City of Night belongs to the literary genre known as the "underground" novel. The word underground usually denotes an activity that is forbidden, or an aspect of life which polite society chooses not to face in broad daylight. And so it is here, as John Rechy depicts the world of male hustlers and their "tricks" in the big urban sprawl of America.
The novel has acquired a legendary status and it demands to be read, although no doubt the shock value has diminished over the decades.
City of Night is best described as one man's odyssey: an unnamed male prostitute travels from the East Coast to the West Coast, picking up clients. The Los Angeles portion of the novel emphasises the lives of transvestites. The locales are seedy - the language equally so. It has been suggested that the book inspired director Gus Van Sant to write and film My Own Private Idaho.
City of Night is best described as one man's odyssey: an unnamed male prostitute travels from the East Coast to the West Coast, picking up clients. The Los Angeles portion of the novel emphasises the lives of transvestites. The locales are seedy - the language equally so. It has been suggested that the book inspired director Gus Van Sant to write and film My Own Private Idaho.
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