In the Dark

I was saddened to hear of the death on Tuesday at the age of 85 of novelist Edmund White. Like many gay men of my age I read his semi-autobiographical novel A Boy’s Own Story as a teenager, and it had a profound effect on me.

It’s the story of an adolescent boy coming to terms with his sexuality in the American mid-West during the 1950s. It is as frank about the description of gay sex as it is truthful about the confusion that goes with being a teenager. When I bought it I didn’t realize it was going to be so sexually explicit, as the whole subject of gay sex was very much taboo in those days. I didn’t think it was possible to write about such things in such a matter-of-fact way and at the same time so beautifully. The book is also unflinching in its description of the personality flaws of the central character.

The Irish Times has a collection of reflections by various writers on Edmund White that say far more, and far more eloquently, than I ever could. I’ll just say, as a (now) sixty-something gay man that Edmund White helped me on my journey to self-acceptance when I was a struggling teenager all those years ago, and for that I will always be profoundly grateful.

Rest in peace, Edmund White (1940-2025).

This entry was posted on June 6, 2025 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Biographical, LGBTQ+, Literature, R.I.P. with tags A Boy's Own Story, Edmund White. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.