The University of Wisconsin Press

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Gay & Lesbian Interest / Fiction

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Fred in Love Felice Picano Terrace Books "Having always been allergic to cats, reading Felice Picano's new book about his beloved cat Fred was so vivid that it caused sneezing and made my eyes water."—Bob Smith, author of Openly Bob In the early 1970s, when he was still an aspiring, unpublished writer, Felice Picano began a remarkable relationship with an extraordinary animal: a days-old kitten slated for euthanasia who refused to perish. Rescued, named, and trained, Fred became an extraordinarily intelligent companion, ally, teacher, and constant wonder to the author as he began his ascent through the Bohemian circles of Greenwich Village, among musicians, actors, curious characters, and even the famous British actress in hiding right next door. But when an acquaintance brought his female cat to be serviced by Fred, an entire new set of experiences opened up for the cat—and for Picano, who had never had the nerve to befriend her owner, his ideal man. The course of love seldom runs straight for cats or for men, and this time would (hilariously) prove no different. This is another of Picano's distinguished portraits of a vanished era, when a new gay domain was solidifying only a few years after the Stonewall Riots, and the still nascent gay literary world that Picano would help invent was just a conception. Fred in Love is a charming, nostalgic, funny, gossipy, involving, and ultimately enlightening story about how we learn and grow, and how we love—whether the object of our affection is a cat or another human being. It is sure to take its place next to Picano's now classic literary memoirs. "A lovely, not too nostalgic portrait of what is now a vanished bohemia." —Jim Marks, executive editor, Lambda Literary Foundation "A beautifully written roman à clef centered on the felicitous and mysterious connection between Man and Cat."—Tony Mendoza, author of Ernie: A Photographer's Memoir Felice Picano is the author of many books, including the best-selling novels Like People in History, Looking Glass Lives, The Lure, and Eyes as well as the literary memoirs Ambidextrous, Men Who Loved Me, and A House on the Ocean, a House on the Bay. He is also the author with Dr. Charles Silverstein of The New Joy of Gay Sex. He has won the Ferro-Grumley Award for best gay novel (Like People in History), was a finalist for the Ernest Hemingway Award, and has been nominated for three Lambda Literary Awards. A native of New York, Felice Picano now lives in Los Angeles. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)

February 2005 LC: 2004025623 PS 108 pp.  5 x 8 1/2 Cloth $14.95 t ISBN 978-0-299-20910-0 ADD TO CART

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