Best Gay Fiction

This is a list for gay fiction. Please do not rate or add memoirs, biographies, etc.
1

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4.36 avg rating — 1,197,892 ratings
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2

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4.12 avg rating — 439,353 ratings
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3

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4.33 avg rating — 537,978 ratings
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4

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4.07 avg rating — 41,600 ratings
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5

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4.12 avg rating — 1,381,698 ratings
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6

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3.97 avg rating — 39,217 ratings
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7

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4.31 avg rating — 122,662 ratings
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8

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4.22 avg rating — 1,668,467 ratings
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9

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4.11 avg rating — 728,522 ratings
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10

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4.08 avg rating — 30,909 ratings
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11

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4.18 avg rating — 410,024 ratings
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12

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4.01 avg rating — 42,451 ratings
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13

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4.10 avg rating — 9,030 ratings
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14

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3.95 avg rating — 136,821 ratings
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15

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4.28 avg rating — 20,425 ratings
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16

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4.19 avg rating — 294,777 ratings
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17

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4.19 avg rating — 9,341 ratings
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18

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4.11 avg rating — 5,502 ratings
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19

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4.03 avg rating — 626,280 ratings
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20

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3.93 avg rating — 19,635 ratings
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21

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3.74 avg rating — 27,123 ratings
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22

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4.26 avg rating — 637,309 ratings
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23

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3.71 avg rating — 387,325 ratings
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24

by
4.01 avg rating — 106,628 ratings
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25

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4.18 avg rating — 198,079 ratings
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26

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3.90 avg rating — 5,466 ratings
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27

by
4.09 avg rating — 20,788 ratings
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28

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4.12 avg rating — 9,948 ratings
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29

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4.04 avg rating — 67,450 ratings
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30

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3.86 avg rating — 18,084 ratings
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31

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4.34 avg rating — 463,276 ratings
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32

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3.74 avg rating — 9,720 ratings
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33

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4.02 avg rating — 100,739 ratings
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34

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3.82 avg rating — 73,751 ratings
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35

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4.12 avg rating — 5,713 ratings
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36

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3.73 avg rating — 73,600 ratings
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37

by
3.72 avg rating — 8,246 ratings
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38

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3.98 avg rating — 7,728 ratings
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39

by
4.28 avg rating — 296,624 ratings
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40

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3.92 avg rating — 4,607 ratings
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41

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3.84 avg rating — 8,855 ratings
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42

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3.97 avg rating — 22,312 ratings
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43

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4.20 avg rating — 16,861 ratings
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44

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3.97 avg rating — 6,454 ratings
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45

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3.91 avg rating — 16,572 ratings
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46

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4.23 avg rating — 26,677 ratings
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47

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4.03 avg rating — 24,547 ratings
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48

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4.05 avg rating — 130,288 ratings
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49

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4.28 avg rating — 23,306 ratings
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50

by
4.09 avg rating — 163,574 ratings
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51

by
4.38 avg rating — 62,587 ratings
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52

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4.06 avg rating — 7,894 ratings
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53

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3.92 avg rating — 39,569 ratings
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54

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4.43 avg rating — 469,786 ratings
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55

by
3.94 avg rating — 81,949 ratings
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56

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3.91 avg rating — 8,992 ratings
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57

by
4.14 avg rating — 13,647 ratings
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58

by
4.01 avg rating — 63,493 ratings
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59

by
3.81 avg rating — 85,596 ratings
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60

by
4.10 avg rating — 12,325 ratings
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61

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4.26 avg rating — 14,883 ratings
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62

by
4.07 avg rating — 27,945 ratings
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63

by
4.05 avg rating — 5,337 ratings
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64

by
4.04 avg rating — 1,694 ratings
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65

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3.99 avg rating — 10,136 ratings
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66

by
4.21 avg rating — 26,026 ratings
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67

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4.41 avg rating — 7,233 ratings
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67

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4.50 avg rating — 571,050 ratings
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69

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3.79 avg rating — 9,793 ratings
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70

by
4.03 avg rating — 11,046 ratings
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71

by
4.02 avg rating — 6,066 ratings
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72

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4.09 avg rating — 18,065 ratings
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73

by
4.05 avg rating — 3,921 ratings
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74

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4.05 avg rating — 102,424 ratings
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75

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4.01 avg rating — 1,976 ratings
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76

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3.65 avg rating — 186,533 ratings
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77

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3.78 avg rating — 15,038 ratings
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78

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4.50 avg rating — 138,824 ratings
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79

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4.18 avg rating — 1,865 ratings
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80

by
4.13 avg rating — 11,223 ratings
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81

by
4.07 avg rating — 10,696 ratings
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82

by
4.03 avg rating — 5,982 ratings
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83

by
4.16 avg rating — 6,910 ratings
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84

by
3.87 avg rating — 20,596 ratings
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85

by
3.72 avg rating — 45,188 ratings
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86

by
3.94 avg rating — 2,319 ratings
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87

by
4.04 avg rating — 5,858 ratings
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88

by
3.92 avg rating — 4,249 ratings
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89

by
3.95 avg rating — 1,748 ratings
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90

by
4.33 avg rating — 7,025 ratings
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91

by
4.36 avg rating — 1,942 ratings
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92

by
3.73 avg rating — 21,313 ratings
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93

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3.67 avg rating — 5,582 ratings
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94

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3.96 avg rating — 8,701 ratings
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95

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3.88 avg rating — 3,379 ratings
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96

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3.87 avg rating — 2,562 ratings
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97

by
4.30 avg rating — 76,900 ratings
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98

by
4.01 avg rating — 560,028 ratings
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99

by
4.09 avg rating — 2,527 ratings
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100

by
4.70 avg rating — 137 ratings
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2,459 books · 3,693 voters · list created July 29th, 2008 by Charlie (votes) .
848 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Charlie 596 books
104 friends
Austin 89 books
13 friends
Matt 1140 books
169 friends
Chris 1 book
2 friends
LeeAnn 99 books
493 friends
Leeann 587 books
707 friends
Holly 526 books
108 friends
Wiggle 152 books
4 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-46 of 46 (46 new)

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Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Aimée & Jaguar is a great book, but it's actually a memoir, not fiction ...


message 2: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a memoir too.


message 3: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl As is Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette.


message 4: by Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) (last edited Aug 25, 2010 01:06AM) (new)

Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) And so are "Running With Scissors" and "Dry!"


message 5: by Lobstergirl (new)

Lobstergirl I removed all five.


message 6: by Brad (new)

Brad Some of the Mishima novels here have no gay content whatsoever (Spring Snow, Temple of the Golden Pavilion). Is this "gay novels" or "novels written by potentially gay men/women"?


message 7: by Dasha (last edited Sep 20, 2012 08:26PM) (new)

Dasha Drie Christ... If Brokeback Mountain is the ONE AND ONLY gay-themed book you know it doesn't mean that it's the best one and you should vote for it. This list is ridiculous because you can see only the books that influenced Hollywood film directors. But it' s supposed to be about BOOKS, not movies, folks. And judging by some of these allegedly gay books most of the voters have no idea what the term "gay fiction" means (The Picture of Dorian Gray is gay fiction? Really?). The only outstanding example of gay literature in the upper part of this list is Maurice, so I vote for it.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Deleted Tennessee Williams's Memoirs. Undoubtedly a great book, but not fiction.


message 9: by Mark (new)

Mark Yes Brad. I was puzzled by the non-gay Yukio Mishima novels too. Mishima was probably gay but that doesn't mean everything he wrote was gay fiction. Even his books like "Forbidden Colours" or "Confessions of a Mask" that have gay characters I didn't vote for even though I thought they were very good. They don't fit my idea of gay fiction.

I don't mind Brokeback mountain being close to the top. Although one case where the movie is better than the book I think. Not hard since the story is only 30-40 pages but what a beautiful movie.


message 10: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa Who was gay in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series?


message 11: by Charlie (new)

Charlie Lisbeth is bisexual.


message 12: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa Charlie wrote: "Lisbeth is bisexual."

Oh...that escaped my notice. :)


message 13: by Hania (new)

Hania Sagan I'm so disappointed at the absence of "With or Without You by Brian Farrey. It's a great read.


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) Hania wrote: "I'm so disappointed at the absence of "With or Without You by Brian Farrey. It's a great read."

Everybody can add books to listopia lists, Hania -- there's a tab up top next to "all votes".


message 15: by David (new)

David Edmund White's "The Farewell Symphony"


Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) David wrote: "Edmund White's "The Farewell Symphony""

Everybody can add books to this list, David -- there's a tab up top next to "all votes."


message 17: by Alex (new)

Alex Hamilton Necessary Errors by Caleb Crain is a great new novel about a young American man who moves to Prague in the early 1990s. See my review here: http://myshelfspace.wordpress.com/201....


message 18: by A (last edited Feb 15, 2014 07:15AM) (new)

A Whole My favourite is The Road to London. I read it a month ago and I'm still thinking about it. It changed me. I read rumours it's going for the Booker Prize and it does not surprise me. It's so new, so dense....

But I've voted for about 10 books because there are many good ones on this list!


message 19: by Thomas (new)

Thomas Bruso "Comfort & Joy" by Jim Grimsley is a must-read. A tragic yet beautiful story.


message 20: by J.L. (new)

J.L. Aarne "1984" by George Orwell and "Cell" by Stephen King are not gay fiction.


message 21: by Evanille (new)

Evanille Dorian gray is here xD


message 22: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Feb 10, 2015 09:12AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Must have missed something all those years ago when I read Moby-Dick; or, The Whale (currently #330). Either that or I have just forgotten... But then there are a few others that make me wonder as well, so maybe it is just me. Maybe it's just that I don't consider it important when it is not (related to) the main theme of the novel, like it is in Jongens van glas / Crystal Boys, which, by the way, is an excellent novel...


message 23: by Greg (new)

Greg Anna wrote: "Who was gay in Stieg Larsson's Millennium series?"
Anna, reminds me of an interview someone did with Johnny Depp. He was asked which of all the movie characters he had played were gay. His answer? "All of them."


message 24: by Peter (new)


message 25: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart Removed several memoirs, biographies, and other non-fiction.


message 26: by Leon (new)

Leon Just added The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren. Surprised that it wasn't on the list yet: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...


message 27: by Greg (new)

Greg Leon wrote: "Just added The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren. Surprised that it wasn't on the list yet: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..."

Leon, I recently revisited "Front Runner" as I was getting ready to read the next in the series. I was surprised how well it has held up, it's really good. But my #1 choice has got to be "The God In Flight." That said, I just noticed "As Meat Loves Salt" on the "Notable Books" section at the library, the cover facing outward. Never heard of it till now and it's really good so far!


message 28: by Erin (new)

Erin While The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (currently #49 on this list) is a great book and explores ideas of identity and gender, I don’t think it can be considered gay fiction. It is no spoiler to know that the inhabitants of this world are non-gendered most of the time and then take on opposite genders when that time comes around.


message 29: by Erin (new)

Erin Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon (currently #249) should definitely not be on this list. I don’t believe that it deals with any gay characters or themes and all the main characters are heterosexual so I’m baffled as to why it is on this list.

I haven’t read Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (currently #290) but my understanding was that it was homophobic.


message 30: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart 322 sockpuppets have spammed The Boy Who Saw in Colours to the top of the list.

Does the list creator have a position on spam?


message 31: by Henna (new)

Henna I removed Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout and Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, because neither are gay fiction.


message 32: by Charlie (new)

Charlie Rainbowheart wrote: "322 sockpuppets have spammed The Boy Who Saw in Colours to the top of the list.

Does the list creator have a position on spam?"


Yes, he doesn't like spam.


message 33: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann Maybe I have misunderstood, but I thought the works on the list should at least have been translated into English, and as far as I can see 'Kun Enkelit Katsovat Muualle' by Salla Simukka @ 796 is only available in Finnish.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Liam wrote: "Maybe I have misunderstood, but I thought the works on the list should at least have been translated into English, ..."

That's not how I understood it... Kärleken for instance (which I voted for, by the way) has, as far as I know, not been translated into English (although it has been translated into other languages).


message 35: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann BookLovingLady wrote: "Liam wrote: "Maybe I have misunderstood, but I thought the works on the list should at least have been translated into English, ..."

That's not how I understood it... Kärleken for ..."


Thank you - please understand that I do not mind this book being there - it was just such a contrast to the generally paucity of even notable gay works or works by gay authors in translation from the list. I know that people like Genet and Mishima are well represented and there are others but I am sure if I after I have carefully gone through the whole list (I would only claim maybe 50%+ I would find many many authors I love - I have to admit only in translation because I cannot properly read any foreign language sufficiently well - absent. Also it was the first work in a foreign language I came across again based on only a partial reading of the list.

Let me apologize if I have caused any upset or confusion.


message 36: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) wrote: "And so are "Running With Scissors" and "Dry!""

I would question if Running With Scissors (I haven't read Dry, or any of the other books mentioned as being memoirs yet) properly counts as a 'memoir' in the sense that an autobiography is memoir. Surely it is more like In Cold Blood by Capote, which while based on true events is not really a 'true crime' book. I certainly read Running With Scissors knowing that it was based on the author's life but reading it as a work of literature, not a factually account, and thus a work of fiction. It would be interested to know if libraries catalogued as a fiction or non-fiction book. Thank you


message 37: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann I know I could just vote and say I liked this list but I wanted to say how useful it has been to me - while going through the list I came across a book by Gregory Norminton called Serious Things - there was something about it that seemed familiar but they synopsis meant nothing, but it appeared interesting, so I marked it as to read. It was only later at home when I glanced at my bookshelf that I caught sight of the cover image and discovered I owned the book - I am now reading it - I can't say rereading because I have no recollection of the story. I will certainly seek out other books by this author. All thanks to this list


message 38: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann Mark wrote: "Yes Brad. I was puzzled by the non-gay Yukio Mishima novels too. Mishima was probably gay but that doesn't mean everything he wrote was gay fiction. Even his books like "Forbidden Colours" or "Conf..."

I just wanted to say I couldn't agree more and when it comes to these lists an element of definition might be useful while recognizing that the term gay will always be problematic for authors of earlier times and particularly non-Western cultures like Mishima.


message 39: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann I don't think Douglas Coupland's Microserfs is a gay fiction - I haven't read it - I have read and enjoyed other of his books - but it is not described as any sort of gay on goodreads - just asking. Thank you.


message 40: by Liam (new)

Liam Ostermann I am pretty sure that James Robertson's should not be counted a gay author (excellent writer though he is) and his book 'And the Land Lay Still' should not be on a gay literature list - although it is probably a great book.


message 41: by Alison (Lady Coffin) (last edited Jan 14, 2022 08:19PM) (new)

Alison (Lady Coffin) S Charlie
Not sure how often you are able to do maintenance on the list with RL and all, but I have noticed duplicates on the list.
Specifically, This Is How You Lose the Time War is on Page 18 & Page 13. Or it was before added my vote to them. 🙄🤓
Now now on p7 & p5


message 42: by K.D. (new)


message 43: by Rich (new)

Rich Timothy Conigrave - Holding The Man, is non-fiction.


message 44: by Rich (new)

Rich 1549 - The Other by Thomas Tryon is not gay fiction.


message 45: by Rich (new)

Rich 1362 - Modern Nature by Derek Jarman is non-fiction


message 46: by Rich (last edited Jan 25, 2023 01:49AM) (new)

Rich Gallowglass by Barbara Vine is not gay fiction


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