Rechy, John

Average customer rating:

LOOKING FOR LOVE
A Night Without End
This novel reminds us all that Jesus is the only one who can fill the void!
A gay "classic" enhanced by an eerily prophetic ending set in New Orleans
FIGHT THE POWER!,

City of Night (Rechy, John)
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Numbers (Rechy, John)
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ASIN: 0802130836

Customer Reviews:

LOOKING FOR LOVE.......2007-05-09

Rechy, John. "City of Night", Grove Press Reprint, 1994

Looking for Love

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

John Rechy's "City of Night" is one of the classics of gay literature and I am amazed that reading it again now I find that it still mesmerizes as it did when I read it the first time in 1963 (I really am an old person it seems). When it was first published in '63 it was a national best seller and it caused uproar as well as ushered in a new age of gay literature. Rechy's account of the big city and its underworld of male prostitution sent waves through society. His unflinching view of "Youngman" (as his main character is called) and the world of hustling and drag queens and all kinds of men were shocking and honest. Our narrator traverses the United States and gives us an unforgettable picture of gay life. Written in the slang of the period, it is an authentic look at the world of twilight men with extreme clarity and realism minus self-pity and sentimentality. Rechy passionately tells the truth and in doing so liberated many who had up until this point lived in the shadows of a larger society.
When I first read this book I had to hide it for I was afraid that someone might discover y secret. By the time I finished it, I did not much care who knew about me--I felt liberated. Rechy's story of the world was one that I had always hoped existed but I was not man enough to go and look for it. By chance, I sat back yesterday and reread the book. For the second time, I could not stop reading and when I closed the covers I could not help think about how far we have come. I am sure that whoever read "City of Night" in the year of and the years after its publication finally felt that he had something to identify with. The novel has lost none of its power some thirty-four years after it was written. Rechy shows his love for his language in his writing and he wastes no words in telling his story. Even with the many metaphors ad poetic style, Rechy manages to clearly and honesty portray what gay life was like back "in the day".
I felt like I had been hit by a train as I read. I felt as if I was living the situations I was reading about and it fascinated me. Rechy shows great generosity for the human race as he tries to understand and then explain to the reader about those men that were (and still are in many cases) on the fringe of society--sexual minorities, hustlers, bums, drunks, drag queens, junkies. He gives an unforgettable portrait of the "love that dare not speak its name".
The vividness of gay life that Rechy paints was new to many people in the 60's and I was walking next to the author as he took me on a tour of it. "City of Night" is something more than just a gay novel; it is a look at a world within a world.
The main character is an embodiment of an everyman. He sees all, does everything and learns nothing from it, His behavior is arbitrary; he has no motivation ad he makes nothing happen--everything, instead, happens to him. His subculture is one of oppression ad internalized homophobia (didn't we once hate ourselves and lurk in the shadows of the night?).Rechy opened societal eyes and as much as we have changed, we really see that we haven't really changed that much. I know this sounds contradictory but this is the only way I can put this. On one hand, things appear better, on the other, things have not really changed that much. We, gay men, are still confused and still suffer from mental turmoil. Many of us are out but many still hide. We need to open our eyes and realize that if we really want change, we must become more aware of whom we are and accept that. We must never forget that we are human and we are important and we all want to be loved.
Rechy's story is sad but beautiful. Some of us still hate ourselves for being gay like "youngman". Many of us, like him, still live on the fringe of society and we all have one thing in common--the desire to be loved.

A Night Without End.......2006-05-01

Someone once remarked that great artists remake the same works over and over, likening them to musicians who play variations on the same riff.

John Rechy would fall into this category of literary artist.

Take his first novel, for instance: CITY OF NIGHT. After one has read this novel and gone on to Rechy's other works, one sees the same themes and concerns sounded again and again in almost the same register - the note of erotic desperation played in high lyricism and despair. Still, he's such a virtuoso with this instrument, and tells such a compelling story, one doesn't mind.

CITY OF NIGHT, as noted, is the book that got the ball rolling for Rechy. It's a stark, unsentimental portrait of a male hustler's sojourn through the underbellies of numerous big towns - NY, LA, Chicago, and New Orleans. The section in New Orleans, with its depictions of "floods" of people during Mardi Gras racing ahead of impending doom, is eerily prophetic of the recent fate of that great city.

Although the point of view is first person, Rechy also incorporates the voices of the men and women the protagonist encounters in his carnal odyssey - the fellow hustlers, the scores, the drag queens, the closet cases, etc. - and the song they sing is usually one of vast loneliness and unfulfilled desire.

This is a seminal work but not without flaws. At times Rechy's prose bows to the worst inclinations of creative writing class cliches - comparing buildings and trees to giants, for instance, and waxing more than a little purple at times. One wants to shout, "Please, sir, you ARE a good writer. No need to show off." Also, one cannot help but tire at times of the repetitiveness of the unnamed narrator's adventures, but that may be Rechy's point about this kind of life.

This novel reminds us all that Jesus is the only one who can fill the void!.......2005-12-23

Hello, Im antonio,and 25 years old. I read this novel...and was so shocked to see how everything from 'the life'(the terminology,the hurts,betrayal,etc) is still the same. Even though the book is over 40 years old! I could empathize with so much of the pain the main character went through. I've lived most of my life in the homosexual lifestyle. Its a fast lane to nowhere. If God has been pulling at your heart, surrender now. Granted, 'the life' is fun otherwise many of us would not have stayed in it for so long...you experience laughter,have fun cruising for men,have a 'feeling' of freedom although its all bondage. But yet theres that festering,oozing void, that only Jesus can feel. Young brothers,especially who are reading this review, I encourage you to surrender now to Gods will. Surrender hurts like hell, but its worth it. Our loving Heavenly Father tells us to suffer for righteousness sake. Yes I know it hurts, but so is the mental anguish in catching an std, or being tormented with suicidal thoughts, or putting your life in danger by approaching men who may be potential 'gaybbashers'. We've been suffering all our life and Jesus knows that. But God wants us to go through hard times for our growth and not for detriment. Am I saying that all gay men do these things? NO! Im only speaking from my experience and the experience of so many others. Whether you are heavily indulged in the life or not, it doesnt matter. Give Jesus your heart. 'The life' is nothing but a plan of the enemy to emasculate you day by day, its a cancer that will eat you until you are gone. For the love of God, surrender now. Though this book is written for the enjoyment for gay men, I see it as a powerful witnessing tool, and as another testament to the fact that 'the life' is full of unfulfilled promise. Anybody that would like to discuss 'city of night' and/or how God has touched your life is welcomed to email me. Again my name is antonio and my email is: tonioincolumbus@yahoo.com Jesus loves you. Check out regenbooks.com or witnessfortheworld.org for information on coming out of 'the life'.
(And for all of you who may condone the homosexual lifestyle,dont knock me...im just exercising the same right of free speech as you have.)

A gay "classic" enhanced by an eerily prophetic ending set in New Orleans.......2005-09-21

It's easy to see why this book caused such a sensation when it was published in 1963. It's not because of the sexual descriptions, which are neither remotely erotic nor all that graphic--even for the early 1960s. Nor is it because of the Beat-genre prose and the in-your-face nihilism. Instead, "City of Night" brought to the light of day the darkest corners of the "gay underworld" (and, yes, Rechy uses the term "gay" here), and the book does it in a way that highlights the insecurities and the pretenses, the profligacy and the humanity of even the most jaded hustlers, "scores," and "queens" who fervently frequent the bars and speakeasies in metropolitan America.

The unnamed narrator has fled his hometown of New Orleans, initially for New York, and he finds himself both bored of the "respectable" jobs he manages to find and intrigued by the easy money (not to mention the ready drugs, the nervous thrill, and the artificial freedom) that comes from being a male prostitute. Like many of his associates, the narrator tries to convince himself that he is only "gay for pay"--that his activities are no more than a job and that in the real world he would sleep with women. But gradually he realizes that this conviction, for him and for most of the others, is little more than a pose. Among the book's many themes is the tension between the futility of the closet and its ultimate necessity (let's not forget that, in much of the country, it was illegal for two men to dance together or to wear women's clothing).

Each chapter scrutinizes the bar scene and focuses on a different type (sometimes bordering on stereotype), from the flamboyant drag queen to the aging hustler to the married man to the older women whose guilt over a long-kept secret motivates her to tend to street boys. There are passages and scenes that will, of course, seem dated (or--to use a less loaded term--of historical interest), but many of the characters are, forty years later, hilariously and scarily recognizable.

Finally--for reasons Rechy could not have fathomed--the most disconcerting section of the book is the last one, which is set in New Orleans. The eeriness of finishing this book at a time like this (early September 2005) is that certain passages take on a prophetic tone. The environs around the French quarter are "merely the remnants of what may have been; a city scarred by memories of an elegance and gentility which may have never existed. A ghost city." And later: "An almost Biblical feeling of Doom--of the city about to be destroyed, razed, toppled--assaults you." The narrator's love-hate relationship with the Big Easy--with its celebratory abandon and its remorseful gloom--instills the novel's finale with an intensity both haunting and unforgettable.

FIGHT THE POWER!, .......2005-04-21

John Rechy's book, City of Night, was published in 1962 just before the Supreme Court opened up the floodgate to the publishers of cheap porn in 1965. He will most likely be remembered as a gay male writer who was a brutal and lyrical recorder of the sexual underworld in pre-Stonewall times. It must be difficult for anyone who didn't live through those times to grasp how heavily the threat of censorship hung over America's authors and publishers.

He describes this world with brusque frankness. There is an easy understanding of who and what his characters are; they are presented without sentimentality or self-pity. At the beginning he writes about being a shy child who read a lot and sat by the hall window and looked out to see the world. We hear about the death of his dog and about the suffocating attention of his overly affectionate mother

Rechy uses the window theme and carries it throughout the book. He's letting us look into and onto the dark underworld of the City of Night . . . wherever that may occur. He's also into looking into mirrors as he looks at himself and at what his narrator has become.

I liked the very believable flip dialogue of the drag queens and the hustlers . . . the text was almost like it was recorded.

His narrator takes us on a journey through a world of forbidden love. Here, sex is a job, not an identity. This masculine hustler moves from city to city, searching for business and a sense of self-worth and love. While he actively avoids the lives and world of the self-admitted and well-adjusted gay men he encounters, he pursues the outcasts, the maladjusted and self-loathing instead.

Rechy's representations of gay life are often bleak and the lives of this extraordinary collection of characters are filled with drugs and liquor. There are two types of chapters in this novel: there are accounts of the narrator's wanderings and character sketches of the people he meets as a hustler. Each sketch builds an understandable person for the reader. I've been on the fringes of this culture a few times and didn't like it at all, but believe me they seem very real. Each narrative chapter pulls the reader away and moves them onward.

Rechy was brought up as a devout Catholic. His book is full of symbolism . . .especially of angels in the form of beautiful young men.

Well, surprise, a lot of this world still exists. The people of the night haven't changed all that much since John Rechy wrote his eye-opening novel 40-some years ago. Anonymous sex, hustlers, dirty bookstore sex, cruising, rough trade, druggies, dealers, hustlers, bartenders, cops and robbers still abound. There are still sexy boys from the country who will soon be dead from HIV/AIDS . . . or something else like in the old days . . . an overdose, a knife fight, or a car crash. Not much has changed. This is a compelling early account of "the life" that I believe gays and non-gay people will enjoy; the book still has a fun, underground feel to it. It's still a very cool book, kind of like "On the Road." But decide for yourself. Pick up a copy! (...)

Average customer rating:

A Serious Book, But Always Enjoyable
Rechy's most accompolished novel; why is this out of print?

Bodies and Souls
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802138462

Book Description

In Bodies and Souls, Rechy paints a portrait of modern Los Angeles, "the most spiritual and physical of cities," where we meet characters like Amber, a porn superstar; Manny Gomez, a Chicano caught up in the punk-rock scene; and Dave Clinton, an aging male stripper. Epic in scope and vision, Bodies and Souls is classic Rechy.

Customer Reviews:

A Serious Book, But Always Enjoyable.......2004-03-04

Anyone who wants to learn about Los Angeles should read this novel. Inventively narrated, with alternating chapters that follow the lives of three drifters, "Bodies and Souls" features a broad range of characters that for the most part can only be found in LA. Many of the chapters can be read as standalone short stories. Some are hilarious, others quite poignant; all are beautifully written. The great mystery of the book is trying to figure out why one of the main characters is obsessed with a preacher woman and what he is planning. As the story progresses, and as more characters are introduced, the reader will wonder how the author will tie the various threads of his narrative together. That Rechy manages to link this cross-section of lives is testament to his abilities as one of this country's greatest living writers.

Rechy's most accompolished novel; why is this out of print?.......1998-06-10

As per the above statement this book is emotionally devastating at times. Clearly the author's most focussed and encompassing novel, summing up most of the themes of his other novels.

Average customer rating:

A Less Interesting Re-Statement of City of Night
THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL
Gross and disgusting
an other good book John Rechy
Pathological Cruising

Numbers (Rechy, John)
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0802151981

Customer Reviews:

A Less Interesting Re-Statement of City of Night.......2005-02-17

John Rechy's 1963 CITY OF NIGHT was a shocker in its day, an episodic collage of metro-area male prostitution, sex, and self-destruction written in a style that echoed Jack Kerouac's beat literature. Although dated by slang, changing mores, and the AIDS epidemic, it still bears reading today as a portrait of gay street life in the pre-Stonewall era. NUMBERS, Rechy's second novel, is quite another matter.

NUMBERS is essentially CITY OF NIGHT repeated, but without the "shock of the new," with less style, and with considerably less interest. The extremely episodic story concerns Johnny Rio, a Los Angeles street hustler who several years earlier overdosed on the lifestyle and escaped to a solitary life in Arizona; now he's back "for just ten days" and, not unexpectedly, finds himself drawn back into the malestrom.

There's nothing here that Rechy hasn't said elsewhere and often quite a bit better, and NUMBERS feels much less a novel than a series of strung-together sexual fantasies lacking significant point. In this instance, the result is less interesting than annoying; readers interested in Rechy's work should pick up a copy of CITY OF NIGHT, his first and finest work, instead.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL.......2004-07-14

... Sheer Genius ... Sacred Text ... A Masterpiece of Modern American Literature ... A Book That Changed My Life ... My Favorite Novel .... My Favorite John Rechy Novel...

All this describes how I feel about *Numbers* -- but nothing I could type in this space would come close to fully expressing my profound love for this phenomenal work and its talented author.

While I am sympathetic to some of the confusion and frustration expressed by reviewers who have found only darkness and despair in its pages, I am more horrified by the lack of attention paid to the themes of liberation that resound throughout this story. For me, *Numbers* will always be beautiful and timeless. A tale of wonder filled with ageless glamour and promise.

In case you're wondering if my perspective comes from sharing in a particular "generational" or "environmental" link with Rechy himself, no, it does not. I was far from being born at the time the novel was written, and I have never (and in fact never could have) experienced or participated in many of its rituals.

However, *Numbers* is about much more than a series of sexual acts. It is the quintessential American journey of identity and one that is gloriously and unabashedly capable of contextualizing the experience of self-discovery with a sense of human vitality and spirit that acknowledges sexuality. This achievement alone puts *Numbers* above not only its contemporary works, but on a level that continues to evade many writers today.

Read *Numbers* not as a description of "days gone by," or a depiction of specific things you cannot do or would find harmful, but as a story filled with hope, possibility, and the power of finding yourself. Should you follow Johnny Rio's example or replicate his experience? Not if you think that means committing sexual suicide. *Numbers* may delve into themes of darkness and death, but it needn't be seen as a necessarily "fatalistic" novel.

Why not be inspired by Johnny Rio's bravery instead of disgusted by his recklessness? Follow him not by mistaking exploration for degradation, but in seeking (as he does) to learn ways in which you are deceiving yourself or playing needless games with others. Anyone can do that if, like Johnny Rio, they can ultimately commit themselves to the act of personal discovery -- in whatever form it may take.

Gross and disgusting.......2004-06-18

When I came out to my family an older family friend of my mother, who is gay, told me to read this book because he said it was his favorite. I eventually got around to it and I couldn't finish it because it was full of people acting like pigs in their sex lives. I looked at the date and it is a very old book, written before AIDS - way before AIDS. No one seems to treat each other like humans. Everyon is just out to be a player. This left me with a weird feeling and I felt sorry for my mom's friend. Guess what? He never had a lover and he is now in his fifties. It isn't hard to figure out why if this was his favorite book.

an other good book John Rechy.......2002-06-28

a must have for the John Rechy fan. it may take others a little to get in to the book but man once you do get in to it you are hooked.

Pathological Cruising.......2000-12-06

I've recently re-read this book and it's a great story of pathological cruising for gay sex. It's a short, intense look at the gay world pre-AIDS and some of the problems that gay men faced at that time. It's not as good as "City of Night" but it's worth a read especially if you are gay.

Mysteries and Desire: Searching the Worlds of John Rechy

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An Esstential Companion Piece!
A Magic Multimedia Tour

Mysteries and Desire: Searching the Worlds of John Rechy
The Labyrinth Project , and John Rechy
Manufacturer: USC Annenberg Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM

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ASIN: 0967412722

Book Description

Challenging the borders between autobiography, memory, history and fiction, this interactive memoir presents a diverse array of personal materials by and about John Rechy and sets them against larger collective histories of Chicano culture and the gay world. Drawing passages from all of Rechy's published novels, it also mines the outrageous fictions that circulate around this fascinating literary figure who, as a gay icon, a Chicano writer from Texas, a dedicated bodybuilder, a gifted teacher of creative writing, and a recent recipient of the PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award, has long been a subject of notoriety and fantasy. Combining original artwork, video, archival documents, and recorded interviews and commentaries, it lets you move through three interrelated realms—Memories, Bodies, and Cruising—each with its own daring repertoire of interfaces. </p>

Customer Reviews:

An Esstential Companion Piece!.......2004-02-27

Already own all 13 of Rechy's books? ... Got a copy of *Numbers* from a friend once, but never read anything else? ... Only know *City of Night* because it's on that list of "modern classics" you should have read? ... Well, no matter what your level of exposure to Rechy's brilliance, if he's an author you long to learn more about, this CD-ROM can help. Filled with fascinating images from his personal archives, it also contains multimedia pieces which dramatize and synthesize the themes of Memories, Bodies, and Cruising. One feature sure to please Rechy fans who haven't had the chance to meet him, is the use of the author's voice for narrative pieces and book excerpts.

Nonetheless, if you're looking for a definitive bibliography, or expecting a project resembling a flashy "book report" on Rechy, this CD-ROM is not the place to start. (For that sort of treatment, go to the library and/or search the Web). This CD-ROM will not familiarize you with all his writings, or give you biographical trivia, in the traditional sense -- but it does illuminate the style and substance of his work, and reveal aspects of his life, in new ways.

As to the CD-ROM itself: I would have preferred more detailed installation and navigation instructions -- but didn't have any great difficulty getting the various components up and running. Overall content seemed rather sparse once I started exploring it, and I kept wanting more detail and depth -- but that's to be expected. After all, there's only so much space on any CD-ROM, and no amount could be "enough" or "too much" when reveling in the beauty, passion, and glory of a work.

A Magic Multimedia Tour.......2000-11-28

As many times as I have explored this amazing multimedia CD-ROM, I constantly find something new to appreciate. A photograph in a collage that links to an artifact with the voice of John Rechy revealing new meaning...a path through a thicket of trees that reveals the author standing shirtless above his beloved city.... Mysteries and Desire is a masterful, extraordinary work whose technique rises to the level of its subject. Anyone interested in John Rechy, literature, digital content or new media should not miss this experience.

Average customer rating:

Rechy's mosting disappointing and retch inducing novel
Compelling, Dark, Haunting - A True Perspective of Gay 1981
C...-ola...
Best gay read for a long time
Haunting, beautifully written

The Coming of the Night (Rechy, John)
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0802137423

Book Description

John Rechy's new novel is a return to the themes and scenes of his classic, best-selling City of Night and a bittersweet memorial to a lost world -- gay Los Angeles in the moment before AIDS. It is 1981, a summer night, and an unscripted ritual is about to take place. Young, beautiful Jesse is celebrating one year on the dazzling gay scene and plans to lose himself completely in its transient pleasures. He is joined by Dave, a leatherman bent on testing limits. A young hustler, an opera lover lost in fantasies of youth, a gang of teenagers looking for trouble -- as the Santa Ana winds breathe fire down the hills of Los Angeles, stirring up desires and violence, these men circle ever closer to a confrontation as devastating as it is inevitable. Lyrical, humorous, and compassionate Coming of the Night proves again that as a novelist and chronicler of gay life John Rechy has no equal. "The question Rechy asks is still potent: Would you die for sex? Rechy's sizzling literary response Coming of Night is as exciting as it is chilling." -- Pamela Warrick, Los Angeles Times; "[Rechy] very nearly touches greatness . . . feeling his way toward that place within each of us where the ecstatic teeters on the edge of psychic abyss. . . . A substantial artist." -- Frank Browning, Salon.

Customer Reviews:

Rechy's mosting disappointing and retch inducing novel.......2006-03-21

Open this book to any page and you'll be bombarded with one graphic, gratuitous, poorly written, laugh out loud sex scene after another (Oh yeah baby give it to me, that's it like that . . . seriously that's how inane the dialogue is). Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Rechy's and some of his work is downright brilliant. I loved City of Night, This Day's Death, The Fourth Angel and especially Bodies and Souls. However, The Coming of the Night is a thinly vieled excuse for straight up porn.

I went into the novel excited, thinking Rechy would have something profound to express about gay life before "the coming of the night", a metaphor for the AIDS epidemic. Instead I was bombarded with episodic sexcapades of several loosely connected one dimensional characters. The sections involving Clint, haunted by and trying to escape from the mysterious "cancer" killing off his friends in New York; Orville, a handsome gay black male trying to get by in the predominantly white gay community and Thomas, a lonely single "old queen" who just wants to be loved were the only compelling and interesting characters to me. As an ardent supporter of AIDS awareness and a gay black male getting up there in age, these characters could have really got a message across. Instead they, and the rest of the novel, are squandered away under the weight of the grossly explicit sex scenes that appear on EVERY page.

Other characters were pointless. Za-Za LaGrand's sections (a thinly veiled reference to porn director Chi Chi LaRue) were utterly pointless and did nothing to further the plot along. Dave, the sado-masochist leather biker man and Ernie, the body builder with endowment issues were one dimensional characters I could care less about and Buzz, Boo and Fredo, the homophobe gay bashing punks were predictable and boring.

It's sad that this novel is so bad because it really had a lot of potential to get across some extremely powerful messages. Instead of focusing on the characters, fleshing them out so I could care for them, Rechy gets too wrapped up in the sex scenes, the majority of which are poorly written with some of the worst dirty talk dialogue I have ever read. Read this only if you've read every Jackie Collins novel and long for a dirtier gay version of what she does. Rechy must have wrote this for the money because it really stinks. PU.

Compelling, Dark, Haunting - A True Perspective of Gay 1981.......2003-06-24

Wow! This is one of the better books that I have picked up in quite some time. Becoming an adult in the mid 80's, immediately after the AIDS epidemic changed the way we live, it was quite obvious that things would never be the same as they had been. This book is a brilliant representation of perspective and fate -showing how in the course of a day, unconnected lives can interface and brief moments and decisions can alter one's future forever. This book touches on a myriad of personalities and help give the reader insight to behaviors that are fueled by insecurity, vanity, empowerment, domination, loneliness, anger, etc. It was raw, dark and clearly descriptive of urban gay life prior to the mid 80's. Despite its graphic and poignant sexual content, ANY reader will have to appreciate the way the author constructs and implements this story with seamless transitions and expertly developed characters. Keep an open mind and you will see a master author at his finest.

C...-ola..........2003-04-07

Ok what was the point of this book? It was nothing more than a study of oversexed, kinky, S&M-obsessed perverts throughout the course of a windy day in Los Angeles. Rechy's overused symbol of the "Sant'Anas" was eventually annoying and his pervasive sexual language and scenarios had no artistic merit whatsoever and no purpose other than thoroughly grossing out this (gay) reader. Save your time and read a true gay masterpiece- "Dancer From the Dance"- instead. I regret picking this one up.

Best gay read for a long time.......2002-12-03

John Rechy has written a superb novel full of memorable characters. The cross section of the gay community is strong and believable as are the other characters. A novel of people indulging on the brink of an unknown disaster at the time makes for a significant and perhaps historical account of gay life before the AIDS epidemic. As usual strong writing, great sex and a dash of humour. A must for any gay bookshelf.

Haunting, beautifully written.......2001-03-02

I read this novel in one sitting, into the night. The way the novel is structured, it keeps you moving from one character to another, reticent to leave one, and then eager to meet the next one. It is almost orchestrated in its form, and in the rhythms of the language--a different style for each of the dozen or so characters. The honesty in the novel might make some people flinch, but that is only an indication of how unsparing and truthful it is, capturing the excitement of a past time, as well as the unforeseen dangers. Rechy is especially effective in his recording of the so-called S&M scene--obviously he has known it and now explores it with brutal candor, as it is. Beyond its subject, the novel asserts why Rechy is today considered one of our foremost writers.

Average customer rating:

Superb
The Perfect Compliment

Beneath the Skin: The Collected Essays
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786714050

Book Description

When John Rechy broke out in 1963 as the bestselling author of City of Night, his novel about the underworld of gay male prostitution, he became a source for provocative commentary on sex, homosexuality, and culturally transgressive literature for publications as varied as the New York Times, The Nation, the Advocate, and Forum. Beneath the Skin collects more than four decades of the author's outspoken essays—many never before reprinted and almost none ever appearing previously in book form. Rechy holds forth on topics ranging from the birth of the sexual liberation movement, the rise of Anita Bryant, and the emergence of AIDS to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and last year's repeal of sodomy laws. Beneath the Skin also includes pieces on gay and lesbian authors such as Gore Vidal, Jack Kerouac, Christopher Isherwood, Carson McCullers, and Elizabeth Bowen, and non-gay figures like Philip Roth, William T. Vollman, and Joyce Carol Oates, as well as essays on Madonna, Tom Cruise, Eminem, Liberace, Marilyn Monroe, and the gay silent film star Ramon Novarro.

Customer Reviews:

Superb.......2005-06-15

This is a terrific collection of essays that offer tremendous insights into a wide range of topics, all of which are analyzed and evaluated in masterful prose, full of wit and sagacity. Subjects include Tom Cruise, Marilyn Monroe, Liberace, homophobia, 9/11, Gore Vidal, Joyce Carol Oates, racism, literary critics, William Friedkin, and Paul Schrader. One can't help walk away from this book feeling great admiration for Rechy's studied convictions, his honesty, and his immense talents as a writer, social historian, and activist.

The Perfect Compliment.......2005-03-17

Regardless of your familiarity with John Rechy, you need to read this book. It provides a level of insight into Rechy's work that fans and critics alike deserve to consider. The collection includes a broad range of materials and each piece features a candid postscript from Rechy himself.

For any of you still naive enough to imagine that Rechy's levels of intellect, style, wit, and charm are somehow so minor they suit only a single genre or historical period, this book provides ample evidence to the contrary. These essays are proof positive that he is now as he has always been -- a passionate and profound writer whose talents are boundless.

If, like me, you find Rechy a constant source of inspiration, then this volume is a delight. Locating copies of Rechy's essays, (especially those from 1958-1980) can be quite a task, even for an experienced researcher. This collection simplifies the efforts needed to generate a fuller picture of his life and career. *Beneath the Skin* will enhance not only your library, but also your appreciation for one of America's greatest writers.

The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Hauntingly Powerful

The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez: A Novel
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Arcade Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

...y no se lo tragó la tierra / ...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him
Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories
Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature
Woodcuts of Women: Stories
The Moths and Other Stories

ASIN: 1559701153

Book Description

In The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez, Amalia Gomez thinks she sees a large silver cross in the sky. A miraculous sign, perhaps, but one the down-to-earth Amalia does not trust. Through Amalia, we take a vivid and moving tour of the "other Hollywood," populated by working-class Mexican Americans, as John Rechy blends tough realism with religious and cultural fables to take us into the life of a Chicano family in L.A. Epic in scope and vision, The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez is classic Rechy.

Customer Reviews:

Hauntingly Powerful.......2004-02-24

Gorgeous prose graces every page of this book! The ending is one of the truly all-time greats -- the work of a master at his peak. The story will appeal to anyone who has ever wondered about the meaning of faith. Don't be put off by the book's small size -- this novel packs a punch, well after you've put it down!

Average customer rating:

Disappointing
A dark and engrossing look into the leather bar scene
Glory! Glory! Ahh Men!
A World Ago
The novel of depth

Rushes (Rechy, John)
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Bodies and Souls
City of Night (Rechy, John)
Numbers (Rechy, John)
The Coming of the Night (Rechy, John)
The Sexual Outlaw: A Documentary (Rechy, John)

ASIN: 0802134971

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2006-10-13

After seeing the reviews and reading so much about John Rechy's novels I feel that maybe I missed something that other readers 'got'. I found this novel to be confusing from the outset. He introduced too many characters and had them not only all talking to each other - but Rechy would also throw in tidbits of feelings and why this person felt the way he did. I found it difficult to keep track of who was talking to who! It seemed the entire book consisted mainly of these 4 people talking, talking. Too me the story didn't move anywhere. I finally started skimming the pages looking for something more that the unending conversation. Finally I read the last chapter in which the same characters were still conversing! Extremely disappointing and a time-waster!

A dark and engrossing look into the leather bar scene.......2005-04-03

"Rushes" tells the stoyr of one night spent at a seddy leather/uniform night club in an unspecified warehouse district along the waterfront. It's a dark place, filled with sexual odors, drugs, hidden faces and lusts, and dark corners wherre anything and everything could be happening. Four friends - Endore, Chas, Bill and Don - spend the evening trying to find the one person to go home with. Endore is a columnist who writes about the gay lifestyle and his belief that there is no such thing as love in the gay world; Chas views the rushes as his hunting grounds, where he is the ultimate prize; Bill wants to see how many men he can connect with but his pickiness sometimes cluds his own judgement of people; and Don is the oldest of the group, feeling his age everytime he invites himself to join his friends at the Rushes.

Each has his own insecurities which come out in full force on this particular evening. Sides are taken when a woman named Lyndy - a fashion designer - is grudginly allowed into their macho, all-male domain. Her appearance and her banter act as a catalyst between Chas and Endore, alternately setting them against on another or forcing them to join the same side. Later, a drag queen and her female companion cause a stir near the entrance to the Rushes which forces Endore to take a closer look at how gay men have been forced to find places where they can be themselves, and any intrusion into that world is angrily looked down upon. This novel also touches on ageism and the fear of the gay community with the character of Don - who feels that no one wants anything to do with him because he's slightly older; he remembers the days before clubowners put up signs such as "Under 35s Only" when everyone went out to have fun and to enjoy each others company. Sure, everyone had to keep their sexual preferences hidden for fear of the police, but nowadays, you had to creep around to avoid the violent, name-calling youths would would very easily bash in your head with fist or pipes.

To get the feel of spending the night with this group in the Rushes, author John Rechy tells the story in present time, allowing the reader to feel and to see what each character does as if he/she were with them. Also, the chapters jump from character to character, almost giving the reader a sense of the darkness, the confusion and the electric atmosphere of the place. A dark and engrossing look into the leather bar scene.

Glory! Glory! Ahh Men!.......2004-11-21

A novel of grandeur in style, structure, and substance. Theatrical, ritualistic, and elegant!

Filled with insight, rage, power, and beauty, _Rushes_ is a novel that deserves high praise, even among its brilliant predecessors. Rechy's other literary works deserve elevation to a class by themselves, and this novel is no exception. From the careful highlighting of a bar's most subtle nuances, to a sophisticated social critique that remains unmatched and unanswered even today, _Rushes_ exhibits a complexity and depth that allows it to remain both contemporary and classic.

Drenched in metaphor, symbolism, wit, and charm, _Rushes_ is a sensual, exotic delight of a novel. Even as the politics and passion may challenge you, the atmosphere will seduce you. Face your desires, fears, friends, and enemies. Breathe deep and indulge yourself. _Ruhes_ is a novel worthy of your consideration and admiration.

A World Ago.......2003-04-17

John Rechy has been around for years and written many novels relating to life on the fringe. In Rushes he creates a dark forbidding and harsh world that repelled and excited this reader at various times. The characters are slightly cliche and generally not very nice. It is still a good read charged with high sexual tension and what now could be regarded as a histoical account of life in the late 1970's.

The novel of depth.......1998-04-29

Late 70's.Four men.Gay sex bar;Rushes.John Rechy approachs them brutaly,cooly,but gently.Yes,gently than amyl.And Rechy will leave readers feel unsubstantial.

Average customer rating:

City of Night
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KPXVJ2

Average customer rating:

The Vampires
John Rechy
Manufacturer: Grove Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors:

Authors

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