The Rose City: Stories

by David Ebershoff

Book Overview

A Lambda Literary Award Finalist Winner of The Ferro-Grumley Award for Gay Fiction Award-winning short stories from the author of The Danish Girl and Pasadena "Passion for us all will remain a troublesome thing." The Rose City combines a collection of unforgettable characters with Ebershoff's trademark emotional insight and intelligent prose in seven stories about young men and boys as they discover and rediscover themselves in a world that never...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142000817
• ISBN13: 9780142000816
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Penguin Adult Hc/Tr
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Exceptional reading and thought provoking

While reading these David Ebershoff's short stories I kept turning to the back of the book to see his photograph. He reminds me of the boy-next-door and his innocent eyes and slight smile grabs you -- and his short stories are anything less than innocent. Where on earth did Mr. Ebershoff come up with these wonderful gems? They're brilliant! Seven short stories -- seven different themes totally. Readers who want crisp, tight reading will find The Rose City compelling and difficult to sit down. I don't describe plots in my reviews, but anyone who wishes gay-themed short stories that go beyond sex and looking good is in for a major treat. I highly recommend The Rose City. So much in fact I'm giving it a second read immediately. If I could rate the book higher than a 5, I would.

A Fine Collection of Short Stories Courtesy Of Ebershoff

David Ebershoff cements his reputation as one of the most exciting writers of my generation in this elegant collection of short stories dealing with relationships from the perspective of a gay lifestyle. He writes with much grace and understanding, offering sympathetic portrayals of gay characters ranging in age from ten to forty eight. It's one of the best recent collection of short stories I've read, rising close in stature to Rick Moody's "Demonology". Having enjoyed both "The Danish Girl" and now, "The Rose City", I eagerly await reading Ebershoff's next novel.

On Being Different

This is a slim volume of only seven stories, six of which have been published previously. Similar themes run through several of these stories. In many of them a male character, often young, is dealing with his sexual feelings for other males and the realization that he is different. They range in age from a ten year old ("The Dress") to the middle-aged Roland--who has the least self-awareness of any of these characters-- in the title story "The Rose City." There is not a happy male among them as they grapple with who they are or who they are becoming. I found the youngsters particularly poignant. But perhaps the saddest character in any of the stories is Roland. Obsessed with his appearnce, he is 48, has had a nose job, constantly works out, is forever looking for a new "hubby-hub." Nothing much ever changes in his life. I fear that Roland is not as different from some of us as we would hope. A most interesting if not admirable character. So these stories, while they may not get you up and dancing, ring completely true. Mr. Ebershoff is a very fine writer. He has a wonderful gift of setting a tone or describing a character or situation in few words. Here are only two examples: An AIDS victim is someone "who died in his sleep, boiled over with fever." We experience immediately the horror of this man's death. Another example: Jon in "Regime" describes his mother as "custardy in the upper arm." A wonderful image. There is nothing left to be said.These are bleak but thoughtful stories. I recommend them highly.

Exquisite Agony

Each story captures an exquisitely agonizing moment in the life of a gay youth (or of a man trapped in his gay youth); a moment when a decision is made that will set a precedent for future behavior. The story about the boy who gets trapped in a dress and has to be cut free by his dad is probably the most charming. I (unfortunately) associated with the poor boy who uses anorexia to gain "control" over his miserable life. Is there a gay man out there who hasn't known a man like Billy who justifies his own betrayals with the thought his parents betrayed him? Perhaps "Living Together" is my favorite - so subtle, so painful, so true. Ebershoff's language is at once precise and lush. We are developing a very smart contemporary gay literature and we are lucky to have this author dedicated to illuminating our particular condition.

An Insider's Understanding

David Ebershoff is one of the more exciting new writers of fiction on the scene today. In his latest book of stories he proves that not only does he write well, but he also has that rare ability to create characters so real that we can swear that we've met them. And this is all the more unusual in that the people he creates are far from heroic. They represent that part in all of us that just borders on malfunctional, traits that if pushed further would be gross fodder for the mental hospital. And yet he makes us care for them....passionately. Ebershoff also firmly understands Pasadena, California - a strange place watched by millions on January 1 each year as a haven for beautiful flowers, purple mountains, palm trees, and terribly affluent people. Without resorting to disdain Ebershoff lets us get to know these sequestered relics from another time who refuse to move out of their historic importance into reality. He takes on the guise of the very young, the aging closeted divas, the used up street walkers and wanabe sex toys, and with each narrator voice he seems to be intuitively right on target. This is a superb collection of stories from a writer who merits our close attention. His next novel will be eagerly awaited by a growing devoted readership.