Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation

Damn. This is an emotionally difficult book to read, but also a necessary one. Tragedy often precedes progress, unless it is buried. I also think it's important to note that this book was written in the context of the Pulse shooting in Orlando in 2016, which was a similar tragedy to this fire but one that the entire nation talked about instead of ignoring.

This story is rife with injustice and all sorts of tragedies. Everyone is humanized in this story, even the probable fire starter, which is not always the case in journalism. This book's review of the fire's media coverage is proof of that.

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laurenleigh's review

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.0

This is the second group read choice for this round of the Queer Lit Readathon, which tells the story of the UpStairs Lounge Fire in New Orleans. In 1973, this act of arson took the lives of 32 people. It’s the second deadliest attack on a gay night club, after the 2016 Pulse shooting. My biggest takeaway from this piece was how criminalized homosexuality was in the 60’s and 70’s. Being gay was considered a mental disease. You could lose your job, your home, your possessions, all through legal means. You could even be put in prison. I didn’t realize that homosexuality wasn’t decriminalized until 2003. Yes, 2003! And it was a 6-3 vote in the Supreme Court! This makes me want to scream into the void. Definitely lots of content warnings for this book, but I’m really glad I got a chance to learn this vital piece of queer history.

Content Warnings