I always find it hard to review a two-star book, because the inevitable question is 'well why did you read it?' I read this because it was sort of hinted to me that Leavitt is a kind of American Alan Hollinghurst. However, his writing lacks the grace and style of Hollinghurst, and his characters lack the depth and complexity.

Essentially this is a book about miserable people written in lifeless prose. As a contrast, I'm reading Howard Jacobson at the moment, who writes about miserable people with sparkling, witty prose and it makes all the difference.

I did wonder as I read it if this book has just aged badly, and that at the time of writing it could get away with its dead prose and maudlin world view because it had political currency. However, there are many positive reviews on here, so I guess it just didn't provide that specific thing that separates my taste from that of many others. ( )

The Lost Language of Cranes focuses on a very specific time and place in queer history, and as a result any given reader's mileage may vary. The story focuses on the Benjamin family, consisting of parents Owen and Rose and son Philip. Owen and Rose are in danger of losing their apartment, and Owen and Philip are both closeted gay men living in 1980s New York.

I want to start by saying that I enjoyed the read overall, because I did indeed finish it. The story was interesting, and I appreciated the sheer amount of introspection we're given from all of the different perspectives. The very last scene is brilliantly written, and I think it is an image I'll be thinking about for days to come.

I say all this first because I have some big gripes that I'll be going into now.

There is an additional subplot about a Black lesbian named Jerene that, frankly, does not get enough time in the spotlight. There is so much more that Leavitt could have done with her and her story, but as it is, it just seems like it was thrown in as a way to have additional representation (and to explain the title of the book). It feels like there was a half-hearted attempt to tie Jerene's story in with Philip's, but it ultimately felt like she was playing the role of the main character's boy-trouble confidant, which, ew.

Rose, Owen's wife and Philip's mother, becomes intolerable toward the last third or so of the book. It made me want to throw my book at the wall with how much I despised her. This is all fine, but Leavitt seems to be trying to gain her some sympathy points toward the very end, which - hell no. She's an awful, selfish person, and she doesn't deserve a redemption arc, as flimsy as this one is.

Because this book was written in the 80s - the same time in which the book takes place - there are things that readers today may struggle with, internalized homophobia chief among them. I'm an advocate for reading with the time and place in mind, but others may not be able to do so. That's worth keeping in mind before checking this one out.

All in all, it's clear that Leavitt is a good writer, and the use of scene and character is great; I'd be interested in reading Leavitt's other work. I just wish the women were treated a little differently than they are here. ( )

A moving, fairly well-written book about the yearning and apartness feelings of different generations of gay men. ( )

1986 novel by author, David Leavitt, set in New York and addresses the son's decision to "come out" and tell his parents about his being Gay. The book deals with relationships with Philip's boyfriends and in that it is a bit of a romance. It deals with relationships of Philip with his mother, with his father. The title of book comes from a new article about a child who developed his language from watching cranes (construction) outside of his window. (a bit like Are You My Mother).

I found the book to be hard to get pulled into. The first part was slow, the second part a bit better. I didn't feel it was well developed). I wanted to like this book because I really enjoyed his book,The Body of Jonah Boyd. In this book, set in the 90s, it does address the fear of AIDs and how this drove these young men into wanting to find permanent relationships where they could have safety. It also deals with the difficulties that older men had to deal with prior to the option of "coming out". ( )

Where's the ending??

Oh no!! This book finished before it had ended. What happened to the relationship between Rose and Owen? What happened about their apartment?? The author forgot to end his story and now I'm left with no resolution.

Owen and Rose are 52 years old, married for 27. They have a son, Phillip, who is 25. Phillip is struggling with his sexuality, realising from an early age that he is attracted to men. When he tells his parents, he finds he is setting free an unstoppable chain of events; for his father has been hiding his similar feelings for over thirty years and secrets can't be kept forever.
The book's excellent descriptions of the characters and their angst are its strengths, but this is very much a character driven book, for there is actually is very little plot.

The Lost Language of Cranes was well out of my comfort zone but it was chosen for a book group, so I gave it a go. It was well written, I liked the author's style, but I'm not a fan of gay literature and this was pretty lurid in parts. In fact, there was more explicit sexual detail, than I'd really like even in my heterosexual reads.

The depiction of the eighties was excellent, not surprisingly, as it was originally published in 1986. Not only did New York emanate a feeling of the times, but Rose and Owen's interactions and lack of questioning within their relationship felt very genuine.
Aids hovered, like a specter in the background, but I'd have expected a bit more fear and alarm about the issue than I felt.

....but to leave so many issues unresolved??? ( )