Gaytheist : coming out of my Orthodox childhood

Title:

Author:

Summary:

Lonnie's Orthodox Jewish community has always been clear: it's not okay to be gay. Growing up in a devout family and going to school at a yeshiva, he's told by his parents, his teachers, and his friends that being gay is a sin and an abomination. But as he gets older, he realizes that he likes boys, and wonders what kind of life he will be able to live. As Lonnie expands his world beyond the yeshiva to theater camp, college classes, and movie nights, he sees that the life he wants isn't compatible with the life of his parents — and his whole religious community. This emotional graphic novel explores the fissures between identity and religion and charts Lonnie's journey from a kid who loved the rules of the Orthodox Jewish tradition to becoming increasingly independent and defiant, embracing his gay identity and developing his own chosen family. -- Amazon.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

256 pages : chiefly color illustrations ; 23 cm

Genre:

Autobiographical comics.

Nonfiction comics.

Comics (Graphic works)

Graphic novels.

Subject Term:

Coming out (Sexual orientation) -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Gays -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Jews -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Orthodox Judaism -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Author(s):

Gatts, Ryan,

Publisher:

Street Noise Books,

Publication Date:

2024

ISBN:

9781951491277

Publication Information:

Brooklyn, New York : Street Noise Books, [2024]

Call Number:

741.5 MANN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003694653	New Adult Nonfiction	741.5 MANN	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Starred Review from Kirkus Reviews. "The animated evolution of a queer boy from his strict religious upbringing to a liberated adolescence. . . . Tokyo-based couple Mann and Gatts integrate their illustrative and authorial talents in this debut graphic memoir vividly detailing Mann's coming-of-age while cloaking his burgeoning homosexual feelings."

A coming-of-age graphic novel memoir about a young man who, growing up in an Orthodox Jewish community, realizes he's gay and struggles to reconcile his faith with who he is.

This emotional graphic novel explores the fissures between identity and religion and charts Lonnie's journey from a kid who loved the rules of the Orthodox Jewish tradition to becoming increasingly independent and defiant, embracing his gay identity and developing his own chosen family.

Author Notes

Lonnie Mann grew up in Long Island, New York, and has been reading comics and drawing his whole life. He studied illustration and cartooning at the School of Visual Arts in New York. And he has published comics in various anthologies. Lonnie currently lives with his spouse Ryan Gatts in Tokyo Japan. This is his debut graphic novel.

Ryan Gatts grew up in North Carolina. They studied animation at the Savannah College of Art & Design and later worked as a videogame technical artist in Seattle. Ryan worked with their husband Lonnie Mann to create the art for Lonnie's graphic memoir. Ryan and Lonnie live together with their pet rabbit Kinako in Tokyo, Japan.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Mann (Thoughts from Iceland) partners with co-artist Gatts for an emotionally fraught graphic memoir of coming out in his "insular, strictly regulated" Orthodox Jewish household in 1990s Long Island. Crushes on his classmates at his yeshiva prodded Mann to realize he's gay. Despite the harsh homophobic teachings of his temple (where AIDS is characterized as a "divine punishment"), in the ninth grade he cautiously comes out to a rabbi, who offers quiet support and maintains his secret. He later tells his parents, who react less well, and who send him to a therapist. As he grows older and closer to peers (in and out of his religious community), he continues to wrestle with his identity and faith. He catches out his parents' hypocrisy, as when his mother consults a psychic to confirm her belief that he will grow out of this phase ("You'll believe what this witch says instead of your own son?"). Orthodox practices are neatly unpacked, though the narrative focus on Mann's adolescent inner turmoil occasionally results in scenes that skim over family tensions and plot points. The art is gentle and naturalistic, with crisp lines and often gradient, color wash backgrounds that soften even the starkest moments. Younger adults navigating their own coming out within religious communities will find resonance. (Feb.)