Books › In One Person
In One Person
725 pages
A sprawling, tragicomic love letter to the uncategorizable people in our lives, spanning decades of desire, loss, and theatrical self-discovery.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting down with an old friend who is eager to recount the sprawling, messy, and deeply theatrical story of their life. The narrative unfolds at a meandering, conversational pace, winding through decades of sexual awakening, unrequited crushes, and profound loss. It balances a wry, tragicomic tone with a deeply earnest exploration of what it means to live outside of neat categories. The atmosphere is steeped in nostalgia and bittersweet reflection, particularly as the exuberance of youth gives way to the devastating reality of the AIDS epidemic. The prose is expansive and motif-heavy, wrapping the reader in a warm, empathetic embrace. It is a perfect fit for readers who love character-driven sagas that celebrate the beautiful, heartbreaking complexities of human desire and found family.
- Mood
- bittersweet
- theatrical
- intimate
- melancholic
- Tone
- wry
- tragicomic
- nostalgic
- earnest
- empathetic
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- sexual fluidity and identity · the devastation of the AIDS epidemic · found family and outsiders · unrequited love · the solitariness of aging
- The writing
- The prose is expansive, conversational, and heavily punctuated with recurring motifs and tragicomic observations.
- The arc
- The journey moves from the confused, theatrical exuberance of youth through the devastating losses of the AIDS crisis, arriving at a place of quiet, solitary acceptance.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sprawling, character-rich sagas that blend humor with deep emotional devastation, particularly those interested in LGBTQ+ history and identity.
Content notes
- homophobia
- transphobia
- the AIDS epidemic
- death of loved ones
- sexual content
About the book
A novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love—tormented, funny, and affecting—and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 in his landmark novel of "terminal cases," The World According to Garp.
In One Person is a poignant tribute to Billy’s friends and lovers—a theatrical cast of characters who defy category and convention. Not least, In One Person is an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the solitariness of a bisexual man who is dedicated to making himself "worthwhile."
Description from Open Library.
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