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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
A rape in the original ending (changed to murder in revision); a climactic act of violence against a former lover
Language
Barely any
Period-appropriate language
Sexual Content
A lot
Gay sexual relationships depicted with considerable explicitness for the era; the novel's frank treatment of homosexuality was its radical act
Substance Use
Some
Alcohol use throughout the gay social milieu of the 1940s
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Obsession and the psychology of fixation; the protagonist's inability to move beyond a single experience destroys his adult life
What this book is about
Jim Willard, an athletic boy from Virginia, is haunted by a sexual encounter with his best friend Bob. He drifts across America — to Hollywood, New York, and New Orleans — pursuing gay relationships while clinging to the memory of that boyhood summer. Published in 1948 and revised in 1965, Vidal's groundbreaking novel was one of the first mainstream American novels to treat homosexuality without apology or pathology.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Explicit gay sexual content
Climactic violence (rape or murder depending on edition)
Portrait of 1940s gay underworld
Reader Verification
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