What do you think?
Rate this book
The Penguin Books of Short Stories
The Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories
A collection of fiction by and about gay men features original stories from Larry Kramer, Edmund White, Christopher Coe, Michael Cunningham, and other writers and explores the tragedies and triumphs of AIDS.
688 pages, Paperback
First published January 14, 1994
21 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
David Leavitt
62 books428 followersLeavitt is a graduate of Yale University and a professor at the University of Florida, where he is the co-director of the creative writing program. He is also the editor of Subtropics magazine, The University of Florida's literary review.
Leavitt, who is openly gay, has frequently explored gay issues in his work. He divides his time between Florida and Tuscany, Italy.
Leavitt, who is openly gay, has frequently explored gay issues in his work. He divides his time between Florida and Tuscany, Italy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 6, 2010
Here's something for all you armchair philologists - it's a new functional shift (I think that's the term). The word "gay" as we know formerly meant happy, pleasing, optimistic, fun-encrusted, joy-bedaubed, that sort of thing, as in the very first line of "Island of Dreams" by The Springfields (1963) :
"I wandered the streets and the gay crowded places"
Then in the early to mid 1960s the new meaning bubbled up from the homosexual demi-monde, maybe as a replacement for "queer" which really did need replacing. By the 70s and 80s the new meaning had replaced the old one.
But now my daughter Georgia (aged 13) tells me that one very common phrase used at school is "that's really gay" or "that's so gay" - and the intended meaning is nothing to do with homosexuality, because it now just means "that's really rubbish" or "that's so feeble". I daresay the latest meaning has grown out of the well-attested strident homophobia of certain types of working-class British boys, but now its use has floated free of its origin, as indeed the second meaning did of its own in turn.
So - the stories in this volume, whilst rarely gay (first meaning) are very definately not gay (third meaning). But they are gay (second meaning).
*********
Even in 1972 Gilbert O'Sullivan in a song about being left at the altar was singing
To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
(Alone Again (Naturally))
but he was a bit of a throwback. Great song, by the way.
"I wandered the streets and the gay crowded places"
Then in the early to mid 1960s the new meaning bubbled up from the homosexual demi-monde, maybe as a replacement for "queer" which really did need replacing. By the 70s and 80s the new meaning had replaced the old one.
But now my daughter Georgia (aged 13) tells me that one very common phrase used at school is "that's really gay" or "that's so gay" - and the intended meaning is nothing to do with homosexuality, because it now just means "that's really rubbish" or "that's so feeble". I daresay the latest meaning has grown out of the well-attested strident homophobia of certain types of working-class British boys, but now its use has floated free of its origin, as indeed the second meaning did of its own in turn.
So - the stories in this volume, whilst rarely gay (first meaning) are very definately not gay (third meaning). But they are gay (second meaning).
*********
Even in 1972 Gilbert O'Sullivan in a song about being left at the altar was singing
To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
(Alone Again (Naturally))
but he was a bit of a throwback. Great song, by the way.
September 28, 2018
The theme brings together a most diverse collection of short stories: the authors (men, women, young, old, of different sexual preferences); their level of fame (E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence, Isherwood versus lesser known names); their approaches to story-telling (old-fashioned rounded plot, vignette, fragments, jargon-filled dialogue); their setting (the park, the castle, the field, the bedroom, the bathroom, the party, the hospital, the prison); their points of view, voices, attitudes; their narrators (the gay man, the gay friend, the straight man of the gay friend, the straight woman of the gay friend, the wife, the observer, the teenager, the family man); etc etc etc.
The "gay" short story can be as heartbreaking, as heartwarming, as amusing-charming-distressing-beautiful-strange, as dreamlike or lifelike as any other short story. But it is also unique. I expected nothing less.
Highly recommended. To be read as a whole—if you pick and choose, part of the experience will be lost.
The "gay" short story can be as heartbreaking, as heartwarming, as amusing-charming-distressing-beautiful-strange, as dreamlike or lifelike as any other short story. But it is also unique. I expected nothing less.
Highly recommended. To be read as a whole—if you pick and choose, part of the experience will be lost.
February 24, 2025
[I have reconsidered my rating, I am giving this five stars as reflecting the quality of the contents but not the anthology as a whole which I would rate, as anthology, with one star, my original rating. I still think this anthology is both flawed and problematic but have left my review below basically unaltered (February 2023)].
This one star is my judgement on this as an anthology, not on its contents - I can't emphasize that enough as all the 'writings' - because they are not all short stories - are superb and worth reading. My problem with this anthology is that I felt it lacks purpose and direction. There are many fine anthologies that were published around the time of this one and most were better though they did not have the 'imperatur' of being a 'Penguin' book (I would be happy to refer anyone interested to these anthologies on request). Although Mr. Leavitt in the introduction touches on the whole question of what is a 'gay' story and acknowledges the complexity he does say:
'...For the purposes of this anthology...a gay story has been defined as one that illuminates the experience of love between men, explores the nature of homosexual identity, or investigates the kinds of relationship gay men have with each other, with their friends, and with their families....The anthology limits itself to twentieth century fiction originally written in English...'
To begin with that last sentence 'originally written in English' rings all sorts of alarm bells for someone who lives in the UK because for me writers in English encompasses writers from (for example) India, the Caribbean, South Africa and Nigeria as well as places like Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Canada (and many other countries). It is clear Mr. Leavitt doesn't view things in such a broad church manner, at least judging by the backgrounds of the authors chosen.
My main quibble and disaffection with this anthology is that many of the stories included, Grahame Greene's 'May We Borrow your Husband', William Trevor's 'Torridge' to name two, do not in anyway fit into the definition David Leavitt gives in the quote above. Gay/homosexual characters appear in both but more as deus ex machinas for the action - which in both cases is not about gay people. Please understand that I adore Mr. Trevor's Torridge - it is a wonderful story but if Mr. Leavitt had wanted a British boarding school story that was about and spoke to gay men than Patrick Gale's 'Old Boys' would have been far better. As for Mr. Greene's story - I can't help thinking that the desire to include Grahame Greene (see also my footnote *1 below), a grand old man of English writing who is known and respected on both sides of the Atlantic, led to the inclusion of this story which comes painfully close to homophobic cliche. But it is not only those stories - why, of all Mr. Isherwood's extensive writings it should be his 'Sally Bowles' stories that are included is a bit of a mystery. There is nothing particularly 'gay' or 'queer' in the story and I can't help feeling that it pays more tribute to Sally Bowles as a gay icon from the film 'Cabaret' then her literary antecedents.
I must comment on the bizarre fact that A M Homes has two stories, and very fine stories they are, but I imagine that she has two only because Joseph Pintauro was either dropped, or declined to be included (his name appears only on the book jacket). But it is odd that no other writer could have been found worthy of inclusion - even at the last moment - so that they had no choice but to duplicate an author already included.
I think my greatest annoyance is with Ms. Homes's story the 'Whiz Kidds' - or to be honest the importance Mr. Leavitt places on it in his introduction were he says in part (about the two 14 year old boys who are the stories main protagonists '....They know...what they are experiencing together-sex free of complication, not to mention the threat of death-is something that they can never again experience in their lives.' Oh please! Get over yourself (again I stress my words are aimed at Mr. Leavitt and not in anyway at Homes or her story). Sex and love and relationships and everything were still going on - if you were going to have a story define how things were in the mid 1990s I would suggest taking a story such as Martin A. Shaw's story 'Queerbait' (from Robert Drake's excellent anthology 'His') were two young 'queer' boys take on and upset a load of 'gay' disco queens in a Kansas gay bar - it is brilliant and funny and points to a future were 'gays' are continuing and changing and are not tied to the past - either that of their gay elders or the heterosexual world.
To sum up - lousy anthology but its contents are excellent.
*1 The inclusion of authors like Greene and Trevor also begs the question who writes 'gay' mens stories. Both these authors are heterosexuals would an anthology of Jewish short stories have stories by non Jews? Heterosexuals can write homosexual characters but that they are not 'gay' authors is proved by the way Michael Chabon after the widespread presumption, after the publication of his first novel 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh', that he was gay felt it necessary to clarify that he was not. You can also see it in the confusion, annoyance and even anger some gay readers felt when they discovered that the author of 'Call me by Your Name' was not even bisexual.
This one star is my judgement on this as an anthology, not on its contents - I can't emphasize that enough as all the 'writings' - because they are not all short stories - are superb and worth reading. My problem with this anthology is that I felt it lacks purpose and direction. There are many fine anthologies that were published around the time of this one and most were better though they did not have the 'imperatur' of being a 'Penguin' book (I would be happy to refer anyone interested to these anthologies on request). Although Mr. Leavitt in the introduction touches on the whole question of what is a 'gay' story and acknowledges the complexity he does say:
'...For the purposes of this anthology...a gay story has been defined as one that illuminates the experience of love between men, explores the nature of homosexual identity, or investigates the kinds of relationship gay men have with each other, with their friends, and with their families....The anthology limits itself to twentieth century fiction originally written in English...'
To begin with that last sentence 'originally written in English' rings all sorts of alarm bells for someone who lives in the UK because for me writers in English encompasses writers from (for example) India, the Caribbean, South Africa and Nigeria as well as places like Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Canada (and many other countries). It is clear Mr. Leavitt doesn't view things in such a broad church manner, at least judging by the backgrounds of the authors chosen.
My main quibble and disaffection with this anthology is that many of the stories included, Grahame Greene's 'May We Borrow your Husband', William Trevor's 'Torridge' to name two, do not in anyway fit into the definition David Leavitt gives in the quote above. Gay/homosexual characters appear in both but more as deus ex machinas for the action - which in both cases is not about gay people. Please understand that I adore Mr. Trevor's Torridge - it is a wonderful story but if Mr. Leavitt had wanted a British boarding school story that was about and spoke to gay men than Patrick Gale's 'Old Boys' would have been far better. As for Mr. Greene's story - I can't help thinking that the desire to include Grahame Greene (see also my footnote *1 below), a grand old man of English writing who is known and respected on both sides of the Atlantic, led to the inclusion of this story which comes painfully close to homophobic cliche. But it is not only those stories - why, of all Mr. Isherwood's extensive writings it should be his 'Sally Bowles' stories that are included is a bit of a mystery. There is nothing particularly 'gay' or 'queer' in the story and I can't help feeling that it pays more tribute to Sally Bowles as a gay icon from the film 'Cabaret' then her literary antecedents.
I must comment on the bizarre fact that A M Homes has two stories, and very fine stories they are, but I imagine that she has two only because Joseph Pintauro was either dropped, or declined to be included (his name appears only on the book jacket). But it is odd that no other writer could have been found worthy of inclusion - even at the last moment - so that they had no choice but to duplicate an author already included.
I think my greatest annoyance is with Ms. Homes's story the 'Whiz Kidds' - or to be honest the importance Mr. Leavitt places on it in his introduction were he says in part (about the two 14 year old boys who are the stories main protagonists '....They know...what they are experiencing together-sex free of complication, not to mention the threat of death-is something that they can never again experience in their lives.' Oh please! Get over yourself (again I stress my words are aimed at Mr. Leavitt and not in anyway at Homes or her story). Sex and love and relationships and everything were still going on - if you were going to have a story define how things were in the mid 1990s I would suggest taking a story such as Martin A. Shaw's story 'Queerbait' (from Robert Drake's excellent anthology 'His') were two young 'queer' boys take on and upset a load of 'gay' disco queens in a Kansas gay bar - it is brilliant and funny and points to a future were 'gays' are continuing and changing and are not tied to the past - either that of their gay elders or the heterosexual world.
To sum up - lousy anthology but its contents are excellent.
*1 The inclusion of authors like Greene and Trevor also begs the question who writes 'gay' mens stories. Both these authors are heterosexuals would an anthology of Jewish short stories have stories by non Jews? Heterosexuals can write homosexual characters but that they are not 'gay' authors is proved by the way Michael Chabon after the widespread presumption, after the publication of his first novel 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh', that he was gay felt it necessary to clarify that he was not. You can also see it in the confusion, annoyance and even anger some gay readers felt when they discovered that the author of 'Call me by Your Name' was not even bisexual.
May 28, 2015
Some good stories in here. My favourites were Ignorant Armies by Michael Cunningham, Buried Treasure by Gary Glickman, Jump or Dive by Peter Cameron, Gentlemen Can Wash Their Hands in the Gents' by Christopher Coe, and The Dancing Lesson by Gerry Albarelli.
June 16, 2023
Some stories I would give a 5 and some stories I would give a 1 or 2 so averaging out to 3.5ish. I don't know I don't do math.
May 6, 2021
This is a fantastic collection. There are stories included in here that would be difficult to find without a collection like this, and there are authors here that I would have never read if they had not been included in this. I've only finished reading about a third to a half of the stories at this point (random selections throughout this collection), and some are a hit, others a miss, but overall I have enjoyed reading them. There is a century's worth of writers included in this collection, and it is wonderful to see how I was not inclined toward either more recent or more historical stories. They are all interesting and also a great way of seeing the evolution of the gay world over the last century. Warning though, not all of these authors are gay - which would probably be a big "no no" in today's world, but not so much in the early '90s. I was glad to see that some of my favorite stories were actually written by straight authors. It's out of print, but you can find this on all the typical sites for second hand books. This collection is a must have for any serious reader of Queer fiction. Some of my favorite stories, so far:
Arthur Snatchfold/ E.M. Forster
May We Borrow Your Husband?/ Graham Greene
The Times As They Know Us/ Alan Barnett
Reprise/ Edmund White
The Princess from Africa/ David Plante
Arthur Snatchfold/ E.M. Forster
May We Borrow Your Husband?/ Graham Greene
The Times As They Know Us/ Alan Barnett
Reprise/ Edmund White
The Princess from Africa/ David Plante
August 30, 2017
Some great short stories, especially from E.M. Forster, D.H. Lawrence, Graham Greene, Edmund White, James Purdy, Edna O'Brien & Donald Windham.
June 7, 2021
The various authors that crowd this anthology make their voices heard, sometimes as acerbic bites, dry whispers, crazed ramblings or prose that keens so loudly on the page it almost hurts to keeping reading. Sometimes shy and oblique, occasionally lewd in tone, these stories run the gamut. If you're a passionate admirer of man-on-man attachments, there's plenty to pick and choose from in this massive anthonly
September 5, 2020
I didn’t connect with as many pieces as I thought I would in this collection, but there were some real gems. Out of the 39 stories, my favorites were “Me and the Girls,” “Falconer,” “Torridge,” “The Cinderella Waltz,” “Nothing to Ask For,” “Perrin and the Fallen Angel,” “My Mother’s Clothes,” and “Gentlemen Can Wash Their Hands in the Gents.”
February 26, 2018
It's a big one, full of great stories - some tender, some incredibly sad, some just extremely weird. Liked some more than others (as always loved E.M. Forster). Some made me weep, others left me cold.
August 1, 2017
Lot of great stories. A few memoir excerpts.
December 10, 2021
VG- misplaced my copy in a move and never got to read them all :(
February 27, 2022
Some really terrific writing here.
June 5, 2025
I'm revisiting the works of Edmund White upon hearing of his untimely death. In my opinion, one of his best contributions to gay literature was Respite, a short story that was included in the Penguin Book of Gay Short Stories, and also published in his own collection, Skinned Alive. This is a wonderful autobiographical piece and one of those stories that goes full circle. I have to share an excerpt where Edmund is sitting next to his love interest at the theater, and trying to gauge his shared attraction by casually coming into contact with his leg:
The first time I read this story, I found this passage so relatable. It brought me straight back to a time when I was sitting on a bench in gym class, trying to casually do the same with my classmate beside me. Sadly, I don't even remember his name, but I distinctly remember his hairiness compared to my own, and feeling those hairs tickle my smooth leg. Reading this story brings me back to that day in Middle School every time. Thank you, Mr. White, for the fine literature and the memories.
"With suicidal daring I pressed my leg against Jim's. First I put my shoe against his, sole planted squarely against sole. Then, having staked out the benchhead, I slowly cantilevered my calf muscles against his, at first just slightly grazing him. I even withdrew for a moment, proof of how completely careless and unintended my movements were, before I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees in total absorption, leaning attentively into the exotic squealing and cavorting on stage – an intensification of attention that of course forced me to press my slender calf against his massive one, my knobby knee against his square, majestic one."
The first time I read this story, I found this passage so relatable. It brought me straight back to a time when I was sitting on a bench in gym class, trying to casually do the same with my classmate beside me. Sadly, I don't even remember his name, but I distinctly remember his hairiness compared to my own, and feeling those hairs tickle my smooth leg. Reading this story brings me back to that day in Middle School every time. Thank you, Mr. White, for the fine literature and the memories.
July 18, 2013
This is a really big book full of stories. Some of them were delicious, some haunting and sad, and a few were just eccentric as hell. If you love short stories, as I do, I recommend it highly. Whoever put the book together went to great lengths to make this a classy collection. Some of the authors are well known (Larry Kramer, E.M. Forster, Isherwood,etc.) However, their stories were no better, and sometimes worse, than those by unknown writers. The stories all had some "gay connection"; many were subtle and lovely, and were written in eras when gay subject matter was considered repugnant or taboo. (Bless E.M Forster's heart. He was such a brave writer.) A few of the stories were strange head-scratchers that seemed to have little point other than to be strange or bohemian in style, but this gave the collection a nice mix of pathos, humor, and weirdness. One of the stories rather turned my stomach; it was written by a female author whose effort to amuse went off the tracks; Larry Kramer's tale was a bit of a bore also. Other than that I have nothing negative to say about this book. I enjoyed it immensely, and hope they put out another! (It seems that they have, but included a bunch of the same stories from this collection. No, guys: a new collection. N-E-W. I'll read it; I'll even contribute to it. Just put it out. Thanks!)
February 11, 2017
A queer old collection indeed.
May 24, 2017
An extraordinary collection. I enjoyed many of the stories—a much more varied look at gay characters in terms of historical era, age, sex of narrator, and setting than some anthologies. So many of the LGBT journals now are “young” (just as I am old). The young lack a certain elegance in their prose . . . some of them, anyway.
[As I peruse this book once again in 2014, I'm amused to see that since my 2000 reading I have become more acquainted with a few of the authors, my literary world opening up a bit: J.R. Ackerley (My Father and Myself), John Cheever (Falconer), William Maxwell (The Folded Leaf), Edna O'Brien, Ann Beattie, David Wojnarowicz (see Carr's biography, Fire in the Belly). Leavitt and Mitchell, editors, have indeed put together a lasting collection.]
[As I peruse this book once again in 2014, I'm amused to see that since my 2000 reading I have become more acquainted with a few of the authors, my literary world opening up a bit: J.R. Ackerley (My Father and Myself), John Cheever (Falconer), William Maxwell (The Folded Leaf), Edna O'Brien, Ann Beattie, David Wojnarowicz (see Carr's biography, Fire in the Belly). Leavitt and Mitchell, editors, have indeed put together a lasting collection.]
January 30, 2016
I enjoyed many of the stories here but the ones that stood out were "May We Borrow Your Husband" by Graham Greene. Great. I was surprised this was written by Graham Greene. "Reprise" by Edmund White was also very good and I don't normally like his work. "Adult Art" by Allan Gurganus was one of my favorites. I loved the voice of the narrator. "A Glass of Blessings" by Barbara Pym, "Ignorant Armies" by Michael Cunningham, "Run, Mourner, Run" by Randall Kenan, and "Gentlemen Can Wash Their Hands in the Gents'" by Christopher Coe were also excellent. I had read some of the stories in the anthology in other works (Leavitt, Maxwell, Barnett), but many of the authors here were unknown to me, so the anthology was a nice way to expose their work.
March 26, 2013
a wonderful book - so much different from what I would have expected ... there brilliant excerpts of great book in it (and from some the authors I will read afterwards) .. there are stories to laugh, stories to think and some the really cry ... a book that I can highly recommend to any open minded person who sees life as a wide spectrum of experiences ... for me a delight!
more to be added when finished ...
more to be added when finished ...
Read
May 18, 2008Haven't read the entire thing, but it's unlikely I'll run across a copy of it for the next while. I particularly enjoyed Torridge, and a couple of others that I can't remember at the moment. I am now dying to get a hold of the Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories, which I feel would be a little more relevant to my life.
February 8, 2016
A great anthology of gay short stories.
June 7, 2012
I love this book. Reading it now. I will soon review it.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews