The City and the Pillar

The City and the Pillar is considered to be “ the first book by an accepted American author to portray overt homosexuality as a natural behavior” and caused a lot of controversy upon it’s release in 1948. To this day it’s still a very divisive novel, yet in my opinion, it’s also a very important one. It is certainly not an easy read – be prepared for frank and honest depictions of human relationships, and a frankly reprehensible “protagonist”. Despite these negative aspects, I think this book is still well worth the read. The themes of internalised homophobia and self-hatred are sadly still just as relevant today as they were almost 80 years ago when the book was written. Vidal tells an honest story of the very real harm caused by judgement, prejudice, and bigotry, and more importantly we can learn just how detrimental it can be to live a life without self-acceptance. I’d highly recommend this book for anybody interested not only in important LGBTQ+ literature, but to just about any who can see the importance of being true to yourself, and accepting of the people around you.