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Rus hes A Review J _'ohn Rechy's works provide a chronicle, not only of his life "both in and out of the closet, hut. more profoundly, of changes in the gay subculture and in gay consciousness. In many ways Rechy's evolving consciousness and self-consciousness parallels the evolution and develop ment of gay sexual politics. Again and again, a theme occurs that unifies Rechy’s work and provides a basis for his evolu tion: the theme of alienation. In particular, Rechy escplores the alienation conditioned by repression of homosexuality: gay rage, both outwardly and inwardly directed. Rechy’s work can be divided into two periods: sexually repressed and sexually liberated. His early, sexually repressed books concern his struggles with homosexuality. In these books, Rechy describes repression and alienation as one who is experiencing them, feeling them, living them. There is much truth but less analysis. Repression inhibits him, fear overwhelms him, dread and loathing threaten to consume..*. Yet he remains magnetically attracted to the gay subculture. In City of Night (19^3) He exists there under the cover of being a "straight” prostitute selling sex to "queer" johns. An accurate description of part of subculture life in the late 5^^ and early 60s, the ncN-el provides insight into one of the ways that gay men are divided against them selves through sexual repression and alienation. Prostitution is presented as a metaphor and a symptom at the same time for a pervasive alienation that divides self, others, and society in general. But rather than completely understand and conquer repression and alienation, Rechy capitulates. He doesn’t come out, he retreats, and the novel ends with a nervous breakdown. From there, a string of books contains various mixtures of subterfuge and progress. The general trend of these works is toward moire and more self-awareness, tiy Nelson Lancaster though not in an absolutely linear piogression: there are twists and turns along the way toward coming out. Numbers deals with sexual compulsion, though the author implicitly identifies himself as "straight." This Day’s Death is about oppression in the particular form of police-harassment, and though still "straight," Rechy makes political progress. In The Fourth Angel he deals with self-hatred and the conscious numbing of one’s humanity. This numbing is connected with homo sexuality and its repression; the work is evidently drawn from lessons learned in the sado masochistic subculture. But this again is partly obfuscated: the main character (Rechy) is "straight." Finally, in Vampires (1971)i Rechy makes the retreat of nihilism. Defining morality and evil in veiy Christian terms, he finds the whole world hopelessly evil, hopelessly corrupt. Innocence is maimed, raped, destroyed. c c We’re fighting on two fronts one on the streets, the other inside.” The novel seems to be an attempt at excorcising, disclaiming, repressing homosexuality, which is disguised as "evil." Rechy seems to have given up "auid there was nothing but a pure, pure black ness." (Vampires, 276.) Finally, Rechy came out. After a six year silence. The Sexual Outlaw was published in 1977 • For the first time, Rechy places him self clearly among the gays, no longer pretending to be "straight," no longer repressing his homo sexuality. The Sexual Outlaw is less a novel than a series of essays and descriptions, a spirited, triumphant defense of homosexuality and gay lifestyles. ^ ^ v (RUSHES, cont. p. 10) lij iJ;
Lambda (Carolina Gay and Lesbian Association, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
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Oct. 1, 1980, edition 1
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