LGBTQ Literature

From Christopher Isherwood's enduring 20th-century classic Goodbye to Berlin to contemporary titles like Janet Mock's Redefining Realness, the titles in this study guide collection explore a range of ideas, issues, genres, and forms that speak to the LGBTQ community.

Brokeback Mountain

by Annie Proulx

Publication year 1997

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, Sexual Identity, Social Class, Hope

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Western, Modern Classic Fiction

“Brokeback Mountain,” by award-winning American author Annie Proulx, addresses themes of Masculine Sexuality and the Forbidden Love of Queer Romance, The Inescapable Effects and Momentum of Poverty, and Powerlessness and Loss of Hope. Like much of Proulx’s work, the story includes a strong sense of place. Wyoming’s unforgiving landscape figures prominently in “Brokeback Mountain,” and the film adaptation by the same name received acclaim for its cinematography as well as its unapologetic portrayal of queer... Read Brokeback Mountain Summary

Call Me By Your Name

by André Aciman

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, The Past, Childhood & Youth, Language

Tags Romance, LGBTQ+, Coming of Age, Modern Classic Fiction

IntroductionCall Me By Your Name by André Aciman is a piece of literary fiction in the subgenres of romance literature and queer literature. Published in 2007, the novel became a bestseller, received positive critical reception, and won the 2008 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. The 2017 film adaptation of Call Me By Your Name, directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, won, among other accolades, the Academy Award for Best Adapted... Read Call Me By Your Name Summary

Carmilla

by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu

Publication year 2012

Genre Novella, Fiction

Themes Mothers, Grief

Tags Classic Fiction, Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Gothic Literature, Fantasy, LGBTQ+

Carmilla is a Gothic novella in which a young woman named Laura details her relationship with a vampire in the form of a young woman named Carmilla. The first event that Laura details in the novella is an episode from her childhood: a six-year-old Laura is attempting to sleep when she is visited by a mysterious young lady (later revealed to be the vampire Carmilla, or at least a representation of Carmilla) who bites her... Read Carmilla Summary

Carry On

by Rainbow Rowell

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate, Power & Greed, Friendship, Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Parody, LGBTQ+, Social Class, Education, Love & Sexuality, Science Fiction

Published in 2015, Rainbow Rowell’s young-adult fantasy novel Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a spinoff of her young-adult novel Fangirl (2013) and the first book of the Simon Snow trilogy. Other works by this author include Slow Dance, Eleanor and Park, and Landline.Carry On, which was awarded a place on the Rainbow Project Book List in 2016, examines themes of love, power, and free will. Simon Snow is the Chosen... Read Carry On Summary

Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Sexual Identity, Community, Revenge, Gender Identity

Tags LGBTQ+, Fantasy, Grief & Death, Coming of Age, Diversity, Religion & Spirituality, Gender & Feminism, Love & Sexuality, Modern Classic Fiction, Romance

... Read Cemetery Boys Summary

Cereus Blooms At Night

by Shani Mootoo

Publication year 1996

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Gender Identity, Memory, Colonialism

Tags Colonialism & Postcolonialism, LGBTQ+, Trauma & Abuse, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism

Cereus Blooms at Night (1996) is the first novel-length work of fiction written by Shani Mootoo, a Canadian author who was born in Ireland and grew up on the island nation of Trinidad. The novel was originally published in Canada and received critical acclaim there and internationally. It was a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Giller Prize and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Mootoo is also a visual artist... Read Cereus Blooms At Night Summary

Chain-Gang All-Stars

by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Wins & Losses, Power & Greed, Justice, Fame, Community, Teamwork, Death, Future, Race, Gender Identity, Mental Health

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Satirical Literature, LGBTQ+, Black Lives Matter, Business & Economics, Grief & Death, US History, Incarceration, Race & Racism, Trauma & Abuse, Social Justice, Fantasy

... Read Chain-Gang All-Stars Summary

Chain of Gold

by Cassandra Clare

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate, Good & Evil, Loyalty & Betrayal, Community

Tags Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Coming of Age, World History, Religion & Spirituality

... Read Chain of Gold Summary

Christabel

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Publication year 1816

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Loyalty & Betrayal, Place, Sexual Identity, Safety & Danger, Mothers, Beauty

Tags Narrative Poem, Horror & Suspense, Love & Sexuality, LGBTQ+, Religion & Spirituality, Romanticism, British Literature, Science Fiction, Gothic Literature, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a key figure in the British Romantic Era of poetry wrote the Gothic narrative poem “Christabel” in two parts, the first in 1797, and the second in 1800. Though it was still unfinished, “Christabel” was published in 1816.“Christabel” is Coleridge’s longest poem, at almost 700 lines. It is also the least edited of Coleridge’s work. Most of the poem contrasts the innocent piety of Christabel with the experience and supernatural abilities of... Read Christabel Summary

City of Bones

by Cassandra Clare

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Love, Revenge, Appearance & Reality

Tags Fantasy, Science Fiction, Religion & Spirituality, Romance, Action & Adventure, Social Class, Love & Sexuality, LGBTQ+, Gender & Feminism, Grief & Death

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007) is the first in the Mortal Instruments series of young adult urban fantasy novels, followed by City of Ashes. The book follows a seemingly ordinary 15-year-old girl as she learns she is descended from an ancient race of demon hunters. City of Bones is a New York Times bestseller and inspired several media adaptations, including a graphic novel of the same name (3rd World... Read City of Bones Summary

Clear

by Carys Davies

Publication year 2024

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Love, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, The Past, Place, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags World History, LGBTQ+, Historical Fiction

... Read Clear Summary

Clown in a Cornfield

by Adam Cesare

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Loneliness, Nostalgia, Revenge, Coming of Age, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Fathers, Self Discovery, Community, Politics & Government, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Safety & Danger

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, LGBTQ+

... Read Clown in a Cornfield Summary

Confessions of a Mask

by Yukio Mishima

Publication year 1949

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Masculinity

Tags LGBTQ+, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, World History

Confessions of a Mask is a novel by Yukio Mishima, first published in Japan in 1949. The novel takes place during and immediately after World War II and centers on the struggles of a young man named Kochan. It has significant elements of the coming-of-age (bildungsroman) and queer literature genres, as Kochan is a closeted gay man trying to navigate his complex inner life and sexuality in contrast with his carefully controlled outer persona. The... Read Confessions of a Mask Summary