In One Person
Publisher
Simon & Schister
Publication Year
2013
ISBN
9780594676904
Pages
425 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
A compelling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love - tormented, funny, and affecting - and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character of In One Person, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a "sexual suspect," a phrase first used by John Irving in 1978 - in his landmark novel of "terminal cases," The World According to Garp. His most political novel since The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving's In One Person is a poignant tribute to Billy's friends and lovers - a theatrical cast of characters who defy category and convention. Not least, In One Person is an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the solitariness of a bisexual man who is dedicated to making himself "worthwhile."
Grade Level
9-12
Diversity Topics
LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Bisexuality; bisexual teenager; bisexual adult
Main Character
boy
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
mother and father
LGBTQ+
male/female
Keywords
identity; 1950s; sexual freedom; novelist; coming of age
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Irving, John, "In One Person" (2013). Diverse Families. 1028.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1028