My Queer War
by James Lord
On This Page
Description
A powerful story of sexual awakening during the Second World War from the noted memorist and critic. InMy Queer War, James Lord tells the story of a young man's exposure to the terrors, dislocations, and horrors of armed conflict. In 1942, a timid, inexperienced twenty-one-year-old Lord reports to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to enlist in the U.S. Army. His career in the armed forces takes him to Nevada, California, Boston, England, and, eventually, France and Germany, where he witnesses show more firsthand the ravages of total war on Europe's land and on its people. Along the way he comes to terms with his own sexuality, experiences the thrill of first love and the chill of disillusionment with his fellow man, and in a moment ofgreat rashness makes the acquaintance of the world's most renowned artist, who will show him the way to a new life. My Queer Waris a rich and moving record of one man's maturation in the crucible of the greatest war the world has known. If his war is queer, it is because each man's experience is strange in its own way. His is a story of universal significance and appeal, told by a wry and eloquent observer of the world and of himself. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Interesting and compelling, this is the story of a young man, confused about his sexual identity, who joins the air force in the Second World War and ends up in Intelligence. After much writerly angst, he comes to accept his sexuality before being shipped to Europe where he earns a bronze star for reasons unclear even to himself. There is a Catch 22 quality to the military world he depicts, complete with black marketeers and self-serving officers. Lord has a talent for antagonizing those superiors, however, and ends up being assigned to interview Displaced Persons (DPs) not covered by the Geneva Convention, and then German POWs. His descriptions of the starvation and appalling conditions while these people were under American care is show more sobering and depressing.
Unfortunately, Lord's convoluted sentences and general writing style seem self-consciously "intellectual" to me. This undercuts the apparent honesty of the recalled life. Nonetheless, this memoir is a worthwhile read and a rare window into the gay subset of the greatest generation. show less
Unfortunately, Lord's convoluted sentences and general writing style seem self-consciously "intellectual" to me. This undercuts the apparent honesty of the recalled life. Nonetheless, this memoir is a worthwhile read and a rare window into the gay subset of the greatest generation. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
30+ Works 768 Members
James Lord first went to France at age twenty-one as a member of the Military Intelligence Service during World War II. Since then he has spent the major part of his life in Paris, where he has known many of the leading personages in the modern European art world. A Giacometti Portrait, first published in 1965, is considered a classic, and show more Giacometti: A Biography (1985) was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has also written a number of volumes of memoirs: Picasso and Dora (1993), Six Exceptional Women (1994), Some Remarkable Men (1996), and A Gift for Admiration (1998). In recognition of his contribution to French culture, he has been made an officer of the Legion of Honor show less
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Notable Lists
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, LGBTQ+, History, Sexuality and Gender Studies, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 940.54 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- Military history of World War II
- LCC
- D811 .L643 .A3 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania History (General) World War II (1939-1945)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 158
- Popularity
- 204,917
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.06)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 2
