Thought Train to Pusan

If you are interested in the history and energy of the queer ball scene of the 1980s/1990s -- such as was immortalized in the documentary Paris is Burning --, you may love this book. But then again, such as in the case of myself, you may simply think it is fine. I think this one really falls into a category of lesser-by-comparison. That is, I know these stories and have seen other media centered around this specific period of time and community, and found them all to be more engaging than this novel. Which isn’t by any means bad, but just left me a little empty when normally these subjects fill me with much more feeling. Inspired by members of the real House of Xtravaganza that are seen in the aforementioned documentary, The House of Impossible Beauties follows numerous gay and trans, Latinx individuals as they discover themselves, leave their homes, and eventually form the House of Xtravaganza as a family unit living in Harlem. The point of view switches between numerous characters, ...