The Naked Civil Servent and How to Become a Virgin by Quinten Crisp

Quinten Crisp is an extroidinary character. And The Naked Civil Servent was a great introduction to him. To live openly gay during any time prior to the 1970s is amazing. To do so in the UK--where it was illegal until the 90s--starting in the 1930s is astounding.

A few images from this book still stick with me, even nine months after reading it. The first is when he recieved his draft notice for WWII, and showed up to the draft station ready to serve his country. And, in one of many lucky breaks, despite being recognized as a homosecual, he wasn't arrested, was given a deferral and told never to come back.

Another was his matra regarding cleaning his apartment: after four years the dust doesn't get any worse. Speaking of his apartment, Crisp lived in the same place for something like 40 years, paying rent every month, not cleaning and often sitting around naked or in his dressing gown from when he awoke until he went to bed.

His adventures are interesting at the least.

His second book How to Become a Virgin is more uneven. It tells stories that are less compelling, focusing on the effects that his first book had on his life. While still interesting, it holds no where near the captivation as his first. We do get his impressions of the US, but the stories are not of a man looking back on the most interesting moments of his life, but more of a condesed diary of his life after The Naked Civil Servant was published. There were no stories that still stand out ot me after so much time.

The Naked Civil Servant  9/10
How to Become a Virgin         4/10