Pride Month: three books to rediscover

On the occasion of Pride Month, The Pathfinder looks back at three novels that highlight the LGBTQIA+ community.

1 No Kids by Julie Rey

In No kids (R Jeunesse), Julie Rey deals with asexuality, memory and transmission by following the journey of three friends with different objectives. When Malika, who campaigns for the No Kids movement, becomes pregnant and decides to have an abortion, the dynamic of the trio is disrupted and the certainties of the day before evolve in the face of incomprehension and the search for meaning. Finding refuge in her grandmother’s notebooks, Malika rediscovers the women’s liberation movement.

Julie Rey addresses both adolescents and adults in her work and knows how to deal with the most complex and profound subjects by focusing above all on her authentic and tangible characters.

2 Last Call by Elon Green

Former investigative journalist (having notably worked with The New York Times), Elon Green offers his first novel with Last Call (Éditions Sonatine) and focuses on New York in the 1990s. Several unsolved murders are committed within the homosexual community and all the victims have one thing in common: the Townhouse, a piano bar.

Returning to a true story that has gone silent, the author deals with both homophobia and the inaction of law enforcement at the time. A news item which was also the subject of a documentary series on HBO (based on the book by Elon Green) entitled Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York.

3 The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

In just two books, Madeline Miller has made a splash with her exciting take on Greek mythology. The Song of Achilles (Pocket), his first novel published in 2015, looks back on the life of Achilles before and during the Trojan War, accentuating the story around his romantic relationship with Patroclus, too often reduced in stories to a simple companion or cousin . A touching love story and a respectful and innovative look at Greek mythology, The Song of Achilles allows us to understand myths and legends with empathy, constructed like a great novel of adventure, war and impossible love.

In 2019, Madeline Miller continues her work on mythology with Circea (Pocket), a masterpiece of the genre focusing on the witch that Ulysses meets during his journey.