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The City and the Pillar
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
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The City and the Pillar
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Summary
A literary cause célèbre when first published more than fifty years ago, Gore Vidal’s now-classic The City and the Pillar stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience.
Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in “awful kid stuff,” the experience forms Jim’s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship. Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, The City and the Pillar remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.
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What listeners say about The City and the Pillar
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 21-11-23
Legendary
One of the most important novels of American literature. Gore Vidal at his early steps before he became America's biographer.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- That Man
- 26-06-20
Romantic tragedy
Beautiful, moving story of not just 'coming out of the closet, which is painful and powerful enough, but about our dreams and fantasies that we hold onto, for maybe a lifetime. Vidal skilfully steers the story through the career of a small-town boy, who struggles, really till the end, with his sexuality, although he thinks he's (always temporarily) enjoying himself on the journey. The adolescent fantasy about his boyhood friend continues throughout his life, until the whole thing comes crashing down in the encounter he must have, whatever the consequences. Wonderful.
And a narration completely sympathetic and sufficiently tongue-in-cheek to do justice to the work. A pleasure (and pain) to listen to.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lewis
- 23-03-21
Best Read Of 2021.
The City And The Pillar is a book I should not care to have missed for the world. There is a strange, wholesome quality to the character of Jim.
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