Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman

Rat Bohemia won the Ferro-Grumley Award for Lesbian Fiction, and was named one of the '100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels of All Time' by the Publishing Triangle.

Sarah Schulman's Rat Bohemia is a witty, moving and sometimes shocking look at how lesbians and gay men are treated by their biological families. Set in contemporary New York, Schulman's characters--Rita, a rat exterminator who works for the city, Killer, a lesbian bohemian, and David, a gay writer with AIDS--are all trying to figure out how to live in a city that is falling apart and how to make peace with the families who ignore them or treat them badly. Schulman's eye for urban detail and her wicked, ironic sense of humor all contribute to making this a profoundly affecting and deeply disturbing look at lesbian and gay life today.