The Winter of Our Discotheque

by Andrew W.M. Beierle

Tony Alexamenos's life is forever changed when wealthy Dallas Eden, determined to mold Tony into a perfect addition to his ever-growing "harem," sends Tony to college, where he falls for his drama teacher--an infatuation that leads Tony to New York City where he learns some valuable lessons in life and love. Reprint. 10,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction, Gay, LGBT, Gay Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Andrew W. M. Beierle was born in New York City and reared in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the School of Communications at the Pennsylvania State University, he began his career at the Orlando Sentinel and has been a journalist for more than thirty years. His work as an editor at Brown and Emory universities has been honored repeatedly by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. He has studied at the Bread Loaf, Sewanee, Napa Valley, and Kenyon Review writers’ workshops with Alice McDermott, Claire Messud, Randall Kenan, and Christopher Tilghman. His debut novel, The Winter of Our Discotheque, received a 2002 Lambda Literary Award.

A September 2007 Main Selection of the InsightOut Book Club, First Person Plural examines the personal lives of a pair of extremely rare conjoined twins of the type dicephalus (two-headed), one of whom is gay and one straight.

First Person Plural, which has been hailed as “astonishing,” and “one of the year’s best,” is my second novel.

Richard Labonte, co-founder of Books to Watch Out For, called First Person Plural “a wholly original and wildly imaginative achievement” and named it one of the ten best gay novels of the year, along with works by Edmund White, James McCourt, and Thomas Mallon. See: http://www.nyblade.com/2007/12-28/art...

The arts and entertainment web site AfterElton.com named First Person Plural the co-winner of the title Best Men’s Fiction of 2007, with Sarah Schulman’s The Child. See:

http://www.afterelton.com/print/2007/...

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

bad bad...gives gay novels a bad name.

[Debi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very light and easy read.
One of those books that just takes you along for the ride.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second time I read this book. Good thing, as I didn't remember some details from my first go round. It is kind of like a campy fairy tale, and I was super engrossed to find how it ended. Although Mr Beierle's writing is at times over descriptive and maybe pretentious, he weaves a good tale! His writing is perceptive, sophisticated and articulate. He develops the characters well, and he gave me wanted I wanted in a gay themed novel: a well-written story. I had strong visual thoughts while reading, and I can't help hope it becomes a Ryan Murphy movie. :-) I highly recommend this book.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sincerely one of the trashiest things I've ever read. It also has some incredible imagery (particularly noteworthy for Durhamites who ever made it to Ringside) and unforgettable characters. I pick it up every so often and find myself slamming through the whole thing in a day or two, just like the first time. I can only imagine this is how women my mother's age respond to Jackie Collins.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED this book! One of the best I read last summer! Tony Alex amenos is like the boy-next-store with the looks, the body - and everything you'd every want! An exception debut novel set in the carefree, pre-AIDS dawn of the disco era! Loved it; loved it!!

[Gary Beagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, trashy romp thru the 60s & 70s, tracing the rise of Tony Alexander from lowly gas station attendant in small town Florida to top male supermodel in New York City as he looks for love. Rather Jackie Collinsesque

[Gene Rios · Rating 4 out of 5]

So it turned out to be better than I expected. At times too predictable, but at other times surprising and honest, I genuinely liked reading this book. I'm glad that I went on an impulse and picked it up from the shelves!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that I LOVE modern gay fiction!

[Jason Mock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beierle's novel was neither tragic or campy enough.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked it up because it has the best title ever, and while the ending bow-on-the-package was a bit bright for what came before, it was still a good summer read.