The Discus Throwers

by Tom Wakefield

gay interest

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 14, 1985

Reviews

[Martyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It certainly wasn't the book I was expecting to read. The cover and the title gave the suggestion of it being a book about athletic young men. In reality the title remains a mystery and the scene portrayed on the front cover (actually showing a naked man and woman rather than two men as one might imagine) was just of a peripheral incident which had no connection to the main plot whatsoever, and the plot had nothing of the atmosphere suggested by that cover. In reality the story is primarily about a single woman of retirement age who shares a flat with a single man of similar age (sexuality ambiguous/unspecified), and a gay younger man. I don't suppost many people will have read Aunt Clara by Noel Streatfeild, but that is what this book put me in mind of. It gave off those kinds of vibes. Theoretically speaking the book wasn't really my cup of tea, with plenty of elements which had no appeal for me, but at the end of the day it proved to have a certain warmth about it and was quite moving.

[Nicolas Chinardet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet tale about logical families. Though the title remains a mystery and the writing is sometimes a little clunky, it's a pleasant read.