A review by puddingtaco
Our Young Man by Edmund White

2.5

I was looking forward to this book and a bit disappointed it took me awhile to get into it. If you'd like to read yet another gay fiction that starts out with Fire Island in the '70s pre-AIDS, the first third of Our Young Man is for you. The story follows Guy, French model who comes to America to make it big. And he does! He's lovely. Everyone loves him. And he never ages. The story does pick up once Guy meets Andres, for whom he actually appears to have some sort of feelings. Guy's passivity is fine. He doesn't fade completely from his own story like some protagonists do while they meet the entire range of "gay characters" as they come of age. That bit could have been skipped over, actually, but it does humanize him a bit. The other two-thirds were good. Guy doesn't stop coasting through life but that's fine. Didn't blow me away but I was surprised at the ending. Pick it up if you don't have anything else pressing.