Like People in History Audiobook By Felice Picano cover art

Like People in History

A Gay American Epic

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Like People in History

By: Felice Picano
Narrated by: Ethan Sawyer
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Stonewall Cousins, Roger and Alistair, become lifelong friends when they meet as boys in 1954. After both discovering their homosexuality, their lives intersect against the backdrop of 20th Century gay culture, from the beachboy surfer days of the 1960's, to the Greenwich Village AIDS activism in the 1990's.

©1996 Felice Picano (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction

Editorial reviews

Narrator Ethan Sawyer's heartfelt performance complements the dramatic events of 20th-century gay history as experienced by Roger Sansarc and his cousin Alistair Dodge. Like People in History opens with AIDS-stricken Alistair's birthday celebration, and Sawyer immediately holds listeners' attention with his nervy tone as Roger brings pills to help Alistair end his suffering. The story moves back and forth from the cousins' first encounters as fourth graders and their subsequent experiences to the present day, detailing Alistair's fate amidst the fallout from the AIDS crisis. Sawyer voices Roger as a wry and self-aware narrator whose conservatism is tempered by his complicated empathy for his theatrical cousin.
Rich Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Superb Narration • Historical Backdrop • Complex Relationships • Beautiful Writing
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I have loved this book since reading it the first time 20 years ago. I go back every couple of years to re-visit the characters. The audio version is wonderful also.

A love affair that began years ago.

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What a great story..I really enjoyed the characters and the narration. well done, fun and heart warming.

Fantastic

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Being a gay man who is about 7 years younger than Roger, (the lead character) I lived through the period of burying friends, lovers and relatives in the 80s and 90s. I do not normally enjoy stories of that period as it brings back too many very painful memories. However, this book handled telling a story for the period very well expressing the joy and pain of the era.

Very well done.

Excellent Story dealing with a very difficult time

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Whatever else this book is, it's at the least an accounting of the odd but intimate lifelong friendship between two gay men from adolescence in the 50's until Alistair's untimely demise in the 90's. Picano uses historical facts and pop culture along the way to bring the story forward in a very entertaining fashion, especially using their time on Fire Island to highlight the 70's. One might easily suggest that he uses the two men and their many friends and acquaintances to illustrate gay history through five decades. That's fine, but in the end, for me, it was indeed all about Roger and Alistair. By the way, the narration was superb and spot on.

It's All About Roger And Alistair

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"Like People in History" is a look at gay culture behind the curtain.

With the sweep of late Twentieth Century as a backdrop, it’s the story of two men, cousins, as they grow from boyhood in the straight-laced closeted Fifties, to the underground Greenwich Village scene and Stonewall, through the glittery, coke-fueled Seventies, the AIDS crisis of the Eighties and finally landing in the Nineties, bruised and battered.

This book is non-stop—intense and heartbreaking scenes. The end will have you in tears.

Read by the amazing Ethan Sawyer. Sawyer follows the story’s hairpin turns, gives each character a unique voice and never misses a beat.

A Queer Classic—Gay Culture Behind the Curtain

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Those of us of a certain age will identify with each section of this intriguing story, well told.. The constant distraction of mispronounced words, both French and English, leads me to wonder why there are "producer" credits for these productions. There needs to be the expectation that no matter how mellifluous the narrator's voice may be, there is an inviolable rule that he look up the pronunciation of any word not in his daily vocabulary. Come on, guys!

Intriguing story marred by narration

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This book is not for everyone. Kudos for a great, sprawling epic of LGBT life across the decades, with dignity and wit. While written in the times, many might not now appreciate the gravitas of the AIDS epidemic, nor be willing to relive it in such hypnotically despairing detail. If you are, you'll be rewarded with a rich love story and commentary about the necessity of a logical family.

Excellent book, superb narration

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Easy listening, keeps your interest. I like the way the story weaved the history of the cousins with the present.

Fun story through the history of the two men

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I couldn't put it away. The narration, as others pointed out, was superb. Written by a guy author about gay men, the book deals with universal subjects of love, family, friendship and finding meaning and purpose in life. Absolutely epic! I would gladly listen to the narrator for twenty more hours.

Great, wonderful book

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What did you love best about Like People in History?

This is a must listen! I never lose interest in this beautiful story!

Which character – as performed by Ethan Sawyer – was your favorite?

Alister and George

If you could rename Like People in History, what would you call it?

A history of gay culture in the U.S.

Any additional comments?

This is one of those books that makes books worthwhile. It is a story I'll never forget. I love all the characters. It is truly and epic

Stupendous

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