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RELEASE NOTES:

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This book arrived in the mail from Nebraska yesterday, along with a bar of chocolate. ;-) What a nice surprise. I'd heard vaguely about this book before, but hadn't really thought of reading it ... but of course I will now! :-) Thank you, 4libros! I haven't read a lot of literature from the 20s. It'll be interesting to see what attitudes and ideas are portrayed in this book. You're very kind, I really appreciate it! :-)

I'll journal again when I've read the book. I already have an idea about where & when to release it ... ;-)

This book is #677 on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. Which is why I'd put it on my wishlist, which was why 4libros sent it to me ... but I'd forgotten it was on the list. That's why my last entry sounds a little weird. :-)

I've finally gotten around to reading this. Started it May 29th and finished it today. It was a pretty slow read. A good book, but ... I had a hard time with it. Partly I guess it was the language, which is rather oldfashioned. (Not surprisingly. :-) Partly it was also just the story which is SO depressing. I had a really hard time 'getting into' this book. Everything that happened was just negative ... I had to read more than half of it before I really 'got into the flow'. Towards the end I was being really drawn along though.

The story is so depressing I'm sure mainly because that's realistic. It obviously was a very difficult time for gay people. But I still think the author overdid it. Like when Stephen's first book is published. It's a huge hit, sells a lot of copies, it's sold for translation, the critics are falling over themselves to praise it and are basically calling Stephen the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yet this is so downplayed in the book. You'd think that something wonderful like that happening would be a big deal to Stephen ... an even bigger deal than it would have been for most other people, since she's so unhappy otherwise. Seems to me like she would have really clung to that one good thing in her life. But instead the reader is mainly left to piece together the success of the book from little bits of info that are dropped here and there. This seemed illogical to me.

But overall the book was a good read. Interesting. It certainly gave a window on some mentalities of a world that is gone in many ways. Maybe especially Stephen's war experiences I found very interesting. I'd say that the book is a worthwhile read, but not an easy one.

Not sure what to do with the book now. I was going to release it as part of the mass release that's being planned for the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival here in Oslo later this month, but now I'm not so sure. It is a 1001 Book after all. :-) I think I'll check to see if there's any interest on the forum for this book ... and if there is, I'll send it out on a ring and then release it during next year's festival.

Thanks again for sharing, 4libros!! :-)

Forum thread:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/20/5449519/1

Participants??

OMG, this book is still with me, I can't believe I've had it for so long. But now it's time for it to travel ... !!

Reserved for release at the BookCrossing convention here in Oslo later this month as one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

Convention release!