AmosL
08-15-2006, 04:21 PM
Hamilton, Larry Dean. A Gathering of Angels. Sigma Logo Books, 2004
Larry Dean Hamilton has written the rarest of books--a deep novel of love. It is a beautiful tale about how the capacity for love and spirituality is a reflection of the basic goodness of man. A Gathering of Angels tells the story of Dean who finds himself in search--looking for the way to find himself in a society that seems to demand that he conform to the existing order of things. His life has been one of hopes and aspirations and both great successes and terrible failures. His road to self discovery is contained in the saga and shows how the experiences he encounters shape his life. Yet it is not just Dean, the hero, we read about. We read about ourselves--Dean is every man and all men. He is who we are and he is who we become.
This is not an easy book. It is not easy because it deals with emotions---the emotions of growing-- and not just growing, but maturing as gay men. It is at the same time a straight shooting look at the way we deal with our lives, the mistakes we make and the great achievements we collect. It is more than a memoir, it can be a guide to us to become one with ourselves and with those around us.
As I was reading the book the one word that sat on my brain was "love". In giving us his story Hamilton (the author), presents us with all aspects of love--a capacity for giving and the willingness and hopefulness of reception. The love shown in this book is the spiritual love that so many of us seek and cannot seem to find. Through the interconnected stories are the definitions of love in all of its forms.
So many books about gay life are written about places so far away from us that it is nice to have one written about somewhere close by. Penned by a Texan, the book is the story of growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast and coming out in the underground gay scene of Austin during the "golden age of promiscuity", the 1960s. In this personal account of coming to terms with himself, we are let into the mind of the South and the difficulties gay men faced. Through his own "salvation" was he able to come to terms of who and what he was and while coming to terms with that salvation he introduces us to a bevy of eccentric and colorful friends.
The book appears to have been written as if it were an exploration of the author's mind. Chronology is not important and vignettes bounce around in no special order. At first I found this somewhat disconcerting until I realized that he was writing as many of us think--illogically and randomly. There were times that I felt love and pain walked hand in hand across the pages of the novel. Yet as I closed the covers and reflected on what I had read, I realized that everything that seemed illogical and disjointed was in actuality the opposite. It was a heartfelt voyage into the mind and one that will make me a better person for having read it.
When I said the book is not an easy read, I meant that what is written in it reflects so many things that we all go through and that we have to sit back and roll over in our minds what we have just read. We all know that truth hurts but what a pleasure it was to be hurt by the truths of A Gathering of Angels. I loved this book and I cannot recommend it enough. It should be in a prominent place on everyone's reading list. Thanks Larry for a provocative read.
Larry Dean Hamilton has written the rarest of books--a deep novel of love. It is a beautiful tale about how the capacity for love and spirituality is a reflection of the basic goodness of man. A Gathering of Angels tells the story of Dean who finds himself in search--looking for the way to find himself in a society that seems to demand that he conform to the existing order of things. His life has been one of hopes and aspirations and both great successes and terrible failures. His road to self discovery is contained in the saga and shows how the experiences he encounters shape his life. Yet it is not just Dean, the hero, we read about. We read about ourselves--Dean is every man and all men. He is who we are and he is who we become.
This is not an easy book. It is not easy because it deals with emotions---the emotions of growing-- and not just growing, but maturing as gay men. It is at the same time a straight shooting look at the way we deal with our lives, the mistakes we make and the great achievements we collect. It is more than a memoir, it can be a guide to us to become one with ourselves and with those around us.
As I was reading the book the one word that sat on my brain was "love". In giving us his story Hamilton (the author), presents us with all aspects of love--a capacity for giving and the willingness and hopefulness of reception. The love shown in this book is the spiritual love that so many of us seek and cannot seem to find. Through the interconnected stories are the definitions of love in all of its forms.
So many books about gay life are written about places so far away from us that it is nice to have one written about somewhere close by. Penned by a Texan, the book is the story of growing up on the Texas Gulf Coast and coming out in the underground gay scene of Austin during the "golden age of promiscuity", the 1960s. In this personal account of coming to terms with himself, we are let into the mind of the South and the difficulties gay men faced. Through his own "salvation" was he able to come to terms of who and what he was and while coming to terms with that salvation he introduces us to a bevy of eccentric and colorful friends.
The book appears to have been written as if it were an exploration of the author's mind. Chronology is not important and vignettes bounce around in no special order. At first I found this somewhat disconcerting until I realized that he was writing as many of us think--illogically and randomly. There were times that I felt love and pain walked hand in hand across the pages of the novel. Yet as I closed the covers and reflected on what I had read, I realized that everything that seemed illogical and disjointed was in actuality the opposite. It was a heartfelt voyage into the mind and one that will make me a better person for having read it.
When I said the book is not an easy read, I meant that what is written in it reflects so many things that we all go through and that we have to sit back and roll over in our minds what we have just read. We all know that truth hurts but what a pleasure it was to be hurt by the truths of A Gathering of Angels. I loved this book and I cannot recommend it enough. It should be in a prominent place on everyone's reading list. Thanks Larry for a provocative read.