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Barrista posted:With all the talk about homosexuality in regards to The Last of the Wine, whether it be here or in negative reviews, I felt in the end I had more a story about a boy growing up. After reading some reviews I was really nervous that I was just in a for a homosexual romance novel and I'm not much for romance novels regardless of their sexual leanings. And I can see why some readers may feel this is a romance novel, but I guess I felt there was more to Alexias' story than that. In any case, those who think this book is pushing a homosexual "agenda" should also ask themselves if they think it's promoting slavery or arranged marriages for women, since these were also part of Athenian life. I'm having a really hard time seeing how this book could be construed to promote an overall "homosexual agenda", given that Lysis (and I'm guessing Alexias as well - I've got about ~70 pages left) get married, and even when they're together, they both seem interested in women. As you said, it's such a small part of the overall story; this is more about Alexias growing into a man and learning lessons about things like bravery, justice, etc. The feel of the book, where it's essentially Alexias's memoirs recounting his life, makes it really muted on the romance angle (I think the only explicit thing that happens is that they kiss early on). I suppose it can be seen as pushing an "agenda" of homosexuality as acceptable, but it doesn't define their characters to any great extent. There are significant parts where if you didn't know they were lovers, but just good friends, that likely wouldn't warrant comment. Crashbee posted:Sounds good to me, though I mostly nominated it because the WW1 centenary is coming up in a few days. Could go for both the WW1 centenary and the female author and do Tuchman's The Guns of August
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Jul 24, 2014 22:39
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