After being wounded at Dunkirk in World War II, Laurie Odell is sent back home to a rural British hospital. Standing out among the orderlies is Andrew, a bright conscientious objector raised as a Quaker. The unspoken romance between the two men is tested when Ralph, a friend of Laurie’s from school, re-enters his life, introducing him into a milieu of jaded, experienced gay men. Will Laurie reconcile himself to Ralph’s embrace, or can he offer Andrew the idealized, Platonic intimacy he yearns for?
This novel has been called one of the foundation stones of gay literary
fiction, ranking alongside James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and Gore
Vidal’s The City and the Pillar. Celebrated for its literary brilliance
and sincere depiction of complex human emotions, The Charioteer is a
stirring and beautifully rendered portrayal of love."
The Charioteer is a dreamy, beautiful novel that says so much when it doesn’t say anything. The queer factor of the book is obvious and evident and of course, prominent, but the issue of being ‘gay’ and being labeled as such not only during the time period in which the novel is set, but the time in which Renault’s novel is published, has to be addressed by other means and other words in order for the characters to thrive and the novel to see the light of publication. Renault’s craftsmanship of writing allows her to effortlessly do this in a way that brings the story to a richer and more lavish arena. Some things may go over a readers head, but if you allow yourself to reread or to perhaps read slower and with more care, you will see the artistry in Renaults words choices and characters actions, and plot and prose and everything! Truly, a splendid novel! Romance, society, pressure, the human psyche, homosexuality, sexuality, war, right and wrong and so much more are explored and beautified and creates a wonderful, wonderfully sad and beautiful novel!
Purchase HERE!!
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Purchase HERE!!
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