Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse

I’m pleased to announce that the next selection for the FBOTU Book Club is the graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. Here’s a synopsis:

Art and story combine powerfully in this lyrical tale of a young man caught in the maelstrom of the civil rights movement and the entrenched homophobia of small-town America. Told in flashback, this is the story of Toland Polk, the son of an uneducated white carpenter, who has grown up in the Southern town of Clayfield. It is the 1960s, a time of passionate beliefs and violent emotions, and Clayfield’s citizens are divided in the fight over segregation. As Toland fights on the side of the civil rights activists, he slowly begins to realize and try to deny that he is gay. With a subtle yet intricate plot, and distinctively evocative illustrations, Stuck Rubber Baby is an unflinchingly honest look at one man’s world of fears, dreams and prejudice.

An Eisner and Harvey Award winner, Stuck Rubber Baby is easily considered one of the most important graphic novels of our time.

How It Works
Discussion of the book will begin on Wednesday, September 29 in the Forum. That means you have a whole month to get and read the book. I’ll be posting weekly reminders to help keep you on track. But once you start reading Stuck Rubber Baby, I doubt you’ll be able to put it down.

You can buy Stuck Rubber Baby at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Prism Comics, your local comics shop or wherever groundbreaking graphic novels are sold. You should also be able to find it in your local library.

Happy reading!