book data
206 ratings, 3.78 average rating, 26 reviews
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published
December 2nd 2003
by Vintage
binding
Paperback, 240 pages
setting
The United States
isbn
1400030374
(isbn13: 9781400030378)
description
A literary cause célèbre when first published more than fifty years ago, Gore Vidal’s now-classic The City and the Pillar stands...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 286)
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Read in July, 2008
When I first found about this book and read it's review in a newspaper I thought that I will never buy it and read it. It didn't matter how good was the writer, only due to it's subject I tagged it as a tabu book that I will never read it. After a period of time this book was announced to be published as a part of a collection from my favourite editor. I reconsider then my feelings toward it and decided that a book cannot change my way of viewing life and intimate relations. Then I bought it and...more
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Read in February, 2008
This book ruined Vidal’s carefully prepared political career, it brought him defamation and some tough words from the critics and the American readers because it is considered to be the first American novel to discuss openly the homosexuality. After its release, New York Times refused for many years to review any of his novels. I found the book ok, maybe I expected too much from it, but it was an interesting first meet anyway.
***
i-a ruinat minutios-pregatita cariera politica, i-a adus de...more
***
i-a ruinat minutios-pregatita cariera politica, i-a adus de...more
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Read in May, 2008
My first foray into Vidal's catalogue, I thought I'd start with what is considered by some as his groundbreaking work. It's a fascinating and well-paced look at WWII-era gay history and cultures. Interesting and engrossing characters, satisfyingly brief scenarios and encounters, modernist self-aware writing, slyly askant and skewering descriptions full of subtle humor and innocent intelligence. I was initially weary of diving into it fearing Vidal's erudition, but found myself enamoured with the...more
Read in October, 2007
let's see, what i learned from this book? um, fifth grade called, it wants its prompt back. more like, i wish i'd known about this novel in the fifth grade. and having grown up in LA, wow, i think the novel would have left quite an imprint. i mean, ultimately, the point of the story isn't to sell real estate in LA, but i'm just saying, the fact that a small chunk of the "action" occurs there would have brought it closer to home and possibly made it more believable (when i was twelve). ...more
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Read in November, 2005
Jim Willard, a good looking nice boy, felt that he had special relationship with his school friend, Bob Ford. In the weekend before Bob left town to become a sailor, he spent it with Jim at remote cabin near river. There, the boys played an innocent wrestling which somehow turned into a lust sex. Though, it’s more to a curiosity than a declaration of love. However, after this, Jim convinced that Bob and he were in love each other. As Bob seemed vanished as ghost, Jim went to underground gay wo...more
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Read in June, 2007
Maybe I'm being too rough on Vidal by comparing one of his earliest works to his better stuff, but this story was a bit too freshman for my liking. It seemed to be a thinly-veiled memoir in which the author made sure to get the point across that he was a young, gorgeous, painfully masculine stud who was worlds apart from those silly queens who fell at his feet. On the other hand, it's a pretty good historical representation of the coming of age of a young gay man in the late '40s, and though I f...more
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Read in January, 2008
I read bits of this book back in college but never finished it. It was definitely worth finishing. The novel traces the lonely life of Jim Willard, a young man from Virginia who falls passionately in love with his best friend Bob Ford in high school. After a brief sexual encounter, Bob leaves for sea, and Jim spends the rest of his life in various affairs with men and failed attempts at affairs with a couple of women. Ultimately, he keeps his vision of Bob alive. The novel comes full circle when...more
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recommends it for:
Everyone, but young men in particular
This is actually an extraordinary examination of the complexities of male sexuality (in love with other men but a dash of sex with women from time to time.) It was honest, and brutal at times. It also had a fantastic line where the main character is pointing out a female companion's demeanor as the source of his misery. "He saw that she was happy, and that he was not the cause. This made him miserable." Plainly written, and emotionally powerful is what this book is all about.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
everyone
a great novel; considering that it was written in the late 40s, it provides an amazing look at the attitude of society toward gay men both sixty years ago and is incredibly contemporary in its assessment of the relationship between homosexual and heterosexual men.
The main theme of The City and the Pillar is about the dangers of looking back to the past and idealizing it - thus, the reference to the City (Sodom) and the Pillar (of Salt).
The main theme of The City and the Pillar is about the dangers of looking back to the past and idealizing it - thus, the reference to the City (Sodom) and the Pillar (of Salt).
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This book was one of the first post-WW2 books to openly discuss homosexuality. That, coupled with the status of it's author make it an important historical document. But, really, it's not very good. I didn't like the writing style, the settings are glamorous rather than realistic, and the characters have little emotional depth. I wouldn't recommend it unless one was undertaking a study of literary representations of homosexuality.
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Read in October, 2008
recommended to Scott by:
The Lavander Inkwell Bookstore
I really don't know how I missed this book. It's great to have an example of homosexual literature. I thought Gore Vidal was really just the guy who wrote kind of dry political works. I was wrong.
I find Jim to be a very interesting character and someone who still holds true for today. While there has been a lot of progress made in the past 60 years, it's hard not to relate to the book many times.
I find Jim to be a very interesting character and someone who still holds true for today. While there has been a lot of progress made in the past 60 years, it's hard not to relate to the book many times.
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Read in November, 2008
Such a wonderful read. Dark and fascinating. The best quote I've attached myself to in a long time:
"All men are whores, and All whores are bisexual."
"All men are whores, and All whores are bisexual."
Read in January, 2004
Not an easy read but it is definitely something to read and reflect on if you are young, gay and optimistic and hopefully won't discourage you one bit. I had to read the bible and find allusions to it. It's one of the most heartrending points in the book.
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The definitive gay man's novel. Vidal nails it. Fifty years later, this novel still stands as a mirror to the spectrum of emotions experienced by those who discover they're different.
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Dull. Self absorbing langorous twaddle from the pen of a smug arse! He can spell and there are occasional snippets of magic, but little to keep the more demanding reader sated.
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An almost perfect Novel. Gore Vidal is one of my favorite authors; not necessarily b/c of his Fiction but b/c he is such a talented essayist and true American Patriot.
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This book sort of poked along and then it ended in a BANG! The violence and malevolence of the climax made it an amazing experience. Think "Chuck and Buck" except with rape.
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I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down. A surprisingly forthwright book written just after WWII. It is definitely a must-read for any literate fag.
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A gothic period piece that's still a bit shocking. Next to Julian it's my favorite novel by Vidal — and in certain moods, my favorite.
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Read in January, 2006
An interesting early attempt by Vidal. From what I've read, it almost ruined his career. If you're a Vidal fan, a must read.
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