Felice Picano (1944–2025)

After my initial distraught at the writing style (because Ganymede reads like the teenage life advice column from the Bravo magazine at the turn of the millennium and not at all like a Classic Greek tale), the book started growing on me quite a bit. So I removed the rod of conceit stuck high up my ass, promptly called myself a philistine and began enjoying the story.

I must say this was quite the breath of fresh air: funny, well documented and Ganymede's witty barbs made me laugh out loud. He show more makes fun of immortals like Hermes, Ares and Apollo whom he twists around his little finger mercilessly. The speech is very contemporary but it works.

I compartmentalized the fact that Ganymede was actually 12 when Hermes had him and 14 when he became Zeus's (not spoiling you guys it's all in the blurb). I chose not to think about that too much. The reason for this was that in Ancient Greece there was the social custom of paiderastía , the socially acceptable romantic relationship between an adult male and an adolescent male. And I'm all for historical accuracy. Nothing pisses me more in a book that the lack of historical accuracy. When I see thousand year old tragic historical or mythological stories turned into HEAs for the sake of sales I feel like breaking my Kindle in half and never reading that author again. Happy to say this follows the story of Ganymede told in the Illiad.

I also got a little shout out at my two favorite boys and this brought a smile to my face:
"Achilles was also a good-looking guy, with a real doll for a lover, Patroclus."

I'm quite happy my dear Shin Mon recommended this book at the right time, because GR's passive aggressive messages informing me I'm behind my reading challenge were starting to feel like the worst whopping cough.

Later edit: This was written in 1981?? So awesome! show less

Addison Grimmins, a handsome, street-smart, omnisexual man ("omnisexual" is used on the back of the book but not in the text itself), is employed by the Earl of R. to do whatever needs to be done that he can't. Most recently, this includes tracking down Lord R.'s wife, who went missing after their son's wedding. Was she kidnapped, or did she leave of her own volition? Either way, Addison will find her and bring her back. However, as he learns more about her...kidnappers? associates?...he show more realizes he might have a more personal connection to what's going on than he thought.

The first half of this book is devoted to Addison's pursuit of Lord R.'s wife. The second half is a description of Addison's life up to the point when he was employed by Lord R. I found the second half much more interesting than the first. Unfortunately, the two parts didn't really come together well.

The first half of the book was surprisingly boring, considering it described a chase across Europe, as Addison searched for clues and, through various means, charmed locals into giving him information. It was impossible to get emotionally attached to anyone, and nothing that happened was particularly exciting or even very interesting, despite mentions of opium dens, casual sex, and a stiletto fight.

In the second half, readers learned about Addison's childhood - his separation from his older brothers, being cast out onto the streets by his surrogate mother, finding employment picking through garbage, becoming part of an acting troupe (and being introduced to sex by the married couple in charge), becoming a prostitute, and eventually being offered a job by Lord R.

Addison's story wasn't my cup of tea, but it was definitely more interesting than the first half. Unfortunately, the different parts of the book didn't form a very satisfying whole, and when things finally returned to the book's "present," I felt a weird form of emotional whiplash. It didn't help that, even with all that information about him, I was never able to bring myself to feel much for Addison. Stuff happened to him, some of it sucked, and only occasionally did any of it really seem to emotionally effect him.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Reading this collection of “true stories” is at the same time wonderful and sad. You can feel the time and the energy, the lives of so many artistry men, writers, actors, musicians, but you can also feel the sadness of a man who knew them all and now it has lot of memories but also lot of “in memory” feelings.

I’m true, I shed a tear or two reading about the more famous Robert Ferro and Michael Grumley, but also, at least to me, unknown Frank Diaz or Bobby Brown. I enjoyed the show more light story about W.H. Auden, that yes, died, but after he had the chance to enjoy life. There are so many different lives in this book, but all of them have one thing in common, Felice Picano.

This is not a book about the AIDS related losses (Robert Ferro and Michael Grumley), even if many of these stories have the horrific plague as deadly ax; some of these men succumbed before AIDS, due to the pain of living (Bobby Brown and Frank Diaz); some of them (W.H. Auden, Charles Henri Ford and Tennessee Williams), were of inspiration to young writers far into their old age. But strong, weak, longtime friends (Ricky Hersch and Jerry Blatt), lovers (James and Bob Lowe), business partner (Terry Helbing), relatives (Grandpa Ralph and Philip Picano) or simply acquaintances (Diana Vreeland), all of them were vivid enough, still are vivid enough, to dig a little spot in Felice Picano’s mind (and heart), and through this book he is letting them out once again, for people who didn’t know them to have the chance to know them a little bit now.

This is not a counting of dead people, it’s more like a Spoon River Anthology a la Picano style: each chapter brings alive a memory and with that memory a man, his dreams and loves, his art and his death. All of them spread through a New York City that changed with them, from the freedom of love of the ’60 and ’70, to the AIDS indulged fear of living of the ’80 and ’90. Through all the period, Felice Picano was friend, lover, witness and now recorder. It’s clear that for some of these stories, Felice Picano would have preferred to let them rest in peace, it’s clear that for him it’s still painful to remember, but it’s also clear that the author is willingly hurting himself to allow these men to come alive again; they are not ghosts, they are like shadows that Felice Picano can still see on the corner of the street, or hearing their voices calling him, or feeling their arms giving a loving embrace. Reading this book is like having a peep into Felice Picano’s heart.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0984470778/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less

Spanning around thirty five years starting 1954 we follow the spasmocically interweaving lives of two boys, second cousins, both gay. Roger Sansarc, the narrator, and Alastair Dodge are to look at more like brothers, but there the similarity ends. Alastair is the polar opposite of the staid, conservative Roger. Not surprisingly their relationship is volatile, with Alastair invariably the one to light the fuse.

It is Alastair who awakens Roger to his gayness by virtually offering him to show more another. Later it is Alastair who covets Rogers greatest love, The dark and handsome Vietnam hero, Matt Loguidice, sailor, model, poet and gay icon. but that is just a small part of this vast novel that takes us through the days of gay sexual liberation to the devastation of the AIDS epidemic as Roger leads us though his varied life.

But this is much more than a chronicle of gay life through the second half of the Twentieth Century, it is a brilliantly written, entertaining, thought provoking, funny and moving. show less