Authors

Discussion

This spotlight event features writer Paul David Gould discussing his novel Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants (2023), which has won acclaim for its portrayal of the nascent gay community in Moscow during the early 1990s. Part thriller, part coming-of-age story, Gould’s novel draws on his own experience as a student of Russian in Voronezh in the dying days of the Soviet Union, and as a journalist in Moscow. Last Dance raises critical questions about the development of Russia’s LGBTQ+ community, the role of Western activists, the transition to free-market capitalism, the trouble with transnational relationships, as well as homophobia and violence.

Paul David Gould will be in conversation with Russianist and queer studies scholar Connor Doak (University of Bristol).