G. F. Green (1911–1977)

Newly republished by Penguin Modern Classics, this is held up by some critics as a 'lost gay classic'. It's a short novel from the early 50s about a British schoolboy's love for an older boy. I found this hard going, despite its short length (150 pages), because the style felt overcooked, lifeless and inert and lacked the wit of, say, Waugh or Firbank. However, there are still some scenes of dreamlike sensuality which remain in the mind, such as the one where the younger boy commands the older into biting into an apple at a Halloween ball.… (mehr)