The Beauty Queen

I found this book to be very true of the political and social pressures that all gays face. The father in this book must make the choice to come out as gay or support his daughter's quest to erase the infedels(homosexuals) from the world. Her fanatical obsession cleary reflects the fervor from which many politicians of today react. This book could hold true to any person's heart about misuderstanding a group of people. A real eye opening book, though it is a work of fiction.

Take a closeted gay man, his republican beauty queen daughter, and have him finance her bid for state office in New York, and you have a brilliant novel! Patricia Nell Warren hooked me with The Front Runner series of books. And when I read this book, there were many times I found myself smiling and laughing. Set in the 70s, the book does read like a comical version of Anita Bryant's (I hope I have that name right) campaign to extinguish gay rights bills. But this book, takes that true life event, and plugs the readers in deeper to the state of minds of its principal characters. It is touching, humorous, and passionate. It delves into the life of a gay man, his deep love for his daughter, and how two lives that should be so close are often so distant.

Ok, I know I'll catch a lot of flack for this, but I liked it better than The Front Runner. I found the characters in this book to be less stereotypical and saccharin, and much more believable. The side stories to me were just as intriguing as the main plot, especially the very tender and well written S & M romance between two characters, one of whom is a closeted cop. An unusual theme, and written with surprising insight and sympathy. This is one of the few books that I have ever had to lay down for a moment to cry before I could finish reading it.

I became furious while reading this book because I wanted to smash Jeanie Colter's head in for her ignorance. But towards the end of the book, as her life began to fall apart, I began to soften just a bit. Finding out her father was gay was the last straw for her. It was then she realized that no matter how much she abhored homosexualism, she loved her father. I tormented as Bill was torn about how to handle his dealings with his daughter and as well as Marion in the proccess. Danny being killed brought the attention of Sue Ellen's and Bill's path being forced to cross by fate. In the end, it was love that pulled things together and smoothed over a possible bad situation. Patricia Nell Warren writes with passion, depth of emotion, and even whimsy;, but her story comes shining through and leaves the reader clamoring for more.

Jeannie Colter had gone through a nervous break down from politics. Then she saw the article in the paper: GAY RIGHTS BILL TO BE REVIVED IN CITY COUNCIL. Jeannie is suddenly running for governor of New York. The first thing she would do is shoot that bill down. Then she would get all the gays and lesbians out of New York. She would make it illegal to hire them or rent to them. They needed to see the light of God and be Saved. Unknown to Jeannie, her father was gay. He was still "in the closet" about it though and kept quiet about his lover, Marion. Mary Ellen was a Sergeant in the N.Y.P.D. She was a lesbian, but the Force did not know that. Her partner, Danny, was gay. The two made an unbeatable team on the Force. When they both were laid off, Danny came "out of the closet". He was soon beaten to death by one of Jeannie Colter's fans. Mary Ellen convinced Jeannie to hire her as a body guard. Danny's lover had convinced Mary Ellen to kill Jeannie and he would take the blame. ****This book takes religion, gay rights, and politics and rolls them together to give you all sides of the story. I saw how both sides saw the Bible and its words in a different light. This book does not pretend to have all the answers to all the political or religious questions. But it can open the eyes of ALL RACES AND BOTH SEXES and let them see this topic in a whole new way. Incredible writing!***