num_pages: 207
description: 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.
language: English
title: The City and the Pillar
titlecomplete: The City and the Pillar
characters: Paul Sullivan, Jim Willard, Ronald Shaw, Bob Ford, Maria Verlaine
genres: American, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, LGBT, Novels, Gay, Queer, Literature, Classics, Fiction
ratings_count: 9102
places: Los Angeles, California, New Orleans, Louisiana, Hollywood, California, Denver, Colorado, Virginia, The United States of America, New York City, New York, Rome
publisher: Vintage