Brian Lacey Wordwell £20.00   The subtitle of this well-produced book (purchased in Gay's the Word) is Homosexuality in Irish History.  It is a chronicle of nearly all the information one would wish for.  Some of it is pretty … [Read more...]

Boys In The City Paul Reitz Bruno Gmünder ISBN 978-3-86787-139-6   The Introduction (by Alek and Steph, alekandsteph.com) promises "uncompromising male beauty… from every corner of the world".  This male beauty is set in the … [Read more...]

SHARE YOUR STORY Gay and Lesbian Experiences of Church Edited by the Revd Mervyn Kingston Publisher[s]: Changing Attitude Ireland & Church of Ireland Chaplaincy, TCD (Trinity College, Dublin)   The various experiences of … [Read more...]

THREADS Jayne Threads © 2008   This wee book has 87 pages of text, and vii - meaning seven - of twiddly bits, Intro., Special Thanks, and Foreword by an Important Person I haven't heard of.  It is a series of small essays - short … [Read more...]

Simon Gage Lisa Richards Howard Wilmot Thunder's Mouth Press distributed by Publishing Group West ISBN 1-56025-377-0 This big chunky 'coffee table' book is authored by three Brits, and published in the US of A.  That's about as … [Read more...]

Charles Spencer Penguin ISBN 0 14 00.5155 4 This edition was published in the US in 1979.  The first publication (UK and US) was in '74.  The cover has an image derived from an illustration by a chap called Erté.  It is (probably) of a … [Read more...]

Jamie O'Neill ISBN 0-7432-0713-0 Scribner / Penguin This very long book (643 pages) is very readable.  Despite the title it is nothing like Flann O'Brien's At Swim Two Birds, the similarity in title is somewhat deceptive, it is a 'thing in … [Read more...]

THE YEAR OF ICE A Novel Brian Malloy St. Martin's Griffin ISBN 0-312-31369-1 (pbk) The year in question is 1978, in Minneapolis.  The central character is Kevin Doyle.  Kevin is an 'alpha male' in the fairly raucous pack culture of … [Read more...]

The Habit of Art Alan Bennett faber and faber £9.99 Reviewing a play-script when the drama is still playing is an odd procedure.  I will (I hope) review the performance shortly.  Alan Bennett's Introduction is quite amusing (and not … [Read more...]

The Rainbow Singer Simon Kerr Phoenix ISBN 0-75381-338-6 As a fictional history of a young psychopath this is a good novel.  Even if it is cluttered with a Jungian framework which becomes more and more obvious (and unbelievable) as the … [Read more...]