James Purdy’s Followers (135)

James Purdy

Born

in Hicksville, Ohio, The United States

July 17, 1914

Died

March 13, 2009

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Short Stories, Gay & Lesbian

Influences

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville

edit data

James Otis Purdy was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and in 2013 his short stories were collected in The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy.
He has been praised by writers as diverse as Edward Albee, James M. Cain, Lillian Hellman, Francis King, Marianne Moore, Dorothy Parker, Dame Edith Sitwell, Terry Southern, Gore Vidal (who described Purdy as "an authentic American genius"), Jonathan Franzen (who called him, in Farther Away, "one of the most undervalued and underread writers in America"), A.N. Wilson, and both Jane Bowle ...more

Combine Editions
James Purdy’s books

Average rating: 3.88 · 3,676 ratings · 573 reviews · 71 distinct works • Similar authors

	In a Shallow Grave 4.03 avg rating — 552 ratings — published 1975 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Narrow Rooms 3.86 avg rating — 501 ratings — published 1978 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eustace Chisholm and the Works 3.97 avg rating — 459 ratings — published 1967 — 36 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Malcolm: A Comic Novel 3.69 avg rating — 444 ratings — published 1959 — 62 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Short Stories of James Purdy by James Purdy, John Waters 4.14 avg rating — 209 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cabot Wright Begins 3.76 avg rating — 206 ratings — published 1964 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Nephew 3.88 avg rating — 168 ratings — published 1960 — 30 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I am Elijah Thrush 3.77 avg rating — 137 ratings — published 1972 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Color of Darkness 4.20 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 1957 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	63, Dream Palace: Selected Stories, 1956-1987 4.25 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 1956 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by James Purdy…

Quotes by James Purdy (?)

“In a competitive society, the thing people fear the most is love.”
― James Purdy

22 likes

“He stood there, his eyes like they had been before. Their beauty stabbed at her heart like a great knife; the hair looked so like she had just pressed the wet comb to it and perhaps put a little pomade on the sides; and the small face was clean and sad. Yet her arms somehow did not ache to hold him like her heart told her they should. Something too far away and too strong was between her and him; she only saw him as she had always seen resurrection pictures, hidden from us as in a wonderful mist that will not let us see our love complete.”
― James Purdy, 63, Dream Palace: Selected Stories, 1956-1987

tags: eyes, mothers-love

10 likes

“Some people confess in the flesh, others on paper.”
― James Purdy, Eustace Chisholm and the Works

tags: confess, flesh, paper

7 likes

See all James Purdy's quotes »

Polls

Which book would you like to read for September/October?

Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade by Justin Spring

15 votes, 15.6%

Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders by Samuel R. Delany

12 votes, 12.5%

The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir by Josh Kilmer-Purcell

12 votes, 12.5%

The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov by Paul Russell

10 votes, 10.4%

Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters

9 votes, 9.4%

Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

9 votes, 9.4%

Stilettos and Steel by Jeri Estes

7 votes, 7.3%

The British Devil by Greg Hogben

7 votes, 7.3%

Hen's Teeth by Manda Scott

5 votes, 5.2%

One Last Lie by Rob Kaufman

5 votes, 5.2%

Close to Spider Man by Ivan E. Coyote

3 votes, 3.1%

Coral Glynn: A Novel by Peter Cameron

1 vote, 1.0%

Eustace Chisholm and the Works by James Purdy

1 vote, 1.0%

96 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: 15.10 (WE WILL REMEMBER YOU )	36	222	Jan 06, 2010 06:09PM
Queereaders: Spring Reading Challenge - Official Record of Points	6	77	Jun 21, 2010 07:25AM
Queereaders: 50 Gay and Lesbian Books Everybody Must Read	74	932	Mar 29, 2014 10:53AM
Queereaders: Title Game	535	201	Jun 10, 2016 06:42AM
UK Book Club: Beautifully written books	24	211	Aug 08, 2018 10:04PM
Queereaders: February 2019 - What Are You Reading?	18	46	Feb 25, 2019 05:28PM
Queereaders: March 2019 - What Are You Reading?	35	56	Apr 10, 2019 02:37PM

More…

James Purdy’s Followers (135)

James Purdy

Combine EditionsJames Purdy’s books

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
James Purdy’s books