An American Memory

Title: An American Memory

Author: George Seaton

Publisher: Wilde City Press

Publisher URL: www.wildecity.com

ISBN: 978-1-925031-83-6

Genre: {M/M} Twentieth Century Historical

Rating: 4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Chocolate Minx

Narrated in the first person, one man recounts life for homosexuals in a Denver community. The orator is a people-watcher who chronicles places, as well as his social encounters from 1969 through 1982.

Though the characters are mainly gay men, the idiosyncrasies exhibited are human traits not restricted to any sexual category. For example, the first narrative illustrates a talented character named Michael who hears voices in his head. Creativity or living in his own reality? The origin of reality is an individual perception rather than a standardized opinion of the general public.

The stories begin with the adult gay man and descend into his coming of age teenage years when he was first subjected to the painful actions of bigots. After two years in the Army, the narrator realized he could no longer live the heterosexual lie society expected. At the age of twenty four, he steps out of the closet to live the life nature intended. However, the deadly disease sweeping through the nation brings the freedom of casual sex amongst the gay men to an abrupt halt. The loss of so many to AIDS blanketed the whole community with apprehension.

George Seaton’s An American Memory is a captivating very enjoyable blend of observations, descriptive settings along with a touch of humor. This was the era when the majority of society regarded homosexuals as part of the small clans of outcast inhabiting the less desirable sections of the city. Labels like Gay, Flower Child, Hippies as well as the Political Rebels were all lumped together in the conceited mentality of America. The era was considered a temporary misguided phase, not part of their civilized religious lifestyle. That is until noteworthy men started dying from AIDS. Suddenly, everyone became aware of the secret lives of friends and neighbors. Homosexuals had become the untouchables, sub-humans that did not deserve fair treatment or equal rights.