Vanishing Rooms

by Melvin Dixon

Prior to Dixon's death from AIDS in 1992 when he was on the verge of breaking out as an acclaimed novelist, his talent was compared to that of James Baldwin. In "Vanishing Rooms", the author demonstrates his literary promise with a compelling love story of interracial sex and urban violence set in Manhattan's West Village in the 1970s.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525249656
• ISBN13: 9780525249658
• Release Date: March 1991
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 211 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Racism and Homophobia

Dixon, Melvin. "Visiting Rooms: A Novel", Cleis Press, 2001. Racism and Homophobia Amos Lassen We lost Melvin Dixon too early when he died from complications from AIDS in 1992, His narrative is "Visiting Rooms" is lyrically beautiful and perhaps there were more books in him--but we will never know. "Visiting Rooms" is set in New York City in 1975 and is the story of three people--Jesse, a young African American dancer whose white druggy boyfriend had just been murdered, Ruella, a lonely dancer who falls in love with Jesse and Lonny, a 15 year old Italian street tough who is confused abut his sexuality. Using dance as a metaphor for relations between people, we get a look at the darker side of interracial desire and the wounds that are inflicted on those known as "others", be they gay, black or outsiders. Using the urban landscape, Dixon looks at lives which have been changed by tragedy. When Metro, Jesse's white boyfriend is murdered by a gang of homophobic thugs, we see New York as a war zone for sexual and racial hostilities. We also see when Jesse turns to a female, Ruella and he is forced to face his conflicting feelings about his own sexuality. We get psychological conflicts and a look at pain that is highly emotional. Gay sex is regarded with ambivalence and some of what is written reads in a hallucinatory manner. There is also a lot of moral ambiguity but above all, relationships are portrayed and explored beautifully. The prose is glorious and lucid and the book is skillfully penned. We are taken on a surreal journey finding sex, spirituality and politics.

This is REAL literature!

Examines the private hell of two people connected through a tragedy. Beautifully written with skill, lucidity and polish. This is REAL literature! This book did not get the attention it deserves. It is a MASTERPIECE! Melvin Dixon's name should be mentioned right alongside of James Baldwin's.

Dancing on Broken Feet

Vanishing Rooms is an intensely emotional novel. It gives equal voices to three characters: Jesse, a young black dancer who loses his troubled boyfriend Metro; Ruella, a female black dancer who is enamoured with Jesse; and Lonny, a white teenager who prefers the streets and feels he must prove himself to his tough friends. At the centre of the story is the loss of Metro and how it affects all three characters. The death is described flatly, like a piece of impersonal news. This is a contrast to Jesse's deep feelings for him that he describes as akin to his passion for dancing. More than the injustice of this murder, the novel continues on to describe the horrible injustices made toward people who are gay and black as they are forced to be marginal groups of American society. It describes the troubling relationship not only felt in an interracial relationship but also the sad imbalances felt by many gay couples whose definition of monogamy tragically varies. However, the book's attitude toward the varieties of gay life is ambivalent. At one point, Jesse finds himself wandering through a large sex club being led by an older black man who is trying to seduce him. The meaning it has for Jesse is ambivalent. There are wonderful passages describing the scene in a way that is almost hallucinatory. The novel is filled with such morally ambiguous dilemmas such as the way in which Ruella's brother, a convict, arranges special retribution for Metro's death. Ruella's friendship with Jesse is mysterious and their dependency on each other turns out to be for selfish reasons rather than genuine friendship. The delicate relationships are poignantly explored and the ending is characteristic of the character's personalities with their beautifully rendered drama.

An Unrecognized Masterpiece!

Melvin Dixon was a brilliant black gay man (and Brown University alumnus). Unfortunately his life was cut short by the tragedy of AIDS. In his honor, however, every black gay man should buy this book and read it cover to cover. In this tale, the protagonist goes through a surreal journey in which he finds himself in love with other black men, sexually, spiritually, and politically. When originally released, the critics mocked him by saying, "What do you get when you mix Truman Capote with James Baldwin?" However, this is not an imitation or duplication of other gay authors. This is a black gay masterpiece and if you are truly fierce, you will order it! SNAP!