The Wild Swans

This was a very difficult book to read, not because of the writing, but because of the subject matter. It deals with the AIDS epidemic on a very personal level. It juxtaposes a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's "The Wild Swans" with a tale about a gay young man, kicked out by his family, and coming out in New York City in the early '80s. Having come out myself at about the same time, I lived through this period. Reading a book or seeing a film about it is very hard for me and brings up a lot of anger, terrible sadness, and survivor's guilt. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book, with the way it told the two stories. Both stories left me emotionally devastated, but immensely satisfied as well. It was nominated for the Mythopoeic Award and won the Gaylactic Spectrum Award in 2000.

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