The Coming Out Party

By John Caffey

Winner of the 1983 PEN Award for an Outstanding First Work of Fiction. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595175791
• ISBN13: 9780595175796
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A Timeless Classic for the Gay Community

In my constant search for interesting gay fiction, I sometimes stumble upon rare gems, published years ago, that I previously overlooked. One such glittering diamond is THE COMING OUT PARTY by John Caffey. Originally published in 1982, and awarded the 1983 "Pen Prize for First Work of Fiction", this book has been out-of-print until recently. If you have not read this little masterpiece, I highly recommend that you do.This is the story of Cal and his lover, Sid, two older, wealthy, L.A. Queens, bored with life, and looking for a challenge. They decide, on the spur of the moment, to create the perfect gay man with which to "WOW" their jaded friends on the "circuit". To this end, they pick up Hal, a naive and terribly unhappy, over-weight college student. Cal and Sid discover Hal stranded, with a flat tire, on Santa Monica Blvd, and whisk him away to their mansion in the Hollywood Hills, for the make-over of all make-overs. They have several months of hard work ahead of them in order to transform Hal into the perfect "Gay Adonis", and debut him at the "Debutants for Human Rights Ball", held yearly on Halloween.All is going swimmingly until Hal tumbles, head-over-heels, in love with the "pool man". Cal is determined to nip this infatuation in the bud. After all, the "pool man" doesn't have two dimes to rub together, and is a totally inappropriate match for his creation; his child if you will.Take AUNTIE MAME, THE WIZARD OF OZ, LA CAGE AU FOLLE, MY FAIR LADY, and SLEEPING BEAUTY, dump them in a blender, mix until smooth, and out would pour this wonderful gay fairy tale. The characters in this novel, both good and evil, are delightfully outrageous, and the story literally sprints from page to page. The dialogue is cunning and catty without being overly bitter, and the love story is truly one of the most touching I have ever read. I simply can not stop thinking about this fabulous little (215 pages) book, and I felt compelled to share my opinion here.If you've never read this book then, by all means, get a copy as quick as you can. If you have read it, read it again because I'll bet you've forgotten how much you loved it.

Very, Very funny

I read this book years ago when I first came outand remebered how funny it was when a saw it here. Very non-PC, witty, goofily-romantic, it is a good, entertaining and quick read. I believe it has been out of print for quite some time. Definitely worth getting while you can.

Sure it's dated, but...

I first read this in 1982, when it first came out. (The original cover was pink, by the way.) The book was hilarious, and was one of my favorites. Somewhere along the line I lost my copy. It's terrific to see it back in print.

Gay Comedic Novel Returns!

My Fair Lady meets La Cage Aux Foilles in this award winning novel set in West Hollywood in the late 70's. The Coming Out Party is the story of two aging queens who pick up an overweight UCLA freshman off Santa Monica Boulevard and train him to become the perfect homosexual. Hilarity ensues!!!