The City and the Pillar: A Novel

Written by Gore Vidal

Narrated by Will Damron

A literary cause célèbre when first published more than fifty years ago, Gore Vidal’s now-classic The City and the Pillar stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience.

Jim, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, Bob, partake in “awful kid stuff,” the experience forms Jim’s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find Bob and rekindle their amorous friendship. Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with Bob and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering Bob years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, The City and the Pillar remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Oct 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781799750925

Gore Vidal

Gore Vidal (1925–2012) was born at the United States Military Academy at West Point. His first novel, Williwaw, written when he was 19 years old and serving in the army, appeared in the spring of 1946. He wrote 23 novels, five plays, many screenplays, short stories, well over 200 essays, and a memoir.

Reviews for The City and the Pillar

[jacobtaylor · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A book about the dangers of heteronormativity masquerading as a queer coming of age. Brilliant

[Travis Szolkowski · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great and very enjoyable characters but the end left me wondering..

[kevin_casin · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Depicts gay men as predators. Might have been an appropriate depiction when it was published, but not into it now.

[lycomayflower · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm honestly not entirely sure what I thought of this story of a young man navigating the homosexual subculture of New York and Hollywood in the forties. I didn't care much for the style, though Vidal does get character sketches across pretty adroitly. I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting, but the story was still compelling somehow. The whole thing is quite bleak without being depressing exactly, and there seems to be this suggestion that no two human beings ever have any chance of connecting because they will never be honest enough with themselves to do so. Which, meh.

[figre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There is some question whether the analysis of the success or failure of a novel should take into account the times in which it was written. A novel that was ground-breaking and earth-shattering in its time may only be a decent read now. Is it still great for what it did in the past? Or should it only be evaluated for what it is today?Such is the struggle with The City and the Pillar, Gore Vidal’s story of a young man’s discovery of himself as a gay individual. There is no doubt that, in the 40’s, this was a shocking story. Its frank discussions of sex between men (well, not that frank in today’s culture, but definitely not unapologetic) was not exactly what people were used to hearing about back then. However, today most readers will no longer be shocked. It will not be a shock that so many leading men in Hollywood are gay, it will not be a shock that there is a gay lifestyle in New York, it will not be a shock that there is a gay sub-culture in the armed forces, and it will not be a shock that there are a lot of gay people out there.So, to stand the test of time, this novel has to be evaluated on the same criteria used to determine if any novel is good – does this tell a compelling story about compelling people?And the answer is no and yes. Without the shock value, the first part of this novel struggles under Gore Vidal’s skill. He tells the story so simply and elegantly, that the modern reader is tempted to greet it with a “ho-hum” and the desire to move on. However, Vidal uses a device toward the end of the novel that brings the pieces together (and brings the story to its conclusion) in a way that piques the readers interest. Jim (the primary subject of the tale – the young man learning who he is), after almost dying and then finding the situation will lead to his discharge, sends out letters to all the people with whom he has been involved (in various ways). In this way, we learn their history after Jim has left, and Vidal also brings them back together for the conclusion.All told, this means we have a well-written story that has, indeed, suffered some from changing times. The shock is not there. But a decent story still exists.