Where to Start with Brontez Purnell: The Recommended Reading Path
Brontez Purnell is a multi-hyphenate artist—writer, musician, dancer, and filmmaker—whose literary works are as energetic, chaotic, and unapologetic as his punk-rock roots. Because his books are standalone projects rather than a continuous narrative series, you can read them in any order. However, the best way to experience his writing depends on what style of storytelling you prefer.
Option A: The Narrative Entry Point – Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017)
If you prefer a cohesive, novelistic story arc with clear character development, start with Since I Laid My Burden Down. This short novel centers on DeShawn, a young Black queer man who returns to his working-class home in Alabama for a uncle's funeral. While there, DeShawn reflects on his upbringing, his sexual awakening, and the ghosts of his past. The book is structured more traditionally than Purnell's other works, making it a perfect introduction to his ability to blend deep emotional resonance with gritty, Southern-influenced humor.
Option B: The Vignette-Style Entry Point – 100 Boyfriends (2021)
If you want to dive straight into the deep end of Purnell's raw, fast-paced, and episodic writing style, start with 100 Boyfriends. Winner of the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, this collection of interconnected stories and vignettes explores gay dysfunction, desire, heartbreak, and self-sabotage. It jumps between characters and locations—from Oakland to Alabama—capturing a kaleidoscopic view of queer Black life. It is messy, hilarious, and deeply human.
Brontez Purnell Books in Order of Publication
For readers who want to watch Purnell’s voice evolve from DIY zines to award-winning prose, following the publication order is a rewarding journey. Here is how his major works emerged:
- The Cruising Diaries (2014): A highly explicit, illustrated memoir charting Purnell's sexual misadventures in Oakland during the 2000s, featuring illustrations by cartoonist Janelle Hessig.
- Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger (2015): A novella and zine compilation tracking a protagonist navigating a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco and feeling alienated from mainstream gay culture.
- Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017): Purnell's debut traditional novel, exploring memory, family, and survival in the American South.
- The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett (2019): A children's picture book about an imaginative eleven-year-old boy babysitting his baby brother, featuring mixed-media collage art by Elise R. Peterson.
- 100 Boyfriends (2021): An acclaimed, award-winning collection of short fiction and vignettes mapping intimacy, addiction, and resilience.
- Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse (2024): A genre-defying poetry collection containing thirty-eight autobiographical pieces reflecting on family trauma, capitalism, and art-world politics.
A Closer Look at the Books
The Early Non-Fiction & Novellas
Before achieving widespread mainstream literary success, Purnell was a staple of the Oakland DIY and punk zine scenes, notably publishing the zine Fag School. His first two major book-length projects, The Cruising Diaries (2014) and Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger (2015), carry this raw zine energy. Purnell has noted that the two projects are loosely connected; stories that did not make it into the final cut of The Cruising Diaries were later compiled into the "Juvenilia" section of Johnny. Both books explore the alienation, gentrification, and underground queer culture of the Bay Area in the early 2000s.
The Acclaimed Prose
With Since I Laid My Burden Down (2017) and 100 Boyfriends (2021), Purnell transitioned into longer fiction formats while retaining his signature grit and dark humor. These works reject respectability politics, focusing on characters who are broke, flawed, and struggling to survive under capitalism and systemic racism while desperately seeking connection. These novels established Purnell as a major voice in contemporary queer literature, earning praise for their ability to find laugh-out-loud comedy in the midst of despair.
The Poetic Memoirs
In 2024, Purnell released Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse. This collection marked a formal shift into poetry, allowing Purnell to reflect directly on his life and career. Across thirty-eight pieces, he writes candidly about everything from low-wage labor and the gentrification of the Bay Area to a physical brawl at a poetry conference and the weird experience of adapting his life for television rooms. It serves as an excellent companion piece for readers who want to understand the real-life experiences behind the fiction of 100 Boyfriends.
The Children's Departure
Showcasing his immense versatility, The Nightlife of Jacuzzi Gaskett (2019) is a children's picture book that tells the story of an eleven-year-old boy watching his baby brother while his single mother goes on a date. Unlike his adult fiction, it is a sweet, tender portrayal of childhood responsibility and Black boyhood, brought to life by Elise R. Peterson's textured collage illustrations.
What to Know Before You Start
Purnell's writing is heavily influenced by the Riot Grrrl movement, the DIY punk ethos, and early zine culture. Readers should be prepared for explicit descriptions of sex, drug use, and raw, messy life choices. Rather than presenting polished or sanitized versions of queer life, Purnell celebrates the chaotic, the marginalized, and the unrefined. If you enjoy authors who write with brutal honesty, dark humor, and a rhythmic, conversational flow, Brontez Purnell is an essential addition to your bookshelf.