Review
My creative writing professor knew Gore Vidal; they had a professional relationship that produced the book [b:Views from a Window: Conversations with Gore Vidal|88906|Views from a Window Conversations with Gore Vidal|Gore Vidal|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266469640s/88906.jpg|85800]. Vidal is one of those people who seemed to interest me from a distance - I'd see movies in which he co-starred, and to this date I've only read one of his novels. My husband read his memoir, [b:Palimpsest|8715|Palimpsest|Gore Vidal|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347438777s/8715.jpg|11643], and enjoyed it. He had read parts of the book to me, and the memory of that made this book easier to understand.
Not that In Bed With Gore Vidal is difficult to read. I found it well researched and it kept my interest through the end. The title may mislead readers, who might expect a juicy tell-all along the lines of a Kitty Kelley-penned biography. Teeman does divulge Vidal's sexual history, but more than you read of personal and professional relationships, in particular Vidal with himself coming to terms with his roles in literature and Hollywood. Throughout the book Teeman reports that Vidal asserts he is not homosexual but homoerotic, and that "there are no homosexuals, just homosexual acts." This view would put him at odds with gay activists, and certainly there are people within Vidal's circle who would argue this point.
Teeman interviews a number of people closest to Vidal, including Susan Sarandon and Scotty Bowers (whose book I have read - definitely a juicy tell-all), and draws from Palimpsest and other Vidal works. If you aspire to study Gore Vidal more, this is a good resource.
Not that In Bed With Gore Vidal is difficult to read. I found it well researched and it kept my interest through the end. The title may mislead readers, who might expect a juicy tell-all along the lines of a Kitty Kelley-penned biography. Teeman does divulge Vidal's sexual history, but more than you read of personal and professional relationships, in particular Vidal with himself coming to terms with his roles in literature and Hollywood. Throughout the book Teeman reports that Vidal asserts he is not homosexual but homoerotic, and that "there are no homosexuals, just homosexual acts." This view would put him at odds with gay activists, and certainly there are people within Vidal's circle who would argue this point.
Teeman interviews a number of people closest to Vidal, including Susan Sarandon and Scotty Bowers (whose book I have read - definitely a juicy tell-all), and draws from Palimpsest and other Vidal works. If you aspire to study Gore Vidal more, this is a good resource.
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