Summer of Love: Allan Gurganus, "Minor Heroism"

This week we're kicking off our new seasonal feature, the Summer of Love, with what is supposedly the first story with gay characters to appear in the New Yorker (in 1974). The story was also the first story publication for Allan Gurganus, who is perhaps best known as the author of the novel Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.

We talk about the story's interesting point-of-view shifts, and how it handles a difficult father-son relationship. In light of the recent Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, we also talk about the rather seismic shifts that have occurred in our lifetimes on issues of gay rights and gay acceptance. Also, we test our podcast-partner relationship by taking a quiz penned by Dr. Phil.

For more, check us out online at bookfightpod.com. Thanks for listening!