The Body and Its Dangers

What does it mean to have a body in a dangerous era? Allen Barnett explored this timeless question in these six impeccably crafted stories. Written from the center of the AIDS crisis, each story is a lost song deserving a fresh listen for the way it reverberates with today’s world. How does one handle the microaggressions of friends? How does a young person experience the loss of innocence? Where do we find comfort when facing our fate? Barnett’s collection includes at least one masterpiece worthy of the queer literary canon: “The Times As It Knows Us,” which recasts the Fire Island Pines as the epidemic’s inflamed frontline in the battle for survival and dignity. Barnett raged against both Christianity and New Ageism; against fair-weather friends and his own sense of shortcoming. But amid these struggles, he rejoiced in the body as a site of pleasure. His characters are transformed in the chrysalis of sexual connection, which shapes who we are and who we are yet capable of becoming.