexy, fast paced and a great read. It is also ideal for those who like vampire erotica and I have to admit looking at my reading history that I seem to be one! A great read, you will not regret buying this if this is your cup of tea.
I love "Thirty Days" and am glad to read more from this writer.
The Cost of Eternity is an emotionally charged vampire erotica, with a tightly paced plot. I like both men here. Unlike most vampire tales, the writer does not glorify the vampire character. Rather Lorcan seems quite ordinary in physique which actually makes this character credible and appealing. Kevin is endearing in his innocence and vulnerability and Lorcan's protectiveness over his younger human lover is most touching. I love the chemistry and strong bond between these 2 men. Their sex is hot but it is the emotional pull of the story which I enjoy.
This is the first of a series, as there are 2 books so far, but it is equally satisfying as a "stand alone".

The second book focuses on a different cast of characters with a more complex plot. As for the relationship it is "more than a menage a trois" which I do not favor as I question the romantic notion of a M/M/M/F (ugh...).
Lorcan and Kevin do feature in the second book, 2/3 through the story, and their short appearance certainly enliven the plot. I hope the writer will switch back to Lorcan and Kevin in future volumes.
Lorcan is a centuries old vampire who live in New York City. He is not an eager vampire, he almost has a simple and normal life. Only he lives by night and during the sex he drinks blood from his partners. But he only chooses [...] as sexual partner, cause he doesn't want the strings derivating from a love relationship. From the death of his last mate and love, a male, he has chosen to deny himself a male lover.

Then he meets Kevin. Kevin is a young man [...] himself to gain quick money. But his third john almost kill him, and so Lorcan take him at home and soon falls in love for him. But Kevin has his own segrets and maybe the fact that Lorcan is a vampire will not be their bigger problem.

I like the characters of Shayla Kersten; like in Thirty Days we have a lover more caring and protective of the other, but the feelings of love are mutual. What I like best is that Lorcan is not so special: he is a real person (apart the fact he is a vampire!!!) not so beautiful, not so overwhelming... very normal, but the love makes him invincible at the eyes of Kevin. He is his dark savior.

A really inusual vampire romance where you can find more sentiment and romanticism than paranormal element. A sweet Valentine's reading.
Vampire Lorcan MacKenna is so tired of having to hire his blood donors. Unwilling to obtain blood via scare tactics, Lorcan tries his best to make his blood suppliers enjoy giving their blood even though the encounters leave him cold. While he longs for something more, he knows to love someone is to lose him to mortality. It is after one such unemotional feeding that Lorcan comes across a man being accosted in an alley. Seeing the young man's face in the flickering darkness and feeling an instant attraction, Lorcan finds himself saving the hapless victim and taking him home.

Kevin St. James is a starving actor. Literally. Doing his best to make ends meet without asking for help, Kevin has resorted to servicing men for money. It is during one such encounter that Kevin's life is threatened and aid comes in the form of a stranger. When Kevin wakes up and realizes what has happened, he is at once scared and then secretly aroused by the emotions his rescuer brings forth in him.

Lorcan and Kevin explore their relationship and each other. There is just a bit of a problem; while Lorcan hasn't told Kevin he is a vampire, Kevin hasn't revealed something vital either. Will their relationship continue to thrive, or will the exposure of secrets and involvement of others tear them apart?

THE COST OF ETERNITY by new author Shayla Kersten was emphatically one heck of a book. Totally absorbed, I didn't put it down until I finished with it. I laughed, I cried, and I raged at the antagonists. I can't imagine having to make a decision like Kevin had to make. I loved him for his naiveté and I adored Lorcan for his loyalty.

While homoerotic love stories are not for everyone, I found myself forgetting that one small fact and concentrating on the plot. I was blown away by the emotions of the characters and the love they shared. THE COST OF ETERNITY is the second book I have read by Shayla Kersten and, all in all, it was a thoroughly gratifying read. I can't wait to see what else this wonderful new author releases!
***Natasha Smith for Romance Junkies***

For over two hundred years, the cost of eternity for Lorcan MacKenna has been unending loneliness. Territorial creatures of darkness, vampires can't peacefully exist near each other. Human companions age and die, leaving him to face the long nights alone. After the death of his last lover, Lorcan vows to avoid the pain of loss. Until a down-and-out actor finds himself in danger and Lorcan can't resist saving the young man. Kevin St. James never expected to find himself offering sex for money, especially not to men. A desperate need for quick cash, a dark alley, and things go terribly wrong. His dark rescuer brings out feelings hidden so deep, Kevin never realized they were there. Reveling in newfound sensations, Kevin welcomes his new lover. But just as Lorcan has a secret, so too does Kevin.
Rerations
< The Cost of Eternity > < Male of the Species > < Without Reservations > < The Broken H > < My Fair Captain > freaks

< Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights > < Becoming a Visible Man > < Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers (Issues of Our Time) > < Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic > < The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction > < White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son > Kenji Yoshino

price： 595
Random House(2006-01-17)

customer 's review
("Covering," a term used for the coerced hiding of crucial aspects of one's self--in his case his homosexuality)

(Not Much There)

(interesting read, somewhat inconclusive)

(This Poet Has Done It Well)

(Polemical, thought-provoking, personal)

There have been several struggles in civil rights in the USA. Women suffrage, African American civil rights, and finally the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Bisexual cause.

Yoshino, a law professor at Yale and a gay, Asian-American man, masterfully melds autobiography and legal scholarship in this book, marking a move from more traditional pleas for civil equality to a case for individual autonomy in identity politics. Seldom has a work of such careful intellectual rigor and fairness been so deeply touching.

In questioning the phenomenon of "covering," a term used for the coerced hiding of crucial aspects of one's self--in his case his homosexuality--Yoshino thrusts the reader into a battlefield of shifting gray areas. Yet, at every step, he anticipates the reader's questions and rebuttals, answering them not only with acute reasoning, but also with disarming humility.

What emerges is an eloquent, poetic protest against the hidden prejudices embedded in American civil rights legislation--legislation that tacitly apologizes for "immutable" human difference from the white, male, straight norm, rather than defending one's "right to say what one is." Though Yoshino recognizes the law's potential to further (and hinder) liberty's cause, he admits that his "education in law has been an education in its limitations." Hence, by way of his unsparing accounts of self-realization, he reveals that the struggle against oppression lies not solely in fighting an imagined, monolithic state but as much in intimate discourse with the mother, the father, and the colleague who constitute that state. It deals with the ability to "blend" with the society who is yet to give the GLBT community the rights and respect it deserves.

As healing as it is polemical, this book has tremendous potential as a touchstone in the struggle for universal human dignity.

No offense to Yoshino, but in truth, he doesn't make many actual points. This is a great book if you want to hear about his personal journey, but it's not very enlightening overall.
A mix of professional experience, glimpses of personal experience, poetic imagination and some interesting ideas for America's future. I am glad I've read it. The only regret is that the book doesn't lead to a powerful, clear vision for the country. The very interesting ideas from the introduction are just briefly repeated at the end. Maybe someone else will build upon this material? The book certainly encourages a discussion. Maybe that was the whole point?
The Publisher's Weekly review says it all, but I cannot let the opportunity pass to add my voice to those honoring this book. Yes, it's a simple concept, elaborated over 200 pages, but there is nothing monotonous about it. The academic monotony characteristic of similar monographs is thwarted through the simplest of means: the scholar-author is also a poet. He writes on the minutiae of civil rights law with the compression and unexpected image that make strong poetry memorable. I heard the author speak on the concept of Covering on the Maine Public Radio broadcast of the Chataqua Program. The discussion was interesting enough, but when he read the Epilogue, I immediately thought, "I have to have that in my Commonplace Book." As a politically active gay man and 15-year conductor of a gay men's chorus, I've often meditated on the meaning of cultural appropriation, assimilation, and accommodation and the resulting effect on actualization and abnegation of the individual. So, Kenji Yoshino's orderly discussion of coversion, passing, and covering is immediately attractive to me. But it is not my habit to read 'brainiac' books. I'm put off by the customary tone, talking down to me, especially when the subject of the discussion is, by inference, me and the people I know and love. This one is the exception. I feel like Yoshino and I have just spent a long evening, with a wide variety of friends, talking about something of immediate concern to all of us. And then there's that Epilogue. Talk is one thing, but how we live it out is usually quite another. And it's never simple. That's why it's best left to the hands of a poet, and this poet has done it well.
I recently heard Professor Yoshino speak here in Seattle on a day in celebration of Human Rights Day, and I can attest to his being a gifted speaker and possessing an extraordinary intellect.

However, with respect to the notion of "covering," a term I believe that he has coined in this book to illuminate a polemical topic that he wishes to place squarely into the fore of the larger map/discourse of civil rights in the U.S., I am perplexed that his notion of the "mainstream" apparently does not take into account more dimensions, e.g., the cultural anthropological/sociological.

From my own experience as a gay man AND as an Asian-American, I have found, largely to my dismay, that in either social group, there is, in fact, a "mainstream" that does, in fact, exert pressure to conform to its "majority" norms, behaviors...

And I would suppose that in any "society," whether it be in a nation-state such as Japan, or a social group such as African-Americans, that there do exist "mainstream" cultures that individuals within those groups do have to "contend with."

"Covering" as Yoshino has placed it has, by dint of his conceptual definition of it has overwhelmingly negative connotations, one which allows a "mainstream" body within a social group to exert pressures on individual members who do not conform, whether out of choice or due to individual disposition.

But sometimes what could be considered "covering" (by some people) is also a means of what one could consider "healthy assimilation" or a reasonable concession to the majority--without being in any way a "sell-out."

When and where such "concessions" become a sell-out, of course, is an open question. But even where "adaptation" in some behaviors to the "norm" of the mainstream does occur, it may simply entail "building bridges" and acknowledging the opinion of the majority rather than remaining in isolation from them.

(If, for example, I am a nudist, I can still choose to walk outside of my house WITH clothing on, if only in simple deference to the fact that the law and the majority of my fellow citizens deem it an offense or offensive or both).

This is not to deny the legitimacy of the claims of gay people to equal rights (to marriage, protection from discrimination in the job market, etc.) but to point out that "covering" might be understood in a more nuanced context. Covering, in all its different aspects, is not tantamount in all situations to being an "assault on civil rights."

Covering may simply describe the "interface" where the majority and a smaller grouping, at least in a particular situation, and where the minority accedes to the norms of the former--despite the negative overtones that the author is ascribing to it. In other cases, the reverse (majority accedes to the behaviors of the minority despite a clear divergence of opinion) could and, in fact, DOES happen in America.

In some instances, too, dysfunctional or inappropriate (vis-a-vis the majority) behavior by a minority is tolerated, condoned, or even lauded.

Discussions of loaded discussions of "diversity" or "covering" need to be evaluated within a context rather than be seen in a predetermined, black-or-white intellectual "matrix."

In other words, the major concern that I have with this book is that it too "obviously" has an agenda stamped on it.

The personal details disclosed nicely balance the analytical (legal) side of the discussion.

But in terms of overall appeal to both mind AND heart, a little less Paul Haggis (director/screenwriter of "Crash"). Taking a strong position on an issue, with corroborative evidence, is fine. Re-iterating that position--as a constant thread--throughout a long discussion may seem to some people evidence of "not dodging an issue." But considering all the different dimensions of that issue would provide, I believe, a more balanced, more cogent argument in favor of one's position.
In this remarkable and elegant work, acclaimed Yale Law School professor Kenji Yoshino fuses legal manifesto and poetic memoir to call for a redefinition of civil rights in our law and culture.

Everyone covers. To cover is to downplay a disfavored trait so as to blend into the mainstream. Because all of us possess stigmatized attributes, we all encounter pressure to cover in our daily lives. Given its pervasiveness, we may experience this pressure to be a simple fact of social life.
Against conventional understanding, Kenji Yoshino argues that the demand to cover can pose a hidden threat to our civil rights. Though we have come to some consensus against penalizing people for differences based on race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and disability, we still routinely deny equal treatment to people who refuse to downplay differences along these lines. Racial minorities are pressed to“act white” by changing their names, languages, or cultural practices. Women are told to “play like men” at work. Gays are asked not to engage in public displays of same-sex affection. The devout are instructed to minimize expressions of faith, and individuals with disabilities are urged toconceal the paraphernalia that permit them to function. In a wide-ranging analysis, Yoshino demonstrates that American civil rights law has generally ignored the threat posed by these covering demands. With passion and rigor, he shows that the work of civil rights will not be complete until it attends to the harms of coerced conformity.
At the same time, Yoshino is responsive to the American exasperation with identity politics, which often seems like an endless parade of groups asking for state and social solicitude. He observes that the ubiquity of the covering demand provides an opportunity to lift civil rights into a higher, more universal register. Since we all experience the covering demand, we can all make common cause around a new civil rights paradigm based on our desire for authenticity–a desire that brings us together rather than driving us apart.
Yoshino’s argument draws deeply on his personal experiences as a gay Asian American. He follows the Romantics in his belief that if a human life is described with enough particularity, the universal will speak through it. The result is a work that combines one of the most moving memoirs written in yearswith a landmark manifesto on the civil rights of the future.

“This brilliantly argued and engaging book does two things at once, and it does them both astonishingly well. First, it's a finely grained memoir of young man’s struggles to come to terms with his sexuality, and second, it's a powerful argument for a whole new way of thinking about civil rightsand how our society deals with difference. This book challenges us all to confront our own unacknowledged biases, and it demands that we take seriously the idea that there are many different ways to be human. Kenji Yoshino is the face and the voice of the new civil rights.” -Barbara Ehrenreich, author ofNickel and Dimed

“Kenji Yoshino has not only given us an important, compelling new way to understand civil rights law, a major accomplishment in itself, but with great bravery and honesty, he has forged his argument from the cauldron of his own experience. In clear, lyrical prose,Coveringquite literally brings the law to life. The result is a book about our
public and private selves as convincing to the spirit as it is to the
mind.” -Adam Haslett, author ofYou Are Not A Stranger Here

“Kenji Yoshino's work is often moving and always clarifying.Coveringelaborates an original, arresting account of identity and authenticity in American culture.”
-Anthony Appiah, author ofThe Ethics of Identityand Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor Of Philosophy at Princeton University

“This stunning book introduces three faces of the remarkable Kenji Yoshino: a writer of poetic beauty; a soul of rare reflectivity and decency; and a brilliant lawyer and scholar, passionately committed to uncovering human rights. Like W.E.B. DuBois'sThe Souls of Black Folkand Betty Friedan'sThe Feminine Mystique, this book fearlessly blends gripping narrative with insightful analysis to further the cause of human emancipation. And like those classics, it should explode into America's consciousness.”
-Harold Hongju Koh Dean, Yale Law School and former Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights

“Coveringis a magnificent work - so eloquently and powerfully written I literally could not put it down. Sweeping in breadth, brilliantly argued, and filled with insight, humor, and erudition, it offers a fundamentally new perspective on civil rights and discrimination law. This extraordinary book is many things at once: an intensely moving personal memoir; a breathtaking historical and cultural synthesis of assimilation and American equality law; an explosive new paradigm for transcending the morass of identity politics; and in parts, pure poetry. No one interested in civil rights, sexuality, discrimination - or simply human flourishing - can afford to miss it.”
-Amy Chua, author ofWorld on Fire

“In this stunning, original book, Kenji Yoshino demonstrates that the struggle for gay rights is not only a struggle to liberate gays---it is a struggle to free all of us, straight and gay, male and female, white and black, from the pressures and temptations to cover vital aspects of ourselves anddeprive ourselves and others of our full humanity. Yoshino is both poet and lawyer, and by joining an exquisitely observed personal memoir with a historical analysis of civil rights, he shows why gay rights is so controversial at present,
why“covering” is the issue of contention, and why the “covering demand,” universal in application, is the civil rights issue of our time. This is a beautifully written, brilliant and hopeful book, offering a new understanding of what is at stake in our fight for
human rights.”
-Carol Gilligan, author ofIn a Different Voice
Rerations
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