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A review by justinlife
Times Square Red, Times Square Blue by Samuel R. Delany
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Part memoir of smut, part critique of city planning, Times Square Red, Times Square Blue discusses the lived experience of author Samuel Delany from the 50s to the 90s and the potential change of what Times Square will be and the problems with removing the salacious aspects of life.
The book is two essays. In Times Square Red we follow Delaney as he offers personal stories in the porn theaters and the culture they create. Through him, you meet his friends, his liaisons, and you get to navigate a world often talked about but for most never experienced. We meet people who might be mentally unwell, students, teachers, blue collar workers, and white collar workers. Delaney shares his experience and history and the lives of these men. It's kind of like a smut memoir without the titilation.
In Times Square Blue, Delaney discusses why these spaces are important to cities and kindly rebukes many if not all your assumed complaints. He offers insight into public planning, self policing, understanding how similar small town/city life can be and also who benefits when these change. Times Square Blue is a bit more meatier as he brings in Marxism and some terms that I did not know. If I'm being vulnerable, the last five pages were quite difficult and I had to read them aloud to make sure I understood what I was reading, and even then, I'm not sure I did.
Combined, we get this view of an old Times Square where the sex world operated in full view. We see how much more conservative we've become as a society (this is more about America than internationally). Because he was focused on his experience and this one area, there were some things that were lacking to me. I would have added a comparison to international cities that have legal sex work practices and how America, particularly NYC differs.
Being that it's now 26 years after the book has been published, we can see where he was right and where he might have been mistaken. His view of how to stop domestic violence and things like catcalling seemed very narrow minded, but of the era. It was an interesting read.
There is much to appreciate about this book. I will keep this book in my mind when visiting cities and having random conversation with strangers. He makes solid points and he challenges your views in a good way. It's good to get uncomfortable.
The book is two essays. In Times Square Red we follow Delaney as he offers personal stories in the porn theaters and the culture they create. Through him, you meet his friends, his liaisons, and you get to navigate a world often talked about but for most never experienced. We meet people who might be mentally unwell, students, teachers, blue collar workers, and white collar workers. Delaney shares his experience and history and the lives of these men. It's kind of like a smut memoir without the titilation.
In Times Square Blue, Delaney discusses why these spaces are important to cities and kindly rebukes many if not all your assumed complaints. He offers insight into public planning, self policing, understanding how similar small town/city life can be and also who benefits when these change. Times Square Blue is a bit more meatier as he brings in Marxism and some terms that I did not know. If I'm being vulnerable, the last five pages were quite difficult and I had to read them aloud to make sure I understood what I was reading, and even then, I'm not sure I did.
Combined, we get this view of an old Times Square where the sex world operated in full view. We see how much more conservative we've become as a society (this is more about America than internationally). Because he was focused on his experience and this one area, there were some things that were lacking to me. I would have added a comparison to international cities that have legal sex work practices and how America, particularly NYC differs.
Being that it's now 26 years after the book has been published, we can see where he was right and where he might have been mistaken. His view of how to stop domestic violence and things like catcalling seemed very narrow minded, but of the era. It was an interesting read.
There is much to appreciate about this book. I will keep this book in my mind when visiting cities and having random conversation with strangers. He makes solid points and he challenges your views in a good way. It's good to get uncomfortable.