I was impressed with Midnight Cowboy, written by James Leo Herlihy, published in 1965. It's a brilliant portrayal of a lost soul, making his way in America. For me it's a classic alongside another favourite of mine from the same year, The Sterile Cuckoo by John Nichols, and The Graduate by Charles Webb. All were turned into great movies - "novels of today's youth unlike any you have read."
Joe Buck is a simple hearted young man alone, inarticulate and misplaced. Growing up an orphan in a whorehouse, where his care was passed between a succession of fleshy blondes, no one had raised him, loved him, guided him or taught him anything. He works as a dishwasher in Houston, and wanders the streets in his spare time with a radio to his ear. He thinks he understands one thing - his body. This crystallizes when he meets Perry, a male hustler in a late night cafe who is attracted to Joe and shows him how to work.
The plan is to move to New York City, where there are no great-looking cowboys, and he dreams his dazzling denim outfit will attract rich beautiful women who will surely pay to sleep with him. When hustling women proves a failure, his clientele becomes mostly male. Descending into night-time Broadway, he is taken in by crooks and hustlers until his loneliness and sense of identity overwhelm him. Then he meets Ratso Rizzo, a crippled petty crook and con man who becomes Joe Buck's first true friend. Together they instigate scams and squat in abandoned apartments, dreaming of the break that will bring enough money to take them away to sunnier days in Florida.
It's a story of lost souls and losers told with heart and understanding. Joe's journey seems doomed, yet we root for him. His friendship with Ratso is his first real connection to life and opens up his compassion. It's not a happy story, but really well written and original.
The movie that was made from this book in 1969 won the Oscar for Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. Both Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight were nominated for Best Actor.
A classic of 1960's literature.
1965 / Hardcover / 254 pages
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