Becoming a Man
Half a Life Story
by Paul Monette
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Both a coming-of-age and a coming-out story, this memoir by Paul Monette (1945-1995) tells about what he considered his "wasted years"--the years before he met the man who would become his long-term lover, and before he came out as a homosexual. The author discusses the pain of being a closeted homosexual, and of AIDS, which claimed the lives of many of his friends. Though the story follows the usual autobiography format, describing his early life, family, education, and later life, the writing is infused with a sense of the political, and the author's anger clearly comes through.
Editions of Becoming a Man
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Hardcover |
Publisher Harcourt |
Date 1992 |
Price $1.00 |
 Very Good |
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher Harpercollins |
Date 1993 |
Price $1.00 |
Very Good |
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher Perennial |
Date 2004 |
Price $4.41 |
New |
Publisher Notes
A child of the 1950s from a small New England town, "perfect Paul" earns straight A's and shines in social and literary pursuits, all the while keeping a secret -- from himself and the rest of the world. Struggling to be, or at least to imitate, a straight man, through Ivy League halls of privilege and bohemian travels abroad, loveless intimacy and unrequited passion, Paul Monette was haunted, and finally saved, by a dream of "the thing I'd never even seen: two men in love and laughing."
Searingly honest, witty, and humane, Becoming a Man is the definitive coming-out story in the classic coming-of-age genre.
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