Getting Ready for Book Club

I can never be parted with books. During my little vacation here I bring with me Andrew Holleran's collection of stories In September the Light Changes, the book club selection for this month. I picked it up at Book Inc. at 16th and Noe the other day while I was browsing for the vacation pile. Holleran is a highly acclaimed novelist whose best-selling Dancer from the Dance (I've got to re-read that one too) was a landmark in gay literature. Succeeding novels Nights in Aruba and The Beauty of Men and essays in Ground Zero established him firmly in the gay literary canon. Here, Holleran pulls together 16 beautifully crafted short stories written over a 20-year period, each of which deals with perceptions of gay people, gay events, and gay places through the often ironic haze of half-remembered, garbled time. I started it yesterday and hopefully will finish in time to contribute to the discussion on September 20 at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

The book reminds me of the song Try To Remember:

Try to remember the kind of september
When life was slow and oh so mellow
Try to remember the kind of september
When grass was green and grain so yellow
Try to remember the kind of september
When you were a young and a callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh

Deep in december its nice to remember
Although you know the snow will follow
Deep in december its nice to remember
Without a hurt, the heart is hollow
Deep in december its nice to remember
The fire of september that made you mellow
Deep in december our hearts should remember
Then follow--follow, oh-oh