New York City

New York City is the primary setting for the novel's action. Its cosmopolitan sensibilities and reputation have, over the years, have made it a welcoming environment for a variety of communities, a kind of sanctuary for individuals and groups alike. One such community is that of male homosexuals, the "faggots" of the book's title, many of whom live in, or have come to, New York in search of various kinds of freedom, sexual, psychological, and emotional among them.

The Late 1970's

This is the novel's setting in time, a period in which the so-called "Sexual Revolution" (with its active confrontation of rules governing sexual behavior for both heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals) was at its height. It was also a time when celebrations of male homosexual freedom were also at their height, celebrations that were, as the novel suggests, primarily sexual but also socio-cultural. It is essential to...