Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jackckenny 's review for:
Dancer from the Dance
by Andrew Holleran
Trust me, I really, really wanted to like this book. I’ve seen it referred to as ‘the Gay Gatsby’ - how could I possibly not love it?! Well reader, I did not. In fact, I ended up disliking it and found it a real, difficult slog to finish.
The novel revolves around the lives of Malone and Sutherland, two very different characters who form an unlikely friendship on the queer scene of New York in the 1970s. I appreciated this post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS window into life for the queer community, as I think that is a really interesting period of modern history. However, this was about all that I found interesting in the book.
Malone spends the whole book pining for love (then avoids it like the plague when any is offered); Sutherland ignores his friend’s sadness and takes him to some extravagant, yet soulless, party full of drink and drugs instead. Rinse and repeat. For the entire book. I was unconvinced by the friendship between the pair, which seemed totally superficial, and I did not warm to either of them at all.
The sheer monotony and repetition of the book was so frustrating. For pages and pages, Sutherland just lists off inconsequential characters and some bizarre anecdote about their sex lives. They dance. Everyone has sex, or talks about sex. They dance. Whilst I can appreciate that Holleran was encapsulating a specific moment of hedonism and extravagance, this book just felt like a party that you can’t wait to leave.
The novel revolves around the lives of Malone and Sutherland, two very different characters who form an unlikely friendship on the queer scene of New York in the 1970s. I appreciated this post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS window into life for the queer community, as I think that is a really interesting period of modern history. However, this was about all that I found interesting in the book.
Malone spends the whole book pining for love (then avoids it like the plague when any is offered); Sutherland ignores his friend’s sadness and takes him to some extravagant, yet soulless, party full of drink and drugs instead. Rinse and repeat. For the entire book. I was unconvinced by the friendship between the pair, which seemed totally superficial, and I did not warm to either of them at all.
The sheer monotony and repetition of the book was so frustrating. For pages and pages, Sutherland just lists off inconsequential characters and some bizarre anecdote about their sex lives. They dance. Everyone has sex, or talks about sex. They dance. Whilst I can appreciate that Holleran was encapsulating a specific moment of hedonism and extravagance, this book just felt like a party that you can’t wait to leave.