The Shining City

The Shining City tells the story of two boys growing up in postwar affluence in the suburbs. Ashley is the son of Fag and Roddie and lives in a suburb where each house looks like a motel. Christopher, his cousin, inhabits a high wealthy slope. These are the swinging sixties, the seventies, the years of flower power, platform shoes and Vietnam. Two young men, shining in an affluent white light, emerge from a chrysalis. Are they looking for something – or somebody? The Shining City is the second in the saga begun with the much-acclaimed Oracles and Miracles. The saga, which also includes Mum and Bangs, portrays five generations of a family and the story of an entire provincial society. Lauded by some critics, by others this book in the saga has been trashed fiercely. W J McEldowney: 'Inverting life in the sordid city ... the most unpleasant book that I have read for a very long time.' Robert Dessaix: 'one of the most marvellous pieces of gay writing.'