A review by bloom_18
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York by Elon Green

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This account of the gruesome murders of four queer men in the 1990’s is well researched and generally well structured. It’s an enjoyable- and sometimes horrifying read. However, the author’s sensitivity to language sometimes feels awkward. In the sentence after he describes, with jarring detail, the way a victim was found, Green remarks that the victims favorite bar was a blazer mandatory- “pen in pocket”- affair. This remark is upsetting because, well, another word that begins with “pen” was just at the crux of a brutal image. Anyways- no book can have it all. 

Ultimately, the best books about queer life and queer violence are written by queer people. Green is an empathetic writer, but his exploration of queerness is largely limited to sexual preference. Queerness can be so much more than that. Check out david wojnarowicz‘s memoir if you want to read more about queer life.
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