false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg 88884 17 A literary <i>cause célèbre</i> when first published more than fifty years ago, Gore Vidal&#8217;s now-classic <b>The City and the Pillar </b>stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience.<br><br>Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in &#8220;awful kid stuff,&#8221; the experience forms Jim&#8217;s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents&#8217; expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship. Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, <b>The City and the Pillar</b><i> </i>remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men. 6145478 1948 The City and the Pillar: A Novel total:354|5:73|4:147|3:104|2:29|1:1| 354 1324 509 44 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 3 2 false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 03 06:56:08 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 10:32:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon Aug 03 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 18:02:28 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 18:42:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1189910 0345332717 9780345332714 6 3 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181760513m/1189910.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1189910.City_and_the_Pillar 4 0 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 15:51:30 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 19:30:00 -0800 2009
Unbelievable that this book was written -- and that Vidal got it published -- in the 1940s. It enlightened me about the partial freedom available to certain classes of gay men in the 30s and 40s. The coming-out/coming-of-age story seems a l...more...]]> 1189910 0345332717 9780345332714 6 3 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181760513m/1189910.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1189910.City_and_the_Pillar 3 0 false Wed May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Mon Mar 23 04:50:30 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 05:03:09 -0700 2009 This book does capture a certain human experience which I definitely relate to -- longing for someone who turns out to let you down and all your other experiences paling in comparison to the idealized experience which, as it turns out, really only exists in your mind. The book also captures a...more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 4 0 false Sat Jul 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 11:29:12 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 11:38:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 4 0 false Thu Nov 12 14:37:16 -0800 2009 Sat Dec 05 08:56:12 -0800 2009 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 5 0 false Sun May 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 11 11:56:55 -0700 2008 Sun May 11 12:11:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 4 0 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Nov 04 09:35:17 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 04 10:47:41 -0800 2007 more...]]> 1189914 0349106576 9780349106571 8 2 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181760514m/1189914.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1189914.City_And_The_Pillar 3 0 false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Mon Aug 20 06:50:13 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 20 06:50:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 5 0 false Tue Oct 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 10 07:49:50 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 28 09:18:55 -0700 2009
I was going to give this book four stars except that it was written in 1948, and it deserves the 5th star for being groundbreaking. Granted, Vidal did change the ending in a rewrite in 1965; but it has little impact on the story o...more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 5 0 false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 16:25:36 -0700 2009 Sat May 30 19:28:58 -0700 2009 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 2 0 false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 28 00:33:39 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 28 08:42:13 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 5 0 false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 11 07:06:05 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 13:28:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 3 0 false Sun Feb 22 18:17:33 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 26 08:04:24 -0800 2009 more...]]> 436404 0451059247 9780451059246 1 1 3.74 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/436404.City_and_Pillar 2 0 false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 07:45:06 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 20 14:21:03 -0800 2008 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 3 0 false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 25 10:48:17 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 08:55:24 -0700 2009 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 5 0 false Wed Dec 02 04:31:19 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 04:49:43 -0800 2009 1189910 0345332717 9780345332714 6 3 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181760513m/1189910.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1189910.City_and_the_Pillar 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 02 18:20:14 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 06:04:03 -0800 2008 more...]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 4 0 false Sun Jan 04 14:29:28 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 14:30:55 -0800 2009 ]]> 88884 1400030374 9781400030378 328 37 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171139142m/88884.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88884.The_City_and_the_Pillar_A_Novel 4 0 false Mon May 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 11 15:52:55 -0700 2009 Tue May 26 17:22:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=88884