I'm going through the list of America's Favorite Novels, as determined by a PBS survey, to see if there are any gay characters or gay subtexts. Some of them I've read; others I ran away from in disgust. Some I've never heard of
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26. A Prayer for Owen Meany. Ran away from. I hate John Irving to begin with -- what kind of name is Garp? And I heard this one was horrible. First, what kind of name is Meany? Second, it begins with Owen playing baseball, and accidentally killing his friend's mother with a foul ball. Later he gets a job picking up dead bodies. Cheery.
It inspired Simon Birch, a buddy-bonding movie starring Ian Michael Smith and Joseph Mazzello.
27. The Color Purple. Read. America's Favorite Novels are often depressing. Woman in the Jim Crow South is abused by her husband and buddy-bonds with another woman. There's a lesbian subtext that was made explicit in the 1984 movie starring Whoopie Goldberg.
28. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Read. Very good, although dated journey to a dreamland, with many quotable lines. No gay subtexts.
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29. Great Expectations. Read. Dicken's best work, with Pip, the creepy Miss Havesham, and Estella ("You can break his heart). Gay subtext with his school friend Herbert Pocket.
The 1998 "modernization" upped the hetero-romance (naked woman on the DVD cover!). It starred Ethan Hawke as Finnegan Bell.
30. The Catcher in the Rye. Never read. "Classic" teen novel about the rebellious Holden Caulfield, who smokes cigarettes and beats up gay people. Gross.
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31. Where the Red Fern Grows. Never read, but I know it's about a boy and a dog, and I know what happens. See Louise's Dictum: "Children's literature is about cool animals and kids who die."
Why are so many of these books for kids? Is it that when the respondents grew up, they didn't read any more?
The 2003 movie starred Joseph Ashton as the Boy.
32. The Outsiders. Never read, but the 1984 movie was horrible, all about "staying gold" and dying. Louise's Dictum again. I hear that the author was horrified by the idea of gay subtexts. "I intended for them to be STRAIGHT!" she shrieked.
33. The Da Vinci Code. Never read, but I hear that there's a boy-girl romance amid the skullduggery about the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templars, and who knows what else? Maybe the Holy Grail kills some Nazis.
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34. The Handmaid's Tale. Read. Horrific religious dystopia, slightly worse than our current fascist state, where fertile women become "handmaids," impregnated by rich men with infertile wives. There are references to gay people being killed in this dystopian future.
In the 2017 tv series, Max Minghella plays Nick, an "Eye of God" (snoop) who may be working for the underground, and falls in love with handmaid June.
35. Dune. Read, but a long time ago. A vast galactic empire, Star Wars complete with sand worms but without the freedom fighters. All I remember are the quotes from the Galactic Encyclopedia, the Messiah Paul Muad-Dib marrying his mother, and a staggeringly homophobic portrayal of a gay man. But he still counts as a gay character.
36. The Little Prince. Read. Awful. Nightmare-inducing. The narrator meets the Prince of a small planet, who is trapped on Earth. The only way to get home is to be bitten by a snake. He'll look dead, but he won't really be dead. Louise's Dictum again: "Children's literature is about cool dogs or kids who die."
37. Call of the Wild. Never read, though people kept trying to talk me into it through my childhood. Apparently the dog doesn't die, he just goes feral after his humans are all murdered.
38. The Clan of the Cave Bear. Never read. Cave people: A Cro-Magnon girl goes to live with the Neanderthals, and finds love.
39. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Read. Funniest novel ever. I never laugh out loud while reading, but this time I did. Nebbish Arthur Dent and galactic gadabout Ford Prefect have picaresque adventures. So long, and thanks for all the fish. Gay subtext, no gay characters.
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40.The Hunger Games. Never read. A dystopian future where groups of kids are forced to fight each other to the death, but a boy and a girl try to beat the system. And...um...fall in love. . No gay characters.
In the 2012 movie, Josh Hutcherson plays the Boy.
41. The Count of Monte Cristo. Read. This is another one that I can't believe people have actually read. It's long and ponderous. Dantes gets revenge on the people who wronged him, and helps a couple find true love.
42. The Joy Luck Club. Read. Chinese-American women bond with each other and experience culture clash. Minor gay character who vanishes from the 1993 movie.
43. Frankenstein. Never read, and I doubt most respondents have, either. It's an epistolary novel, published in 1817. They're thinking of the many Frankenstein movies.
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44. The Giver. Never heard of it. In a dystopian future, a teenage is chosen to be "The Giver" and receive the memories of the past, like Christmas carols and seeing in color, but there are complications. And falling in lo-ooo-ooove.
In the 2014 movie, Brenton Thwaites plays Jonah, the boy chosen to be the next Giver.
45.Memoirs of a Geisha. Never heard of it. A young girl becomes a geisha (a pleasure woman, but not a prostitute), lives through World War II, and falls in love. I don't think there are any gay characters.
46. Moby-Dick. Read, I think some of the respondents said it was their favorite novel because they thought they were supposed to. Ahab searches for the whale, while Ishmael and Queequeg share a bed. Gay subtext; Melville was gay, after all.
The 1998 mini-series (yes, there was a mini-series) stars Henry Thomas as Ishmael. It minimizes.
47.Catch-22. Ran away from. Weird surrealist war novel. Lots of people die.
48. Game of Thrones. Heard of the tv series, didn't realize it was based on an alternate world fantasy with magic swords and such. Apparently some gay characters, who get killed right away (bury your gays).
49. Foundation. Read. About the fall of a galactic civilization. A lot more boring than it sounds. Isaac Asimov simply cannot create vivid characters. Gay people do not exist.
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50. War and Peace. Never read. Were the respondents serious, or making a joke about the novel's infamous length. Remember the Peanuts story arc where Snoopy plans to read one word a day?
The 2016 mini-series starred Paul Dano as Pierre. I have no idea who that is.
It also featured a naked soldier, penis and all, which I'm sure has Tolstoy turning over in his grave.
I've read 10 of the 25 books on this list. There are some gay subtexts, but only three have actual gay characters. So far, not so great.
It inspired Simon Birch, a buddy-bonding movie starring Ian Michael Smith and Joseph Mazzello.
27. The Color Purple. Read. America's Favorite Novels are often depressing. Woman in the Jim Crow South is abused by her husband and buddy-bonds with another woman. There's a lesbian subtext that was made explicit in the 1984 movie starring Whoopie Goldberg.
28. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Read. Very good, although dated journey to a dreamland, with many quotable lines. No gay subtexts.
The 1998 "modernization" upped the hetero-romance (naked woman on the DVD cover!). It starred Ethan Hawke as Finnegan Bell.
30. The Catcher in the Rye. Never read. "Classic" teen novel about the rebellious Holden Caulfield, who smokes cigarettes and beats up gay people. Gross.
Why are so many of these books for kids? Is it that when the respondents grew up, they didn't read any more?
The 2003 movie starred Joseph Ashton as the Boy.
32. The Outsiders. Never read, but the 1984 movie was horrible, all about "staying gold" and dying. Louise's Dictum again. I hear that the author was horrified by the idea of gay subtexts. "I intended for them to be STRAIGHT!" she shrieked.
33. The Da Vinci Code. Never read, but I hear that there's a boy-girl romance amid the skullduggery about the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templars, and who knows what else? Maybe the Holy Grail kills some Nazis.
In the 2017 tv series, Max Minghella plays Nick, an "Eye of God" (snoop) who may be working for the underground, and falls in love with handmaid June.
35. Dune. Read, but a long time ago. A vast galactic empire, Star Wars complete with sand worms but without the freedom fighters. All I remember are the quotes from the Galactic Encyclopedia, the Messiah Paul Muad-Dib marrying his mother, and a staggeringly homophobic portrayal of a gay man. But he still counts as a gay character.
36. The Little Prince. Read. Awful. Nightmare-inducing. The narrator meets the Prince of a small planet, who is trapped on Earth. The only way to get home is to be bitten by a snake. He'll look dead, but he won't really be dead. Louise's Dictum again: "Children's literature is about cool dogs or kids who die."
37. Call of the Wild. Never read, though people kept trying to talk me into it through my childhood. Apparently the dog doesn't die, he just goes feral after his humans are all murdered.
38. The Clan of the Cave Bear. Never read. Cave people: A Cro-Magnon girl goes to live with the Neanderthals, and finds love.
39. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Read. Funniest novel ever. I never laugh out loud while reading, but this time I did. Nebbish Arthur Dent and galactic gadabout Ford Prefect have picaresque adventures. So long, and thanks for all the fish. Gay subtext, no gay characters.
In the 2012 movie, Josh Hutcherson plays the Boy.
41. The Count of Monte Cristo. Read. This is another one that I can't believe people have actually read. It's long and ponderous. Dantes gets revenge on the people who wronged him, and helps a couple find true love.
42. The Joy Luck Club. Read. Chinese-American women bond with each other and experience culture clash. Minor gay character who vanishes from the 1993 movie.
43. Frankenstein. Never read, and I doubt most respondents have, either. It's an epistolary novel, published in 1817. They're thinking of the many Frankenstein movies.
44. The Giver. Never heard of it. In a dystopian future, a teenage is chosen to be "The Giver" and receive the memories of the past, like Christmas carols and seeing in color, but there are complications. And falling in lo-ooo-ooove.In the 2014 movie, Brenton Thwaites plays Jonah, the boy chosen to be the next Giver.
45.Memoirs of a Geisha. Never heard of it. A young girl becomes a geisha (a pleasure woman, but not a prostitute), lives through World War II, and falls in love. I don't think there are any gay characters.
46. Moby-Dick. Read, I think some of the respondents said it was their favorite novel because they thought they were supposed to. Ahab searches for the whale, while Ishmael and Queequeg share a bed. Gay subtext; Melville was gay, after all.
The 1998 mini-series (yes, there was a mini-series) stars Henry Thomas as Ishmael. It minimizes.
47.Catch-22. Ran away from. Weird surrealist war novel. Lots of people die.
48. Game of Thrones. Heard of the tv series, didn't realize it was based on an alternate world fantasy with magic swords and such. Apparently some gay characters, who get killed right away (bury your gays).
49. Foundation. Read. About the fall of a galactic civilization. A lot more boring than it sounds. Isaac Asimov simply cannot create vivid characters. Gay people do not exist.
The 2016 mini-series starred Paul Dano as Pierre. I have no idea who that is.
It also featured a naked soldier, penis and all, which I'm sure has Tolstoy turning over in his grave.
I've read 10 of the 25 books on this list. There are some gay subtexts, but only three have actual gay characters. So far, not so great.