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A review by cnyreader
The Beautiful Room Is Empty by Edmund White
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.