Gay men communicate in many ways, sometimes a glance, sometimes a smile, and sometimes a whistle. In How to Whistle, Gregg Shapiro brings us men of all types sometimes seeking to be with each other and sometimes looking for themselves. They dance, they indulge, they camp, and they enjoy life. Shapiro employs his deft poetic voice to bring you men that will stay with you, men you'll find yourself thinking about for a long time.
Praise for How to Whistle: Expanded Edition
"The stories in Gregg Shapiro's How to Whistle are so perfectly pitched in tone and execution, so novelistic in their differing densities and delightful variety, that they form a sure portrait of a time and place in gay life that is both specific and universal.” — Felice Picano, author of Songs & Poems
"You don't have to be queer, or from Chicagoland, to fall hard for Gregg Shapiro's marvelous second collection, How to Whistle. These stories – tart, tender, sexed-up, and terribly wise on the subjects of love and memory – are a lesson for everyone” — James Magruder, author of Love Slaves of Helen Hadley Hall
"Gregg Shapiro’s stories hum with sex, longing, and electric detail. How to Whistle journeys from the bathhouse to smoky concert venues, and through the confused mind of a culture-hungry teenage brain. This collection goes so many places, yet stays anchored, always, in the heart.” — Brendan Walsh, author of Go and fort lauderdale
"Shapiro’s How to Whistle brings to vibrant life young gay men's casual/intimate/kinky explorations of Boston, D.C., and Chicago in the 1980's. Deadpan humor alternates with delicious dish and quiet introspection in this witty collection of stories about sex, relationship, (in)fidelity, vengeance, and the meaning of friendship in a sometimes dangerous world. An entertaining, deeply insightful, and warmly nostalgic portrait of the way we were.” — Daniel M. Jaffe, author of Foreign Affairs: Male Tales of Lust & Love
"Shapiro’s Shapiro’s stories capture the breadth and variety of human relationships – friends, lovers and family; casual and deep; social and sexual. Funny, sad, tragic, and full of surprises, they will keep you reading to the very end and wanting more.” — John D’Emilio, author of Queer Legacies: Stories from Chicago's LGBTQ Archives
"Gregg Shapiro’s How to Whistle documents the 1980s with sharp observation, humor, and keen insights. A decadent decade when urban tastes and desires “lit in a faint orange glow” knew no boundaries, friends and lovers being rushed to the hospital was a typical lunchtime conversation, and pop icons went from tragic to martyred saints of the bullied. This short story collection is also an homage to 1980s Boston and Chicago, as hip as Tama Janowitz’ Manhattan in Slaves of New York, and as raw and sexy as Bret Easton Ellis’ L.A. in Less Than Zero.” — R. Zamora Linmark, author of The Importance of Being Wilde at Heart
"How to Whistle Gregg Shapiro’s stories bring together a whole kaleidoscope of gay life – from tricks to lovers, passionate romances to bitter breakups, gentle tenderness to raw lust – with voice of singular and simple honesty.” — Christine Sneed, author of Little Known Facts
