AmosL
05-13-2008, 07:10 PM
Derfner, Joel. “Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever”, Broadway Books, 2008.
Cause to Rejoice
Amos Lassen
When I first read about Joel Derfner’s “Swish”, I knew it would rank high on my list of favorite books and I am happy to say that I was correct. My copy came today and Sophie (my Jack Russell) and I sat down, ready to enjoy every line. (I am pretty sure the dog thinks I lost it as I laughed from cover to cover). Here is a book that tells it like it is and I am afraid that if I do not start reading it again that I might suffer from “Oh my God, I just finished a good book syndrome” and that depression might follow.
“Swish” is not only funny; it is very intelligent as well as somewhat raunchy. Derfner is a good Jewish boy like myself and I saw so much of my own life in the book that I, at times, felt as if I was reading my own memoir and not his. The book is a collection of essays dealing with all aspects of gay life from casual dating and sex to camp to cheerleading to musical theater. Derfner takes a close look at gay life and does so with a satire that has the reader laughing out loud. The book is honest and well written and I may get cussed out for saying this but it does for the 2000’s what Larry Kramer did for the 60’s and 70’s in “Faggots”. It’s a book about the way we live and the way we love.
Not many books hit me the way “Swish” does because not many people are willing to tell it as it is. I knew I was in for a fun ride when I read Derfner’s forward. However as I read further I found a great deal of truth especially as the author explores gay identity. This is a book by a gay men about a gay man and written for gay men and everyone else. “Swish” is a book that you will want your straight friends to read so they can understand you better. But be careful—if you lend it to your gay friends, you may not get it back. I have another copy on the way, just in case.
Cause to Rejoice
Amos Lassen
When I first read about Joel Derfner’s “Swish”, I knew it would rank high on my list of favorite books and I am happy to say that I was correct. My copy came today and Sophie (my Jack Russell) and I sat down, ready to enjoy every line. (I am pretty sure the dog thinks I lost it as I laughed from cover to cover). Here is a book that tells it like it is and I am afraid that if I do not start reading it again that I might suffer from “Oh my God, I just finished a good book syndrome” and that depression might follow.
“Swish” is not only funny; it is very intelligent as well as somewhat raunchy. Derfner is a good Jewish boy like myself and I saw so much of my own life in the book that I, at times, felt as if I was reading my own memoir and not his. The book is a collection of essays dealing with all aspects of gay life from casual dating and sex to camp to cheerleading to musical theater. Derfner takes a close look at gay life and does so with a satire that has the reader laughing out loud. The book is honest and well written and I may get cussed out for saying this but it does for the 2000’s what Larry Kramer did for the 60’s and 70’s in “Faggots”. It’s a book about the way we live and the way we love.
Not many books hit me the way “Swish” does because not many people are willing to tell it as it is. I knew I was in for a fun ride when I read Derfner’s forward. However as I read further I found a great deal of truth especially as the author explores gay identity. This is a book by a gay men about a gay man and written for gay men and everyone else. “Swish” is a book that you will want your straight friends to read so they can understand you better. But be careful—if you lend it to your gay friends, you may not get it back. I have another copy on the way, just in case.