Amici:
The Price of Salt ... Patricia Highsmith's novel about lesbian love said to be the novel that inspired Nabokov's Lolita, The Price of Salt was written under a pseudonym, Claire Morgan, from fear of ruining the Highsmith name (the publishing times they hadn't changed yet). The novel, a fictional extension of what had happened to Highsmith while working in a department store during a Christmas rush (a second job she took at a time when she needed money), featured a happy ending, something very rare for homosexual literature at the time. The novel sold nearly 1 million copies.
What had happened to Highsmith (really) was she had been awestruck by a beautiful woman in a department store and actually wrote her address down and sent her a card with her store identification. Although nothing ever came of the incident (even after Highsmith drove to the address in what today would be considered a stalking incident), the novel grew from what might have been for the author. It is a compelling novel that offers the reader a perspective of a young woman finding herself sexually after a heterosexual romance doesn't do it for her. The novel also delves into the politics and restrictive morality of the times; the young woman Theresa falls for (Carol) was married with a child and although in the process of a divorce at the time, her wealthy husband has the two women followed on a trek across the country in order to take the child away from the wife. No spoilers here, except to mention (again) the happy ending. Frankly, I could've done without the happy ending but understand fully Highsmith's desire to provide one. Many of the letters she received about the book thanked her for portraying a happy life rather than having her protagonist commit suicide (which was more than norm than otherwise in gay literature at the time). It is a terrific book.
After reading the brilliant biography of Highsmith (The Talented Miss Highsmith) there was no way I couldn't go back and read some of her non-Ripley stories and this one, The Price of Salt, was an absolute pleasure. I'm now on to Strangers on a Train and feeling the Highsmith pull all over again. She may have been one nasty piece of work, but there is no denying her writing ability—simply masterful.
Well, now that we're on the subject of books, some gratuitous self promotion here. The galleys for Johnny Porno are out to reviewers. They look great and we can only hope the book itself comes close to matching the cover. Publication is set for April of this year, amici ... order a couple dozen each so DOC can't make fun of my book sale numbers anymore.
A Real Hero ... from East Coast Don at Men Reading Books:
You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle in the Ia Drang Valley.
November 11, 1965; LZ X-ray , Vietnam.
Your infantry unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the MediVac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out. Your family is 1/2 way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then, over the machine gun noise, you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter. You look up to see an unarmed Huey. But ... it doesn't seem real because no Medi-Vac markings are on it. Ed Freeman is coming for you.
He's not Medi-Vac so it's not his job, but he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway. Even after the Medi-Vacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway. And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2 or 3 of you on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses.
And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!
He took about 30 of you and your buddies out who would never have gotten out. Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman, died last Wednesday at the age of 80, in Boise , Idaho. May his soul Rest in peace! I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we've sure seen a whole bunch About Tiger Woods. . .
Medal of Honor Winner
Ed Freeman
Shame on the American media!
OUT OF THE GUTTER The latest issue is out ... these guys are great (all the stories) ... degenerate literature at its very best ... buy a copy.
From the Left ... more on Sarah Palin to FOX.
From the Right .... also one of the most offensive people on the planet and probably certifiably nuts ... Crazy Ann Coulter pens a very, very, very funny article about Harry Reid's misspeak last week here.
—Knucks
And the DOC (or is it Jeffrey?) says ...
Oh, it's a sad day Chaz,
The chick-ification of Knucksline! This is what happens when you won't kill the mouse. You're not the "Hunter/Protector" anymore. Hang up the old jockstrap, buddy-boy. The good times are over. Next she'll decide that you should not have a complete wardrobe made up of Buffalo Bills sweatwear. Look for some Forest Hills U.S. Open golf shirts in your future, maybe a couple of GreenPeace T-shirts.
So what will we be allowed to write about? I guess we can do weekly reviews of great lesbian literature, do a little Sarah-bashing, maybe chat about foreign films, that no one will ever watch, about poverty in the Congo. Outstanding ... we'll become NPR. If you could get Tavist Smiley to replace that cantankerous old Docster the transformation will be complete.
Oh, I remember the Knuckster of old ...
Now, you've become Johnny Fontaine.
So sad!
In keeping with the new format I'm working on a new weekly column. It'll be covering some of the burning issues of the Metrosexual Community. Here are a couple I've been working on:
"Crying: Is it wrong if you fake it?"
"Manicures: Clear polish or just a macho high buff?"
They should be riveting. Finally I get to explore my more sensitive side. Of course I'll have to write under a nom de plume. "Doc" is just oh so very butchy. So first you will write your non-threatening, politically correct articles and then the next day we'll have "And Jeffrey says" and I will point out any instances where you might have been more caring and empathetic. It will be a real page turner.
Well, Tuesday should be a big day in the Peoples Republik of Massachusetts. A conservative sitting in Ted Kennedy's seat? I know Mary Jo Kopechne and I will be glued to the election results.
"Hey Fredo, I think Scott Brown just peed on your shoes."
You can bet that even as we speak, busloads of ACORN and SEIU members are scouring the graveyards of Boston searching for likely Democratic voters. In Chicago that's called "campaigning".
This will probably get edited out by the Sensitivity Police, but consider it the Doc's final, insensitive rant: Hey Haiti, could you stop whining that the USA is not helping you fast enough. Would you consider possibly helping yourself. You know, clear some roads, bury some bodies, shoot some looters. We're working on it. We just weren't sitting around waiting for the earthquake to hit. Besides, Fredo has to campaign in MA on the weekend. For any of the Haitian Americans who think that is being insensitive... come to the White House. Fredo will give you a beer.
And to the bright lights who sent the planes to Haiti that are now blocking the runways because they had enough fuel to get there, but not enough fuel to leave... way to go. Is it fair to assume that we have a political appointee in charge of Disaster Services?
The end of an era, Bro
Doc/Jeffrey
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