Revolutionary Bodies

by Michael G. Cronin

ISBN: 9781526135421

Published: 2022

Revolutionary bodies provides a detailed study of the erotics and politics of the male body in Irish fiction. It examines work by Brendan Behan, John Broderick and Colm Toibin to critically analyse the emergence of contemporary Irish gay fiction since 1993, especially its most notable genres: the coming out romance and the historical romance. The book assess the role of the novel in the evolution of Irish LGBT politics, mapping a literary and cultural space where the utopian aspirations of sexual liberation have clashed with the reformism and neo-liberal political rationality of identity politics. The book offers a unique critical intervention into our understanding of queer Irish cultures in the wake of the 2015 referendum and the Varadkar election.