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tcweeks24's review
2.0
While the writing style is beautiful, it was pretentious and I felt sorry for most of the characters when I don't think I was supposed to.
sparkleboymatty's review
3.0
Good, entertaining read but I wasn't completely drawn in. It was almost too hurried, and jumped around between plots and ideas too much. Best parts were the historical glimpses of gay life back in the mid 20th century.
itsjamesallen's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
anthroxagorus's review
5.0
Who am I to give Edmund White anything but 5 stars?
Yet this book starts with stunning prose, then becomes a dutiful laundry list of what happened next until we hit Stonewall. It feels distant (retrospective) but I think it has more to do with White working through his own story. I wonder what he's said.
I suspect Our Young Man > is the novel that works through the thoughts and themes of this part of his life, but, of course, this isn't entirely autobiographical. (Although I probably suspect that because it's the only other novel of his I've read.) What is autobiographical is in My Lives, > I think.
Well, onward.
Yet this book starts with stunning prose, then becomes a dutiful laundry list of what happened next until we hit Stonewall. It feels distant (retrospective) but I think it has more to do with White working through his own story. I wonder what he's said.
I suspect Our Young Man > is the novel that works through the thoughts and themes of this part of his life, but, of course, this isn't entirely autobiographical. (Although I probably suspect that because it's the only other novel of his I've read.) What is autobiographical is in My Lives, > I think.
Well, onward.
emilydk's review
3.0
- The book was alright. White's writing style bothers me at times because it is, as he says in the book, braided together. Thoughts flow in between each other. I can handle non-linear writing but I've seen other authors do it better.
- It was interesting to hear about the homosexual culture in Chicago and New York during the 50s/60s but there were parts I just didn't understand. Like the focus on them being like so much like women. Maybe it's because I live in a different time period where gender and sexual identity are not considered the same thing.
- I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless they are a gay male themselves.
- It was interesting to hear about the homosexual culture in Chicago and New York during the 50s/60s but there were parts I just didn't understand. Like the focus on them being like so much like women. Maybe it's because I live in a different time period where gender and sexual identity are not considered the same thing.
- I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless they are a gay male themselves.
waltroper1's review
3.0
REVIEW ⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Beautiful Room is Empty is Edmund White’s classic autobiographical novel which takes the narrator on a sexual odyssey from a Midwestern college of the 1950s to the first gay uprising at Stonewall. It is populated by a colorfully diverse cast of characters and paints a vivid and unflinching portrait of queer life of the time. ⠀
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The narrative flows with lushly descriptive and compelling prose that is rather plotless but instead focuses on the author’s introspection of dealing with himself and the gay world of the period. It is a classic coming of age story of not only one person but of an entire community. Younger generations should experience this story about those who came before that paved the way for the freedoms they can now enjoy and inspire them to take up the torch of battles still to be won. ⠀
⠀
The narrative flows with lushly descriptive and compelling prose that is rather plotless but instead focuses on the author’s introspection of dealing with himself and the gay world of the period. It is a classic coming of age story of not only one person but of an entire community. Younger generations should experience this story about those who came before that paved the way for the freedoms they can now enjoy and inspire them to take up the torch of battles still to be won. ⠀
micahlawrence's review
5.0
Edmund White’s prose is undeniable. He is one of the most important gay authors of all time and I adored this book.
This the 2nd in a trilogy of fictional memoirs. I read the first one in my teens, depicting his coming to grips with his sexuality as I was struggling with mine. I just finished this book coming up on my 29th birthday, the age of the protagonist at the end of this novel.
Can’t wait to read the last in a few years and continue growing alongside these books.
This the 2nd in a trilogy of fictional memoirs. I read the first one in my teens, depicting his coming to grips with his sexuality as I was struggling with mine. I just finished this book coming up on my 29th birthday, the age of the protagonist at the end of this novel.
Can’t wait to read the last in a few years and continue growing alongside these books.
cnyreader's review
4.0
White is writing about himself in this autobiographical novel, about surviving his adolescence and young adulthood in the Midwest, about discovering and coping with his sexuality, about finding who he was and what that all meant. The 1960's and 70's weren't an easy time to be homosexual and this theme runs through the whole book. References to therapy of various kinds to "cure" him made me cringe, because this was real and for some, still is to this day.
I give White a lot of credit for writing with such honesty- not necessarily about the facts, but about the feelings of those times. The struggle to be someone that he wasn't, while trying to authentically find who he was- I think a lot of people can relate to that. His relationships with his family and friends, some whom he idealized at one point and later came to a different perspective, where insightful and real. The more I read this book, the deeper I appreciated it.
Food: a perfect looking piece of lemon meringue pie that didn't get quite enough sugar. At first, it's a little tart, but as you keep trying it, you actually start to appreciate that it's not too sweet.
I give White a lot of credit for writing with such honesty- not necessarily about the facts, but about the feelings of those times. The struggle to be someone that he wasn't, while trying to authentically find who he was- I think a lot of people can relate to that. His relationships with his family and friends, some whom he idealized at one point and later came to a different perspective, where insightful and real. The more I read this book, the deeper I appreciated it.
Food: a perfect looking piece of lemon meringue pie that didn't get quite enough sugar. At first, it's a little tart, but as you keep trying it, you actually start to appreciate that it's not too sweet.
superdilettante's review against another edition
4.0
Bohemian yearnings and bad relationships. Truly enjoyable.