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Le langage perdu de grues (1986)

par David Leavitt

Autres auteurs: Voir la section autres auteur(e)s.

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1,2842314,787 (3.72)43
Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a swiftly gentrifying Manhattan, The Lost Language of Cranes tells the story of twenty-five-year-old Philip Benjamin, who realizes he must come out to his parents after falling in love for the first time with a man. Philip's parents are facing their own problems: pressure from developers and the loss of their longtime home. But the real threat to the family is Philip's father's own struggle with his suppressed homosexuality, realized only in Sunday afternoon visits to gay porn theaters. Philip's revelation to his parents leads his father to a point of crisis and provokes changes that forever alter the landscape of the family's lives.… (plus d'informations)
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Affichage de 1-5 de 23 (suivant | tout afficher)
I always find it hard to review a two-star book, because the inevitable question is 'well why did you read it?' I read this because it was sort of hinted to me that Leavitt is a kind of American Alan Hollinghurst. However, his writing lacks the grace and style of Hollinghurst, and his characters lack the depth and complexity.

Essentially this is a book about miserable people written in lifeless prose. As a contrast, I'm reading Howard Jacobson at the moment, who writes about miserable people with sparkling, witty prose and it makes all the difference.

I did wonder as I read it if this book has just aged badly, and that at the time of writing it could get away with its dead prose and maudlin world view because it had political currency. However, there are many positive reviews on here, so I guess it just didn't provide that specific thing that separates my taste from that of many others. ( )
  robfwalter | Jul 31, 2023 |
Rose y Owen Benjamin llevan una vida tranquila y sin sobresaltos en el vertiginoso Nueva York de nuestros días. Para ambos, su matrimonio y su apartamento familiar en medio de la ciudad constituyen un remanso de paz, un refugio. Pero Rose, correctora de una editorial, oculta el anhelo de una pasión que ha estado ausente de su vida, y Owen, que en su juventud pareciera destinado a una vida más brillante, se ha recluido en un monótono aunque respetable trabajo en una escuela privada, y esconde también una obsesión inconfesable. Pero será su único hijo, Philip, quien hará estallar este apacible mundo de civilizados secretos, cuando decida airear públicamente su homosexualidad y enfrentar a sus padres con la realidad.
  Natt90 | Mar 8, 2023 |
The Lost Language of Cranes focuses on a very specific time and place in queer history, and as a result any given reader's mileage may vary. The story focuses on the Benjamin family, consisting of parents Owen and Rose and son Philip. Owen and Rose are in danger of losing their apartment, and Owen and Philip are both closeted gay men living in 1980s New York.

I want to start by saying that I enjoyed the read overall, because I did indeed finish it. The story was interesting, and I appreciated the sheer amount of introspection we're given from all of the different perspectives. The very last scene is brilliantly written, and I think it is an image I'll be thinking about for days to come.

I say all this first because I have some big gripes that I'll be going into now.

There is an additional subplot about a Black lesbian named Jerene that, frankly, does not get enough time in the spotlight. There is so much more that Leavitt could have done with her and her story, but as it is, it just seems like it was thrown in as a way to have additional representation (and to explain the title of the book). It feels like there was a half-hearted attempt to tie Jerene's story in with Philip's, but it ultimately felt like she was playing the role of the main character's boy-trouble confidant, which, ew.

Rose, Owen's wife and Philip's mother, becomes intolerable toward the last third or so of the book. It made me want to throw my book at the wall with how much I despised her. This is all fine, but Leavitt seems to be trying to gain her some sympathy points toward the very end, which - hell no. She's an awful, selfish person, and she doesn't deserve a redemption arc, as flimsy as this one is.

Because this book was written in the 80s - the same time in which the book takes place - there are things that readers today may struggle with, internalized homophobia chief among them. I'm an advocate for reading with the time and place in mind, but others may not be able to do so. That's worth keeping in mind before checking this one out.

All in all, it's clear that Leavitt is a good writer, and the use of scene and character is great; I'd be interested in reading Leavitt's other work. I just wish the women were treated a little differently than they are here. ( )
1 voter bumblybee | Apr 29, 2022 |
A moving, fairly well-written book about the yearning and apartness feelings of different generations of gay men. ( )
  bobbieharv | Jul 15, 2019 |
From all quarters I've heard that this is one of the best and most influential modern gay novels, and when I started reading 'Gay Men's Literature in the 20th Century' I noticed one of its last chapters was devoted to it and even 'Pulp Friction' name-dropped it in its introduction. I've slowed down on those two books, especially Lilly's, but I was curious enough to give 'The Lost Language of Cranes' a try.

The book centers on Phillip Benjamin, his parents Rose and Owen and, to a lesser extent, Jerene, the roommate of Phillip's boyfriend. Because of when it was written its treatment of AIDS especially can feel dated, but the book doesn't hinge on that fact. Authenticity doesn't have precise parameters, but I felt the book addressed many different aspects of gay life and culture and was sensitive to different populations within the lgbt community. As I was reading this I bemoaned the marginal token lesbian Jerene seemed to be playing, but, as if Leavitt heard my objection, he expanded her role in the later parts of the novel.

'Cranes' strikes me as effortlessly comprehensive in its portrayal of gay characters in different walks and periods of life, this is a modern coming-out story, but also an examination of other characters and tropes that have been staples of gay literature from the suppressed middle-aged man, decadents of all ages, wounded family and spouses, nods to a gay culture that was only just beginning to be codified and dissected, something I was more attuned to because of my recent readings in gay literary criticism. Leavitt's prose is clear and matter-of-fact without being too spare.

There is plenty of dramatic incidents, the book is touching and sad, but also very funny even during the most self-pitying moments of the characters. A call is made to a phone sex line and it is hysterical. Heartbreaking, sure, but hysterical. I've delayed this review for so long, holding up the line for weeks, because it's yet another book that I feel deserves a little more than my usual key tappings, but in the end goings-ons force me to cut my ambitions. Let me just say that I liked it. It was good. ( )
  ManWithAnAgenda | Feb 18, 2019 |
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Nom de l'auteurRôleType d'auteurŒuvre ?Statut
David Leavittauteur principaltoutes les éditionscalculé
Comes i Arderiu, LluísTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
Vezzoli, DelfinaTraducteurauteur secondairequelques éditionsconfirmé
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Forgive me if you read this ...
I had gone so long without loving,
I hardly knew what I was thinking.

- James Merrill, "Days of 1964"
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In memory of my mother, Gloria Rosenthal Leavitt
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Early on a rainy Sunday afternoon in November a man was hurrying down Third Avenue, past closed and barred florist shops and newsstands, his hands stuffed into his pockets and his head bent against the wind.
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"Hello," Philip said. "This is Philip."
"Philip, it's your father."
"I'm afraid I can't come to the phone right now, but if you'll leave me a message when you hear the beep - "
"Fag, fag, fag, your father is a goddamned fag," Owen screamed into the phone.
" - happy to call you back as soon as I can."
"Fag," Owen said morosely.
"Thank you for calling."
"Fag father of fag son," Owen said.
The beep sounded.
Owen hung up.
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Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:Set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a swiftly gentrifying Manhattan, The Lost Language of Cranes tells the story of twenty-five-year-old Philip Benjamin, who realizes he must come out to his parents after falling in love for the first time with a man. Philip's parents are facing their own problems: pressure from developers and the loss of their longtime home. But the real threat to the family is Philip's father's own struggle with his suppressed homosexuality, realized only in Sunday afternoon visits to gay porn theaters. Philip's revelation to his parents leads his father to a point of crisis and provokes changes that forever alter the landscape of the family's lives.

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