November 2023 MBR The LGBTQ Fiction Shelf

The LGBTQ Fiction Shelf

Vulgarian Rhapsody
Alvin Orloff
Three Rooms Press
www.threeroomspress.com
9781953103383, $16.00, PB, 212pp

https://www.amazon.com/Vulgarian-Rhapsody-Alvin-Orloff/dp/1953103383

Synopsis: Harris, San Francisco's most annoying gay barfly, doesn't mean to be bitchy, passive aggressive, or insulting. But he's so bedazzled by his own critical brilliance he feels morally obliged to share his scathing opinions with the world at any and every opportunity. This irritates no one more than his roommate, Maxine, an avant-garde transsexual cabaret singer.

When she overhears him badmouthing her on the phone she flies into a rage and expels him from their apartment. This crisis couldn't come at a worse time. The year is 1999 and the "dot com" boom has rendered cheap housing nonexistent, and Harris, who works as a part-time telemarketer, is (as usual) low on funds.

Will he be able to convince one of his eccentric, semi-dysfunctional friends with a rent-controlled apartment to let him move in?

Critique: Impressively original, exceptionally well written with a genuine flair for the kind of narrative driven storytelling that will keep the reader's rapt attention from start to finish, "Vulgarian Rhapsody" by Alvin Orloff is a fun read and one that immerses the reader in the eclectic bohemian and LGBTQ life styles that San Francisco is so well known for. Highly recommended for both community and college/university library LGBTQ Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Vulgarian Rhapsody" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.49).

Editorial Note: Alvin Orloff (http://www.alvinorloff.com) began writing in 1977, penning lyrics for The Blowdryers, an early San Francisco punk band. He spent the 1980s working as a telemarketer and exotic dancer while attending U.C. Berkeley and performing with The Popstitutes, an absurd performance art/homocore band. In 1990 he co-founded Klubstitute, a floating queer cabaret that featured spoken word, theater, drag, and musical acts. The author of three previous novels, including I Married an Earthling, he was a LAMBDA Literary Prize finalist for his memoir Disasterama! Adventures in the Queer Underground 1977-1997 (Three Rooms Press), He lives in San Francisco and works in the heart of the historic Castro District as the proprietor of Fabulosa Books.

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