Something Inside: Conversations with Gay Fiction Writers

A welcome compilation of interviews Gambone has conducted with 21 gay writers since 1987, this collection amounts to a compelling portrait gallery of many influential figures. Gambone's knowledge of each writer's work and his sensitivity to the craft is impressive. While consciously eschewing ""literary gossip,"" his carefully probing interviews provide insight into the working methods and aesthetic, personal and social concerns of a varied group, including such well-known writers as Edmund White and Andrew Holleran, as well as those who emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s, including Alan Hollinghurst, Randall Kenan and Scott Heim. Presented in roughly chronological order by date of interview, the book amounts to a broad overview of the ""breathlessly rapid"" development of gay fiction and its themes, from early coming-out novels (such as Edmund White's A Boy's Own Story) to more complex visions of a world in which gay people are no unhappier than other people. Many of the writers stress how important it is for them to feel the freedom to depict their world honestly. There are also some provocative juxtapositions, in which authors reflect on (and in the notable case of Dennis Cooper, vehemently reject) the work of their contemporaries. Here's hoping that Gambone is at work on volume two. Photos not seen by PW. (June)