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List Price: $14.00 | | Publisher: Broadway
Salesrank: 196587
Released: June 16, 2009 |
| Our Price: $6.75 |
| Used Price: $4.44 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
A hilarious and deeply moving account of one man’s journey from stereotype to truth.
Joel Derfner is a knitter, an aerobics instructor, a cheerleader, a go-go dancer, and a musical theater composer, but when he realizes one day that he’s a walking gay cliché he embarks on a quest for deeper meaning. A very, very funny quest for deeper meaning. And whether he’s confronting the demons of his past at a GLBT summer camp, using the Internet to “meet” men–many, many men–or going undercover to a conference of ex-gays, he discovers that what he’s looking for–and sometimes even finds, hidden underneath the surface of everyday life–is his own identity. In the tradition of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs, yet with its own particular flair, Swish is a story told with not just wit but humor; not just candor but honesty; and not just compassion but humanity.
Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever and What Ended Up Happening Instead Reviews:
you HAVE to get this! 
2009-12-18 - I adore this book. It has something for everyone - gay, straight, striped, whatever. I laughed, I related, I didn't want it to end. An all-around fabulous read!
Enjoyable but uneven read. 
2009-09-13 - This book is similar to another "gay memoir" I read so much so that at first I actually believed they were written by the same author. Mr. Derfner's tale of his various exploits in his self-proclaimed quest to become the gayest person are told in a light handed and not necessarily linear fashion. Though not everything is light and airy as Mr. Derfner addresses some difficult occurrences in his personal life and some chapters dwell into rather dark places.
The novel does manage to touch on every part of the stereotypical gay experience. One can somewhat empathize with Mr. Derfner though unlike Since My Last Confession by Scott Pornfret, this book does not provide explanations for the various gay terminology. So it may be a bit confusing for those unfamiliar with the terminology used. It goes without say that should you have a problem with homosexuals of any type you should read at your own risk.
The gayest person ever? Not quite.
2009-08-29 - First of all, it's a fool's errand. You'll never be the gayest, because some queen will always go that one step further than you.
So, I liked this book, but I didn't love it, mostly because it felt like Joel, who's witty and entertaining, was trying just a bit too hard to be the gay blade. The truest bitchy queens always make it seem effortless.
The ex-gay section was by far the best part of the book. In fact, it could have been a book in itself. These are souls too tortured to even hate; I just felt for them.
Still, it's generally a fun read, and Joel has one classic observation about being gay: it's nothing and everything, all at once.
Required Reading
2008-12-20 - Rarely do I find myself taking the time to review anything (5 attempts at a blog and not one lasted more than a month!) but how could I not! While on a residency trip for grad school, I went to a bookstore to browse for diversion in the form of light reading or fashion magazines. How could it be possible for the cover not to completely draw you in! I read it on the plane ride from Virginia home to California. I laughed until I cried and then went online to order ten more copies to give away. Swish for everyone! I also recommend reading it out loud to someone you love, or like a lot, or just to complete strangers as a random act of kindness.
A Great B-Time Read ;)
2008-11-04 - Picked it up based on the ridiculous cover and it hit the spot.... Hilarious in spots, insightful in others... a book about a part of one gay man's journey that has relevance for all of us.
Kudos to Mr. Derfner ;)
