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The Library Is Open

A blog about books and writing, through rainbow-tinted glasses. Every book gets a gay rating.

  • About
  • Reviews
    • Fiction
      • Contemporary
      • Classics
    • Nonfiction
      • Essays
    • Poetry
  • Certified gay
  • Gay stuff

Author: James Whitmore

I am a writer based in Melbourne. I’m interested in nature and the environment, and queer books.

Review: Losing Face by George Haddad

A comin-of-age that troubles long after the final sentence.

Arabic writing, Australian, Contemporary, Fiction, Novel, queer, Western Sydney

Review: Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki

A stunning reimagining of the archives to reveal the people within them.

Australian, Indigenous writers, Poetry, Stella Prize, Western Australia

Review: March by Geraldine Brooks

A novel that fills in a literary absence – and opens others.

American Civil War, Fiction, Historical, Novel, Pulitzer, Slavery, US

Review: The Nutmeg’s Curse by Amitav Ghosh

A powerful retelling of the last 500 years of history – and where we go next.

Climate change, Colonialism, Environment, History, India, Indonesia, Nonfiction

Sex and death with Tennessee Williams

In his two Pulitzer-winning plays Tennessee Williams puts the light on the shadowy corners of desire.

America, Classics, gay, LGBTIQ, Play, Pulitzer, USA

Review: Passionate Friends by Sylvia Martin

A warm and erudite biography of love between to women in the early 20th century.

Australian, LGBTIQ, Nonfiction, queer

Review: Australiana by Yumna Kassab

An all-too-human portrayal of the people who live on the land.

Australian, Climate change, Contemporary, Fiction, Novel, Rural

Review: The Inheritance Of Loss by Kiran Desai

A heaving, seething, raging novel full of life’s absurdities.

Classics, Fiction, India, Novel

Review: A Room With A View by E. M. Forster

A classic novel of travel and Romance.

Classics, England, Italy, Novel

Review: Sex And Vanity by Kevin Kwan

A fizzy adaptation of E. M. Forster’s A Room With A View.

Contemporary, Fiction, Italy, New York, Novel, Racism, Romance

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