Rent Boy

Synopsis

New York City, 1981. Danny spends his days waiting tables at the exclusive Emerson Club while studying architecture and doing whatever he can to survive in a city driven by money, ambition, and appearance. To pay the bills, he also works as a hustler, moving through the glittering yet predatory worlds of nightlife, art, and celebrity while documenting the sexual, financial, and emotional transactions that define life on society's margins. His growing attachment to the charismatic and reckless Chip, however, threatens the emotional detachment that has long been his greatest defense.

As Danny becomes increasingly entangled in a world where bodies are commodities and power hides behind glamour, he discovers that cynicism offers little protection from exploitation or heartbreak. Darkly funny, razor-sharp, and relentlessly observant, Rent Boy is a noir-infused novel that explores desire, class, survival, and the economics of intimacy in Reagan-era New York. With his signature wit and uncompromising style, Gary Indiana delivers a biting portrait of a city where love, money, and ambition are often impossible to separate.

About the Author

Gary Indiana (1950–2024) was an American novelist, playwright, critic, and visual artist renowned for his fearless explorations of American culture, politics, and urban life. His fiction is celebrated for its dark humour, incisive social commentary, and distinctive literary voice. Rent Boy is regarded as one of his defining novels and remains a landmark of queer American fiction.

Publisher
Semiotext(e)

Publication Date
September 17, 2024

Format
Paperback

Pages
232

Subjects
Literary Fiction · Noir · LGBTQ+ Fiction · American Literature

ISBN
9781946022523