Utrecht LGBT+

Come discuss books and make new friends 🌈✨

How the meeting works: While we are waiting for everyone to arrive, we have tea and get comfortable. Once most of the group is seated (please aim to arrive on time to help with this!) we go around introducing ourselves. From there we have a loosely structured discussion that can go in whatever direction feels natural. Once we've talked about everything we want to related to the book we often hang out for a while later to chat about other things for anyone who wants to stay.

April's book will be Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. The Dutch translation (Bekentenissen van een gemaskerde) is available at de bibliotheek. The English translation unfortunately has to be procured elsewhere.

Confessions of a Mask tells the story of Kochan, an adolescent boy tormented by his burgeoning attraction to men: he wants to be “normal.” Kochan is meek-bodied, and unable to participate in the more athletic activities of his classmates. He begins to notice his growing attraction to some of the boys in his class, particularly the pubescent body of his friend Omi. To hide his homosexuality, he courts a woman, Sonoko, but this exacerbates his feelings for men. As news of the War reaches Tokyo, Kochan considers the fate of Japan and his place within its deeply rooted propriety.

Confessions of a Mask reflects Mishima’s own coming of age in post-war Japan. Its publication in English―praised by Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, and Christopher Isherwood―propelled the young Yukio Mishima to international fame.

The meeting will take place at De Uithoek handarbeidlokaal, an 8 minute cycle / 20 minute walk away from Utrecht Centraal.

Everyone is welcome who has read the book (or DNF, and is okay with spoilers) by the time of the meetup. The book club is hosted in English.

Please update your RSVP if you find out you cannot attend. Hope to see you there! 🏳️‍🌈📚

Come discuss books and make new friends 🌈✨

How the meeting works: While we are waiting for everyone to arrive, we have tea and get comfortable. Once most of the group is seated (please aim to arrive on time to help with this!) we go around introducing ourselves. From there we have a loosely structured discussion that can go in whatever direction feels natural. Once we've talked about everything we want to related to the book we often hang out for a while later to chat about unrelated things.

For May we will be discussing He, She and It by Marge Piercy. This one is unfortunately not available at the library, but is available to purchase on several websites.

In the middle of the twenty-first century, life as we know it has changed for all time. Shira Shipman's marriage has broken up, and her young son has been taken from her by the corporation that runs her zone, so she has returned to Tikva, the Jewish free town where she grew up. There, she is welcomed by Malkah, the brilliant grandmother who raised her, and meets an extraordinary man who is not a man at all, but a unique cyborg implanted with intelligence, emotions--and the ability to kill....

The meeting will take place at De Uithoek handarbeidlokaal, an 8 minute cycle / 20 minute walk away from Utrecht Centraal.

Everyone is welcome who has read the book (or DNF, and is okay with spoilers) by the time of the meetup. The book club is hosted in English.

Please update your RSVP if you find out you cannot attend. Hope to see you there! 🏳️‍🌈📚