Wings by Mikhail Kuzmin, Hugh Aplin (Translator), Paul Bailey (Foreword by)

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Synopsis

A key text in the history of gay literature, Wings was published in 1906 to the scandalized reaction of contemporary society and the generations which followed. Its central theme of aestheticized sensuality has drawn comparisons with the work of contemporaries Oscar Wilde and André Gide. The young Vanya Smurov is deeply attached to his mentor, Dr. Larion Stroop, and to the world of Renaissance art which the latter reveals to him. Initially appalled by the sudden discovery of Stroop's homosexual leanings, Vanya abandons him to pursue a "normal" heterosexual existence. In turn disgusted by ensuing encounters, he returns to Dr. Stroop and accompanies him to Italy where he begins his real education—both in the world of art, and that of hedonism.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School -The first book, originally published in Britain in 1905, is a set of six interconnected detective stories in which seemingly ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary and baffling situations, all of which are tied to the secretive Club of Queer Trades and its mysterious president. Only retired judge Basil Grant can separate illusion from reality to solve the mysteries. Teens who have read the Sherlock Holmes stories avidly will enjoy Basil Grant's adventures. Kuzmin's Wings , first issued in Russia in 1906 and newly translated for this publication, is a frank, though not explicit, exploration of a young man's reaction to discovering his homosexual feelings. Quiet, studious Vanya is drawn to the slightly older and more sophisticated Larion but flees in confusion and anger when he discovers that Larion has a male lover. After a failed attempt at heterosexuality, he slowly reconsiders and meets Larion again, this time with a happier resolution. Teens will be drawn both to the love story and to the author's philosophy that all love is a gift from heaven. Both titles are recommended for libraries seeking to expose students to the best in world literature.-Sandy Schmitz, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Biography

Mikhail Kuzmin (1872–1936) was one of the great poets of the Russian Silver Age.