The Kingdom of Sand by Andrew Holleran

Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022--San Antonio

The Kingdom of Sand by Andrew Holleran was named as one of the Top 20 Books of 2022 by the London Times and one of the Top 5 Books of 2022 by the Los Angeles Times.  It is different from most novels.  It is really just a description of a slice of life of an aging gay man in a small town in Florida.  He has a local friend who isn't close enough to rely on each other, but who occasionally calls to invite him to his home to watch a classic film or hear a recording of an opera.  He has returned to this town because of his parents were becoming incapacitated.  His father dies and his mother, after having to be in a wheel chair for several months, everntually goes to a nursing home in Gainesville.  He has a very limited sex life.   He stops sometimes at a gay cinema at a crossroads he passes returning from Gainesville.  He has a regular sex buddy who is the partner of a female physical therapist in the town.   Even though his parents have both died, he has remained in their home in the small town except for occasional trips to D.C. for 2-3 weeks due to a part-time job.  He uses those opportunities to interact with old friends there and returns to his rather lonely existence in the small town.  On evenings when not invited to his friend's home, he walks the town observing the changes that have taken place (such as the slow deterioration of certain homes and the residents that are new vs. the ones who lived there in the past, etc.), the sunsets, the life in the flat areas that were once part of a large lake, etc.  His friend eventually dies, and his life becomes even more restrictive and alone.  He focuses on who he finds attractive (from a distance), but he continues to be a loner and to accept and even prefer being alone.  I gave the book 4 stars out of 5.