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The Lost Language of Cranes: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: David Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $4.72
You Save: $11.23 (70%)
New (27) Used (13) from $3.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 94284
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 1582345732
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781582345734
ASIN: 1582345732
Publication Date: May 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New! May have remainder mark and/or very light shelf wear
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Product Description
David Leavitt's extraordinary first novel, now reissued in paperback, is a seminal work about family, sexual identity, home, and loss.
Set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a swiftly gentrifying Manhattan, The Lost Language of Cranes tells the story of twenty-five-year-old Philip, who realizes he must come out to his parents after falling in love for the first time with a man. Philip's parents are facing their own crisis: pressure from developers and the loss of their longtime home. But the real threat to this family is Philip's father's own struggle with his latent homosexuality, realized only in his Sunday afternoon visits to gay porn theaters. Philip's admission to his parents and his father's hidden life provoke changes that forever alter the landscape of their worlds.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
Remarkable Novel May 12, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read this book for a class, and enjoyed it much more than I ever expected, especially in retrospect. I think it takes a little time to really get into, especially because Leavitt jumps back and forth between the three main characters and storylines, but once you get into the rhythm of the story, you are drawn in. Leavitt does a great character study of Owen, Rose, and Philip, and by the end of the novel, I felt like I knew them. Leavitt has an accessible wrting style, but the book itself is very literary and complex. For a first novel, especially, I think it's exceptional.
The Rich Language of Cranes October 12, 2002
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Author David Leavit writes a brillant novel that I had a hard time putting down. While Phillip is confronting his changing relationship with his lover, Elliot, his father Owen is finally, confronting his homosexuality. Highly recommended. Each character is richly developed and textured, they feel like real people that you know. While the film is good, it uses London as a backdrop rather than the book's all-to-real-modern-urban life set in New York and in the transistion looses something.
One word "amazing" June 27, 2002
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Read this book while its still available! Its language is so simple yet it touches you with a ferocity thats unthinkable!
I could relate to every charecter and that was the most freaky part!The charecters in this book are rich and full of life. The plot is very engaging and what more can one say about a book thats so beautiful it makes you weep with joy! Bravo Leavitt and the rest of you read it!
 Good first novel June 3, 2002
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
While not as good as his short stories, and awkward and somewhat amateurish in a few places, this is a good, strong first novel. Ideally I would give this one a 3.5, but since that's not an option, I'll err on the side of generosity. This novel explores coming out, family dynamics, and the selfish yuppie attitudes of the 80s.
Wonderfully well written characters and story....... April 26, 2002
This book was given to me by a co-worker who believed the subject matter and story would interest me. She was right. There are so many different issues dealt with in this book ranging from the struggle for sexual identity to the struggle of sharing it with you family.....to the ups and downs of living a life that is full of oppression and worry. There are many characters here with many different backgrounds. There is Phillip, the young gay man struggling to win acceptance from his mother. Elliott who fears commitment and leaves Phillip. Owen, Phillip's father who has to come to terms with his own sexual identity after years of marriage and living his life without being true to himself. Then there is Jerene who is basically disowned because of her homosexuality which is so common in this day and age and extremely sad. NO parent should ever do this to their child!!!!! UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is key! Jerene's new girlfriend Laura.....it is just a well written story on all levels.......my only complaint was the ending. There was no real closure. Other than that, I loved it!
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