Forman Brown (1901–1996)

"Night after night, while his mother lay awake waiting nervously for his return, he fought with himself alone on the quiet streets, under the stars or the hiss of summer rain. A walker by night. The struggle went on wearingly, everlastingly, with small promise of victory on either side. The secrecy of his position maddened him, and yet it was a sweet madness. "I am the love that dare not speak its name — shame — name — shame — " the words were an insinuating counterpoint to his feet. The exaltation of his love sent him running, sometimes, along the grass-grown roads at the edge of the village, his arms raised to the sky, his face thirsting for the stars.

Nothing so rich, so filling, so troubling, so goading, could be evil. The world might say what it chose. "He is my lover! He is my lover!" He longed to shout it from the roof-tops — "Behold, world, my lover!" He wept in the grass by the roadside for the blindness, the unfeeling stupidity, the unfairness of the world. He hated them all, the scoffers, the leaden-eyed. He throbbed with the music of rebellion and youth. He clutched his fingers in the cool dark sod and exhausted himself with weeping."

An incredibly important book in queer literature, I have seen this book (amongst others) being described as the first positively gay book. We follow Kurt as he discovers and accepts his sexuality. As a child raised in a religious household, he has always been taught that it's a sin, but he learns how to love fully and truly.

I can only imagine how incredible it must have been to have come across this book as a gay man after it was published (in 1933) and being able to see gay love portrayed as the beautiful thing it is, rather than as the abomination it was taught as. I'm sue this would have helped many man along their own journey of accepting themselves. I did find some parts of the book a little slow (although I'm neither religious nor a musician or in the arts) but I did love seeing Kurt's growth and seeing how his relationship and comfort with men grew over the course of the book. Definitely worth a read (or listen), especially if you are interested in the beginnings of LGBTQ literature… (meer)

"Better Angel" tells the story of Kurt Gray, beginning with his early days as a young boy growing up with a strict Methodist family in 1930s Michigan. Somewhat shy around people, especially the other boys his own age, Kurt spends much of his time reading at the library or up in the attic space of his father's shop, playing with the odds and ends stored up there and staging shows for his few friends. Even at that young age, he realizes that he's different from the other boys, but it's his re-readings of those books in he Bible with hidden knowledge that he understands what he might be. He knows how people would react if they learned his secret so he keeps quiet, focuses on his school and music, and eventually finds himself ready to graduate from college and pursue a career in music composition. His close friends, Chloe and Derry Grayling, feel that he will succeed.

However, his life quickly becomes complicated when he finally confesses his love for Chloe's brother Derry. Derry's reaction is unremarkable, leaving Kurt unsure of whether Derry felt the same way. Derry manages to surprise him, though, by introducing him to David, a young man harboring a strong admiration for Kurt and his music. With David, Kurt begins to wonder if a relationship with another man could be possible. However, before the two can settle into a strong relationship, Kurt wins a grant that takes him to France, and it's in Sauvergne that he finds himself able to take stock of what life back in the States may have to offer, thanks to the no-nonsense wisdom from Tony McGauran, an actor whom he met on the boat crossing the Atlantic. Tony forces Kurt to make a decision regarding David and Derry and then to act upon it, no matter what the cost.

Many critics consider Better Angel to be the first American novel to present a positive view of homosexuality -- which is quite a feat considering it was originally published in 1933. It's actually refreshing to read a story from almost 100 years ago that doesn't kill off the main gay characters or treat them as if they were less than worthy of love and acceptance. All the characters are well-crafted and the situations in which they find themselves feel timeless, as if what they're going through back in the '30s is the same as many gay men and women are going through today, struggling with accepting themselves and believing they can find love.

Definitely a book worthy of being read and shared.… (meer)