All the World Beside

A Novel

By: Garrard Conley

Narrated by: Pete Cross, Garrard Conley

“A heart-wrenching story of love, family, and spirituality.” —People Magazine

From the New York Times bestselling author of Boy Erased, an electrifying, deeply moving novel about the love story between two men in Puritan New England.

Cana, Massachusetts: a utopian vision of 18th-century Puritan New England. To the outside world, Reverend Nathaniel Whitfield and his family stand as godly pillars of their small-town community, drawing Christians from across the New World into their fold. One such Christian, physician Arthur Lyman, discovers in the minister’s words a love so captivating it transcends language.

As the bond between these two men grows more and more passionate, their families must contend with a tangled web of secrets, lies, and judgments which threaten to destroy them in this world and the next. And when the religious ecstasies of the Great Awakening begin to take hold, igniting a new era of zealotry, Nathaniel and Arthur search for a path out of an impossible situation, imagining a future for themselves which has no name. Their wives and children must do the same, looking beyond the known world for a new kind of wilderness, both physical and spiritual.

Set during the turbulent historical upheavals which shaped America’s destiny and following in the tradition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, All the World Beside reveals the very human lives just beneath the surface of dogmatic belief. Bestselling author Garrard Conley has created a page-turning, vividly imagined historical tale that is both a love story and a crucible.

The dreariness of this world.,.

While Conley certainly captures the style and tone of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, it is tiresome as every character is unhappy, lost or inexplicably mute. While the writer brings Puritanical America to life, it is a slog. Even the minimal sex scenes are slight in description and offer seemingly little joy to the participants. As a product of an evangelical upbringing, I wanted to like this book but I found myself just waiting to get to the end. The talk Garrad Conley gives at the end regarding his intention and research is the most interesting part of the novel.

Interesting historical gay perspective

Unusual story. Good character portrayals but a bit too long. As if Nathanial Hawthorne had written The Boys In The Band.

an exploration of American Puritians and queer fols during the perod

Good story. well crafted. A period of America that is one of tge roots of bigotry.

a must read for the parents of gay children

the style of writing feels historic and something that could have been written decades ago. something that should be part of our historic education.

Couldn't listen to any more preaching!

My fault for following the impressions of someone on Instagram. Lesson learnt. According to this persons review, the book was so fascinating that he couldn't put it down until he read all of it. Drama and romance were his words. No mention of the faith and religious background essential to the character's dilemmas. Had I known this was the central conflict to the story, I would have passed. Given the author's previous book I assumed that this may stray from his religious upbringing and offer an entire new idea. The torment brought about by the character's own religious upbringing has been done countless times and this story doesn't offer anything new in that respect. I just couldn't hear any more preaching, I wanted to scream!!! I can't any longer read the Christian words as inoffensive and non threatening given the amount of damage done to people like the same characters from this book. At the same time, I don't need to be reminded over and over about them. Not a book for agnostics or atheists for sure!