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Loading... Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Everby Joel Derfner
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. 1   thebookpirate | Sep 21, 2009 |  This is a very well written memoir and I found myself laughing out loud while at time being very saddened by his story of growing up. I really enjoyed his essay about camp (Camp Camp ?!? for gay kids) and the story about becoming a cheerleading was equally funny. Unfortunately, by the end of the book, the tales became somewhat redundant. (  ) MaryinHB | Jan 23, 2009 | This author is exceptionally funny and bright. This is the third memoirs I've read recently by Southern gay boys (Mississippi Sissy and The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy). All three equally as compelling, equally as astonishing, and equally as different from the other. Bravo Joel Derfner! (  )1 mgaulding | Jul 22, 2008 | I bought this book as a "light" read for the beach. I am not male, gay, nor am I Jewish, so after a chapter or 2 I wondered if I really should continue this book. I was very pleasantly surprised to enjoy it so much I wished it would not end. Joel tells the story of his life in 7 different "gay" affections, knitting, casual sex, cheer-leading, dating, teaching aerobics, musical theater, go-go dancing and the final chapter, "Exodus", which is a group that feels that through Jesus all gay people can become heterosexual. He tells his story perfectly, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and with an insight and intelligence that we all should aspire to. Anyone who knows or loves someone who is gay should read this book. And if you have a "problem" with the gay lifestyle, you should read this book too. Joel shows that he is no different then every person who is looking for the perfect person in their life...he just looks for the same sex, as opposed to the opposite sex. (  )3 flipflopbeach | Jun 23, 2008 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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Joel Derfner is gayer than you.
Don’t feel too bad about it, though, because he has made being gayer than you his life’s work. At summer day camp, when he was six, Derfner tried to sign up for needlepoint and flower arranging, but the camp counselors wouldn’t let him, because, they said, those activities were for girls only. Derfner, just to be contrary, embarked that very day on a solemn and sacred quest: to become the gayest person ever. Along the way he has become a fierce knitter, an even fiercer musical theater composer, and so totally the fiercest step aerobics instructor (just ask him—he’ll tell you himself).
In Swish, Derfner takes his readers on a flamboyant adventure along the glitter-strewn road from fabulous to divine. Whether he’s confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the Internet to “meet” men—many, many men—or plunging headfirst (and nearly naked) into the shady world of go-go dancing, he reveals himself with every gayer-than-thou flourish to be not just a stylish explorer but also a fearless one. So fearless, in fact, that when he sneaks into a conference for people who want to cure themselves of their homosexuality, he turns the experience into one of the most fascinating, deeply moving chapters of the book. Derfner, like King Arthur, Christopher Columbus, and Indiana Jones—but with a better haircut and a much deeper commitment to fad diets—is a hero destined for legend.
Written with wicked humor and keen insight, Swish is at once a hilarious look at contemporary ideas about gay culture and a poignant exploration of identity that will speak to all readers—gay, straight, and in between.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:53 -0400)
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Wikipedia in English
Swish is the memoir-type book about the author, Joel, and his experiences with things that may be considered “rather gay”. Things like knitting, musical theater, and go-go dancing are covered in Joel’s passive quest to live up to his self-imposed title of “gayest person ever”. As he points out in the introduction, these stories may appear on the surface to the topic at hand but as I read through them, he digressed away from the topic and ended up telling a story that was much deeper. Knitting for example is about knitting, but it is also about his relationship with his mother. This was not what I was expecting. Based on the title I was anticipating something, how shall I put it, shallow. I expected stories about gay cheerleaders and go-go dancing but instead I was treated to stories about self-identification and go-go dancing.
At this point Swish may sound sappy. But did I mention that it is hilarious? Truly it is a good that I should not read in public because people will stare and wonder what is wrong with that giggling boy in the corner. Just reading the introduction along provides enough giggles to justify the purchase. (