A review by blairmahoney
Holding the Man by Timothy Conigrave

4.0

A very moving memoir about growing up gay in Melbourne during the 1970s and falling in love with a classmate at his Catholic high school and then dealing with the AIDS crisis of the 1980s that hits them both. The book is very explicit in a way I imagine the film and stage adaptations (I haven't seen either) can't be, which unfortunately will probably prevent it from being taught in schools as I think it would be a valuable learning experience. It's a beautiful (but not uncomplicated) love story a tremendous legacy to leave behind for both Conigrave himself and his lover John Caleo.