by John Rechy
Excruciatingly specific, this novel about the homosexual underworld on New York's waterfront still manages to be moving, even for non-gay readers. There's a sadomasochistic orgy scene, for instance, but Rechy goes so deeply into subtleties of place and character that its prurient qualities seem secondary. In probably his best book since the homoerotic classic City of Night was published 16 years ago, Rechy aims both high (Catholic symbolism is interwoven) and deep (there are wonderful portraits of two chic heterosexual characters who are "slumming"). If the unabashedly homosexual Rechy wrote on other subjects, he would be even more widely acclaimed. (Grove Press, $10)
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