In One Person

John Irving's novels have always contained characters that were sexual outsiders, but here the gay, bisexual and transgender characters take centre stage. A large portion of the novel is devoted to Billy Abbott's youth, where he finds himself attracted to older women, his mother's new husband, and a classmate from the wrestling team; although his first real sexual experience is with a transsexual woman. In many ways, this novel is a plea for tolerance of difference, in particular for transgendered persons.

A compelling novel of desire, secrecy, and sexual identity, In One Person is a story of unfulfilled love - tormented, funny, and affecting - and an impassioned embrace of our sexual differences. Billy, the bisexual narrator and main character, tells the tragicomic story (lasting more than half a century) of his life as a “sexual suspect”. His most political novel since A Prayer for Owen Meany, In One Person is a poignant tribute to Billy’s friends and lovers - a theatrical cast of characters who defy category and convention - and an intimate and unforgettable portrait of the solitariness of a bisexual man who is dedicated to making himself “worthwhile.”

Paperback, 768 Pages, Orig. Publ. 2012, This Ed. Publ. 2013