Product Description 
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. Longlisted for the 2021 Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize. "This hurricane of delirious, lonely, lewd tales is a taxonomy and grand unified theory of the boyfriend, in every tense." --Parul Sehgal, The New York Times"I loved this book--raunchy, irreverent, deliberate, sexy, angry, and tender, in its own way." --Roxane GayAn irrerverent, sensitive, and inimitable look at gay dysfunction through the eyes of a cult heroTransgressive, foulmouthed, and brutally funny, Brontez Purnell’s 100 Boyfriends is a revelatory spiral into the imperfect lives of queer men desperately fighting the urge to self-sabotage. As they tiptoe through minefields of romantic, substance-fueled misadventure―from dirty warehouses and gentrified bars in Oakland to desolate farm towns in Alabama―Purnell’s characters strive for belonging in a world that dismisses them for being Black, broke, and queer. In spite of it―or perhaps because of it―they shine.Armed with a deadpan wit, Purnell finds humor in even the darkest of nadirs with the peerless zeal, insight, and horniness of a gay punk messiah. Together, the slice-of-life tales that writhe within 100 Boyfriends are an inimitable tour of an unexposed queer underbelly. Holding them together is the vision of an iconoclastic storyteller, as fearless as he is human. 
 Review 
"This hurricane of delirious, lonely, lewd tales is a taxonomy and grand unified theory of the boyfriend, in every tense . . . Paragraphs run quick and cool, like stacked ice cubes . . . [a] feeling of eternal recurrence is beautifully by design, it is the very argument of the book . . . All these desires, these imperatives, lodge themselves into that little word 'boyfriend,' into fantasies of men past and present, into those ghosts, who prove so necessary." --Parul Sehgal, The New York Times"100 Boyfriends is a collection of short stories so wrigglingly alive and counterculturally refreshing that it deserves a new noun ― a pod of whales, a murder of crows, a jubilee of Brontez Purnell stories? I’d wager that he sets down the best first lines of any living writer." ―Molly Young, Vulture"I loved this book--raunchy, irreverent, deliberate, sexy, angry, and tender, in its own way. There is a matter of factness tone that I really loved. Also, listen. The men in these stories have a lot of sex. Like, logistically, the chafing alone! Bless their hearts. V v v great book. Will definitely be reading this one again." --Roxane Gay (via Goodreads)"Brontez Purnell is a tireless creative force . . . At times reminiscent of the work of Eve Babitz, 100 Boyfriends is simultaneously tough and vulnerable, bawdy and knowing, and relayed with a deceptive ease." --The A.V. Club"Purnell performs one of those rare literary magic tricks: He presents the reader with types only to later reveal the humanity underneath the stereotype. Moreover, his uncompromising portraits broaden the literary scope of queer male desire and love. The men in 100 Boyfriends are glimpses, fractions, and lost ― but they remain fully alive." --Alex McElroy, Buzzfeed"No one can write and tell a story like Brontez Purnell. This is a fact. I laughed, I cried, I winced, I gagged. I texted my friends whole pictures of pages while reading 100 Boyfriends . . . Every sentence in 100 Boyfriends made me giddy; Brontez Purnell writes about everything that goes on in your head before, during, and after sex with a wit and clarity that has become the hallmark of his work." --Jeffrey Masters, The Advocate"A hilarious, non-stop series of boyfriends past, united by candid takes on love, sex, and more sex . . . Purnell finds the beauty and dignity in every ex." --GQ"[100 Boyfriends] reads like a series of 4 a.m. text messages received from a very smart and very messy friend ― when there’s no way you can wait till morning to respond, 'What the fuck? Are you OK? Did you at least have fun?' If Purnell is a living archive of the

100 Boyfriends

Literature & Fiction

Purnell, Brontez

United States

MCD x FSG Originals

Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse

Humor & Entertainment

Since I Laid My Burden Down has a fearless (sometimes reckless) humor as Brontez Purnell interrogates what it means to be black, male, queer; a son, an uncle, a lover; Southern, punk, and human. An emotional tightrope walk of a book and an important American story rarely, if ever, told.” Michelle Tea, author of Black Wave DeShawn lives a high, creative, and promiscuous life in San Francisco. But when he’s called back to his cramped Alabama hometown for his uncle’s funeral, he’s hit by flashbacks of handsome, doomed neighbors and sweltering Sunday services. Amidst prickly reminders of his childhood, DeShawn ponders family, church, and the men in his life, prompting the question: Who deserves love? A raw, funny, and uninhibited stumble down memory lane, Brontez Purnell’s debut novel explores how one man’s early sexual and artistic escapades grow into a life.

Since I Laid My Burden Down

Amethyst Editions

Brontez is a raw tongue of flame blazing through all the blatant fakery and insincere bullshit of today’s gay/music/human scene. This audacious non-memoir burnt the hair off the back of my neck and had me rolling with glee.” S.F. Bay Guardian A dirty cult-classic put out in a small batch by an underground publisher (Rudos and Rubes) in 2015, Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger recounts the life of an artist and old school homosexual” who bears a big resemblance to author Brontez Purnell. Our hero doesn’t trust the new breed of fags taking over San Francisco, though. They wear bicycle helmets, seat belts, and condoms. Meanwhile, he sabotages his relationships, hallucinating affection while cruising in late night parks, bath-houses, and other nooks and crannies of a newly-conservative, ruined city. Furiously original, vital, and messy, this funny non-memoir” uncovers a revelatory truth for the age: there are things far scarier than HIV.

Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger

Humor & Satire

The Feminist Press at CUNY

The Cruising Diaries is a queer coming of age memoir that's not for the faint of heart. Follow author and musician Brontez Purnell on a series of hilarious sexual misadventures through '00s Oakland. Outrageous tales of taco truck trysts and bathhouse Santas are accompanied by full-colour illustrations in this glorious expanded edition.

The Cruising Diaries: Expanded Edition

Dramas & Plays

Silver Sprocket

The first children’s book from multi-genre artist Brontez Purnell, a 2018 winner of the Whiting Award, sweetly portrays a common but rarely narrated childhood experience―having a single parent and taking care of a younger sibling. With illustrations by Brooklyn artist Elise R. Peterson, The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett recounts 11-year-old Jacuzzi’s evening activities while he cares for his baby brother and waits for mama’s arrival home. He ponders his dad, school, and his future―and when his brother wakes up, Jacuzzi knows just how to get him back to sleep.

The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett

Children's Books

Activities, Crafts & Games

Dottir Press

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Books by Purnell, Brontez