Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
Very brief 2000 year history of gay london. Though some of it seemed repetitive, so has the history of hatred towards gay people been. I found it interesting and enlightening.
This is the first Peter Ackroyd book I've read so maybe it's his style but boy does he skip around scattering nonsequiturs all over the place...
Interesting topic but left very unsatisfied! Would have liked more detail, fewer random statements, and more info on women.
Interesting topic but left very unsatisfied! Would have liked more detail, fewer random statements, and more info on women.
informative
slow-paced
I wish the modern history portion would have been delved into a lot more.
This sweeping history is very fast paced and covers immense historical ground in a short history. Nice coverage of Trans and Lesbians, not just gay men. LIKED!
Having read London Under I was eager to read Queer City but I'm not sure the subject matter lent itself as well to Ackroyd's approach to the topic. There are interesting factoids but the flow of the book was a little disjointed for me. I think I was hoping for something more in depth. It was an interesting read though.
Overall disappointing. The author promises an extensive, well rounded history of queerness in London but fails to deliver any sort of coherent narrative. The book reads like a long list of facts, and historical tidbits, straining to be held together by intermittent, tabloid-esque retellings of crude scandals clearly chosen for shock value. The storytelling approach favors an outside in perspective placing the emphasis on the negative views of lgbtq+ people by outsiders rather than giving the reader any insight into the queer community itself. I kept hoping for some sort of empathetic insight into the lived experiences of queer people of the times (records do exist the author even cites some but fails to use them to draw any coherent conclusions for some reason?) or any sign that the author might veer away from the litany of graphic scandals but eventually gave up about 2/3 of the way through because I found the book intolerably boring, depressing, and unpleasant. I skimmed the remaining pages and from what I gathered it didn’t get any better.
informative
medium-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
The way to read this book is definitely audiobook! I give the audiobook narrated version a 4.5!
informative
slow-paced