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FYI: I'm not connected to this author or publisher in any way, I just finished reading this book and it moved me so much I wanted to share with others. Also, forgive me if any of my comments sound too American-centric, that's where I live. I know the fight for queer liberation isn't over here, nor in many other parts of the world, where the stories told in this book are still a daily reality.

Most of us are aware of the turning point in American queer liberation that were the Stonewall Riots in 1969. I've read many a book about these events and what American gay life was like in the decades that followed. There are even some very popular novels in the queer lit canon set before Stonewall. However, I think Disorderly Men might be the best one I've ever read.

This novel was published last year (2023) and is set around 1962 in NYC, and describes the ordeal that several closeted gay men are put through when the gay bar they find themselves in one evening is raided by the NYPD. As you might expect, it's not pretty. I will warn you that some moments in this book that were absolutely devastating to read as a gay person. Terrifying, even. But the characters' arcs do bend toward justice, for the most part.

I finished the book last night and my general reaction is that it should be considered required reading. It paints such a vivid picture of just how much of a struggle it was back then, something that is frankly a bit easy to forget. I was left with such a tremendous appreciation for what people like us went through back then, and the incredible bravery of those who eventually fought back. After reading this book, it's easy to imagine why - they were left with very little to lose, mostly thanks to the actions of the police and others who treated them with such brutality.

✊