James Robert Baker
Encyclopedia
James Robert Baker was an American author
of sharply satirical, predominantly gay
-themed transgressional fiction
. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California
. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and started writing novels instead. Though he garnered fame for his books Fuel-Injected Dreams and Boy Wonder
, after the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim and Pete
, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published. According to his life partner, this was a contributing factor in his suicide.
Baker's work has achieved cult status in the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously published. First-edition copies of his earlier works have become collector's items. His novel Testosterone was adapted to a film of the same name
, though it was not a financial success. Two other books have been optioned for films, but they have not been produced.
and raised in what he considered a "stifling, Republican
Southern Californian household". Rebelling against his parents, he became attracted to the fringe elements of society, including beatnik
s (anyone living as a bohemian
, acting rebelliously, or appearing to advocate a revolution in manners), artists and gays. In high school during the 1960s he explored his sexuality at underground gay teen nightclubs, while living in fear that his abusive father would find out. At one point, his father hired a private detective to follow him, when he suspected Baker was having an affair with a male neighbor. This family dynamic would be used in many of his novels, most extensively in Boy Wonder.
Baker began experimenting with drugs, and became, in his own words, "an out of control, teenage speed freak". He also began drinking heavily, attributing it to the fact that he was closeted
. However, even after coming out
, his substance abuse remained excessive and "still had a life of its own". After sobering up, he attended UCLA film school, where he was one of the winners of the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards
, and directed two films: Mouse Klub Konfidential and Blonde Death. Mouse Klub Konfidential, a film about a Mickey Mouse Club
Mouseketeer who becomes a gay bondage
pornographer, was a controversial entry in the 1976 San Francisco's LGBT Film Festival
, as some thought Baker was actually advocating Nazism
. It is also credited with having caused Michael Medved
to abandon his dream of film making and instead become a film critic.
His first book, Adrenaline, was published under the pseudonym
James Dillinger. A story of two gay fugitive lovers on the run, it presaged the satire and drug fueled violence so prominent in his later books. Here Baker began developing the themes that dominated his following works: anarchy; angry and somewhat paranoid gay men; the dark underside of Los Angeles, juxtaposed with its sunny outward image; the hypocrisy of organized religion; anonymous sex and its implications in the age of AIDS; and homophobia and the oppression of gays in a Republican dominated America. Its plot device
of underdog characters forced into flight due to circumstances beyond their control was one Baker explored in all of his subsequent work. The modest success of this novel encouraged him to devote himself to what have become his best known works, Fuel-Injected Dreams (a novel revolving around a character loosely based on record producer Phil Spector
) and Boy Wonder.
After the 1986 release of Fuel-Injected Dreams, his second novel, he stopped screenwriting in order to solely concentrate on books. He spent the bulk of each day writing and researching, and acted out characters and scenes of his novels on videotape to perfect the dialogue.
His primary focus was gay-themed writing, though he also wrote about the entertainment industry. Mostly satirical, his writing was filled with increasingly clear anger and disdain for the Republican neo-con
agenda, especially after the AIDS pandemic
began to take a large toll on the gay community. A very strong voice in gay literature, Baker had admirers and detractors for his gay radical stance, both in the mainstream literary community as well as the gay community itself.
A self-described anarchist, Baker has been categorized as a writer of transgressional fiction
, in that his novels are frequently populated by sociopathic, nihilistic
characters who engage in taboo behaviors such as heavy drug use, incest, necrophilia
and other practices; and often commit acts of extreme, surrealistic violence. A man of eclectic tastes, Baker cited as literary influences writers and film directors ranging from Proust to Jim Thompson
and Sam Peckinpah
. He also admired the punk writer Dennis Cooper
.
His work is filled with pop cultural references to both film and music, as well as politics. Orson Welles
' Touch of Evil
and John Ford
's The Searchers
are mentioned prominently in more than one of his books, and Roxy Music
is referenced in virtually every novel he wrote. The imagery in his novels is largely cinematic, with expressions such as "fade in/fade out", "quick cut
" and "VistaVision
"; and sentences such as "a montage traces the next fifteen years" and "If the last reel of Cheryl's life had been a CinemaScope
Technicolor
movie ...". With driven narratives, his books have the feel of a movie set down on paper.
In a 1993 interview, however, Baker stated:
There were also charges of racism, due to his portrayals of blacks and Hispanics. Baker denied those charges, and pointed out that the protagonist later realized that the blacks were also gay and the Latina "was just a sweet old woman putting up with a lot of (stuff) that I couldn't even imagine." He went on to say, "I just wanted to explore the conflicts between gays and Latinos and gays and blacks ... the real feelings [and the] misapprehensions of each other. I realized it wouldn't all be nice and politically correct. If blacks (and Latinos) want my respect, they have to deal with their own homophobia. I'm not playing guilty liberal anymore".
The book caused a great deal of controversy among critics, with some calling it "irresponsible", and saying it was "determined to give offense" and "appears to endorse violence". One critic of the book wrote, "The work rapidly becomes an apology for political terrorism and effectively advocates the assassination of the entire American New Right. While the reasons for such a vengeance motif are perhaps evident, can it really be countenanced? Are we still justified in referring to this as art? And even if we are, is there a point at which such invective (and such suggestions) become simply counterproductive?"
Another critic, however, called it "a masterful creation" and wrote:
"In coming years Baker will be seen as having understood the implications of this period in our history while the rest of us were simply living it". It polarized the reading public as well, with letters to the editor of major newspapers both supporting and opposing Baker's ideology. Baker himself was aware that the book would be controversial, and deliberately provoked much of the reaction he received. He said:
"Tim and Pete tries to convey in print what people really think rather than what they should think or what's P.C. My fantasy was to leave readers so infuriated they'd throw down the book and march right out to a gun store because they wanted to see the finale so bad they realize the only way it'd happen is if they make it happen in real life!"
in the United Kingdom wrote, "Baker's suicide is particularly tragic because it robs American gay writing of a refreshingly distinctive voice quite unlike the po-faced prose of so many of his contemporaries."
Robertson, now Baker's literary executor, was successful in having two additional novels published after Baker's death. One of those, Testosterone, was filmed in 2003. Directed by David Moreton and starring Antonio Sabato Jr., the plot was significantly altered and the film was a critical and financial failure. Both Boy Wonder and Fuel-Injected Dreams have been optioned for the movies several times, most recently in 2004, though they were never produced. Baker's work has also been published in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Japan and Russia.
Though Tim and Pete was his most controversial work, Boy Wonder is generally considered his magnum opus
, and remains his most popular book. A black satire of the film industry, it is also a parody of the "oral biographies" popularized by George Plimpton
with his books about Edie Sedgwick
and Truman Capote
, in that the protagonist's life is revealed in the form of interviews between the writer and the characters. Though it has been praised as "one of the few novels from the last couple of decades that could justifiably be called a classic", reviewers have also pointed out that it is probably unfilmable due to its bitter cynicism regarding the movie industry.
Baker's last published work, Right Wing, as well as his posthumous novels Testosterone and Anarchy, represent a stylistic departure in that he inserts himself into the plot as either a secondary character or the protagonist. The latter two were edited, and in the case of Anarchy, partially rewritten by his editor, Scott Brassart. Testosterone needed only minor changes, while Anarchy underwent an entire rewrite, with Brassart restructuring the plot and streamlining over 500 pages of prose and notes into a fast-paced, 250 page novel. For the reader, however, it is only Baker's voice as writer that is heard.
Three of Baker's books have thus far not been published. They are White Devils, Proto Punk, and Crucifying Todd. Additionally, he wrote two screenplays which have not as yet been filmed: Inez and Desert Women.
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
of sharply satirical, predominantly gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
-themed transgressional fiction
Transgressional fiction
Transgressive fiction is a genre of literature that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways. Because they are rebelling against the basic norms of society, protagonists of transgressional...
. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and started writing novels instead. Though he garnered fame for his books Fuel-Injected Dreams and Boy Wonder
Boy Wonder (novel)
Boy Wonder is a novel by James Robert Baker published in 1988. The novel is a mock of oral history of Los Angeles, California in which we hear the life of Hollywood avant-garde film producer Shark Trager.-References:*Baker, James Robert. Boy Wonder...
, after the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim and Pete
Tim and Pete
Tim and Pete is the third novel written by James Robert Baker , an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a...
, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published. According to his life partner, this was a contributing factor in his suicide.
Baker's work has achieved cult status in the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously published. First-edition copies of his earlier works have become collector's items. His novel Testosterone was adapted to a film of the same name
Testosterone (film)
Testosterone is a film adaption from James Robert Baker's novel Testosterone. The film is directed by David Moreton and stars David Sutcliffe, Antonio Sabato, Jr., and Jennifer Coolidge.-Plot summary:...
, though it was not a financial success. Two other books have been optioned for films, but they have not been produced.
Early life
Baker was born in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
and raised in what he considered a "stifling, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Southern Californian household". Rebelling against his parents, he became attracted to the fringe elements of society, including beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
s (anyone living as a bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
, acting rebelliously, or appearing to advocate a revolution in manners), artists and gays. In high school during the 1960s he explored his sexuality at underground gay teen nightclubs, while living in fear that his abusive father would find out. At one point, his father hired a private detective to follow him, when he suspected Baker was having an affair with a male neighbor. This family dynamic would be used in many of his novels, most extensively in Boy Wonder.
Baker began experimenting with drugs, and became, in his own words, "an out of control, teenage speed freak". He also began drinking heavily, attributing it to the fact that he was closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
. However, even after coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
, his substance abuse remained excessive and "still had a life of its own". After sobering up, he attended UCLA film school, where he was one of the winners of the Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards
Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards
The Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards are bestowed annually by the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, which is funded by a trust established by the Goldwyn family. Started in 1955, the awards are a competitive writing prize open to all University of California students...
, and directed two films: Mouse Klub Konfidential and Blonde Death. Mouse Klub Konfidential, a film about a Mickey Mouse Club
Mickey Mouse Club
The Mickey Mouse Club is an American variety television show that began in 1955, produced by Walt Disney Productions and televised by the ABC, featuring a regular but ever-changing cast of teenage performers. The Mickey Mouse Club was created by Walt Disney...
Mouseketeer who becomes a gay bondage
Bondage (BDSM)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
pornographer, was a controversial entry in the 1976 San Francisco's LGBT Film Festival
Frameline Film Festival
Frameline is a nonprofit media arts organization that produces the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the oldest film festival devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender programming currently in existence...
, as some thought Baker was actually advocating Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
. It is also credited with having caused Michael Medved
Michael Medved
Michael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
to abandon his dream of film making and instead become a film critic.
Writer
Baker's lifelong ambition was to write. Upon graduating from UCLA, he spent approximately five years writing Hollywood screenplays in the early 1980s, a process he hated. While financially successful, he was frustrated that his work was not being produced. "I felt like a door-to-door salesman going to all these [story] pitch meetings ... [filled with] rabid, hideous morons". He became discouraged and disillusioned, and turned his attention to novels.His first book, Adrenaline, was published under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
James Dillinger. A story of two gay fugitive lovers on the run, it presaged the satire and drug fueled violence so prominent in his later books. Here Baker began developing the themes that dominated his following works: anarchy; angry and somewhat paranoid gay men; the dark underside of Los Angeles, juxtaposed with its sunny outward image; the hypocrisy of organized religion; anonymous sex and its implications in the age of AIDS; and homophobia and the oppression of gays in a Republican dominated America. Its plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
of underdog characters forced into flight due to circumstances beyond their control was one Baker explored in all of his subsequent work. The modest success of this novel encouraged him to devote himself to what have become his best known works, Fuel-Injected Dreams (a novel revolving around a character loosely based on record producer Phil Spector
Phil Spector
Phillip Harvey "Phil" Spector is an American record producer and songwriter, later known for his conviction in the murder of actress Lana Clarkson....
) and Boy Wonder.
After the 1986 release of Fuel-Injected Dreams, his second novel, he stopped screenwriting in order to solely concentrate on books. He spent the bulk of each day writing and researching, and acted out characters and scenes of his novels on videotape to perfect the dialogue.
His primary focus was gay-themed writing, though he also wrote about the entertainment industry. Mostly satirical, his writing was filled with increasingly clear anger and disdain for the Republican neo-con
Neoconservatism
Neoconservatism in the United States is a branch of American conservatism. Since 2001, neoconservatism has been associated with democracy promotion, that is with assisting movements for democracy, in some cases by economic sanctions or military action....
agenda, especially after the AIDS pandemic
AIDS pandemic
The acquired immune deficiency syndrome pandemic is a widespread disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus .Since AIDS was first recognized in 1981, it has led to the deaths of more than 25 million people, making it one of the most destructive diseases in recorded history.Despite recent...
began to take a large toll on the gay community. A very strong voice in gay literature, Baker had admirers and detractors for his gay radical stance, both in the mainstream literary community as well as the gay community itself.
A self-described anarchist, Baker has been categorized as a writer of transgressional fiction
Transgressional fiction
Transgressive fiction is a genre of literature that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways. Because they are rebelling against the basic norms of society, protagonists of transgressional...
, in that his novels are frequently populated by sociopathic, nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
characters who engage in taboo behaviors such as heavy drug use, incest, necrophilia
Necrophilia
Necrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
and other practices; and often commit acts of extreme, surrealistic violence. A man of eclectic tastes, Baker cited as literary influences writers and film directors ranging from Proust to Jim Thompson
Jim Thompson (writer)
James Myers Thompson was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction....
and Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
. He also admired the punk writer Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper
Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...
.
His work is filled with pop cultural references to both film and music, as well as politics. Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil is a 1958 American crime thriller film, written, directed by, and co-starring Orson Welles. The screenplay was loosely based on the novel Badge of Evil by Whit Masterson...
and John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
's The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
are mentioned prominently in more than one of his books, and Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
is referenced in virtually every novel he wrote. The imagery in his novels is largely cinematic, with expressions such as "fade in/fade out", "quick cut
Cut (filmmaking)
In the post-production process of film editing and video editing, a cut is an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. It is synonymous with the term edit, though "edit" can imply any number of transitions or effects. The cut, dissolve and wipe serve as the three...
" and "VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
"; and sentences such as "a montage traces the next fifteen years" and "If the last reel of Cheryl's life had been a CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
movie ...". With driven narratives, his books have the feel of a movie set down on paper.
Critical reception
Baker's work received mixed reviews. His only two books not specifically gay themed (though containing gay characters and a somewhat gay sensibility), Boy Wonder and Fuel-Injected Dreams, were better received by critics, and more popular with readers, though he was never a bestselling novelist. Baker himself estimated that his books sold approximately 25,000 copies each. His following book, however, Tim and Pete, met with hostile reviews, primarily for its advocacy of political assassination and terror tactics in combating AIDS discrimination. Baker himself was ambivalent on the subject. "I think assassination does change things ... But I'm not really calling for violence," he said. "It's a novel, not a position paper."In a 1993 interview, however, Baker stated:
I think a strong case can be made that political assassination actually does change things. If you look at the assassinations in this country in the 1960s you can certainly see how it affected history in a very profound way. So if you killed right wing figures, you'd also be altering the course of history, and eliminating people who might very well be president in 1996 and those who are making bashing gaysGay bashingGay bashing and gay bullying is verbal or physical abuse against a person who is perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender . Such abuse is used also to bully heterosexual persons and persons of non-specific or unknown sexual orientation.A "bashing" may be a specific incident, and one...
their number one issue right now. On the one hand, I'm not advocating PWA's turn themselves into human bombs, but on the other hand I have to admit that if I clicked on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
and heard somebody had blown Patrick Buchanan's head clean off, I'd be elated, and to say otherwise would be a lie.
There were also charges of racism, due to his portrayals of blacks and Hispanics. Baker denied those charges, and pointed out that the protagonist later realized that the blacks were also gay and the Latina "was just a sweet old woman putting up with a lot of (stuff) that I couldn't even imagine." He went on to say, "I just wanted to explore the conflicts between gays and Latinos and gays and blacks ... the real feelings [and the] misapprehensions of each other. I realized it wouldn't all be nice and politically correct. If blacks (and Latinos) want my respect, they have to deal with their own homophobia. I'm not playing guilty liberal anymore".
The book caused a great deal of controversy among critics, with some calling it "irresponsible", and saying it was "determined to give offense" and "appears to endorse violence". One critic of the book wrote, "The work rapidly becomes an apology for political terrorism and effectively advocates the assassination of the entire American New Right. While the reasons for such a vengeance motif are perhaps evident, can it really be countenanced? Are we still justified in referring to this as art? And even if we are, is there a point at which such invective (and such suggestions) become simply counterproductive?"
Another critic, however, called it "a masterful creation" and wrote:
"In coming years Baker will be seen as having understood the implications of this period in our history while the rest of us were simply living it". It polarized the reading public as well, with letters to the editor of major newspapers both supporting and opposing Baker's ideology. Baker himself was aware that the book would be controversial, and deliberately provoked much of the reaction he received. He said:
"Tim and Pete tries to convey in print what people really think rather than what they should think or what's P.C. My fantasy was to leave readers so infuriated they'd throw down the book and march right out to a gun store because they wanted to see the finale so bad they realize the only way it'd happen is if they make it happen in real life!"
Death
After the reception of Tim and Pete, with several critics calling him "The Last Angry Gay Man", Baker faced increasing difficulty finding a publisher for his work and his financial position became precarious. He was only able to publish one novella, Right Wing, and that was self published on the Internet. Baker's life partner, Ron Robertson, believes that this difficulty led Baker on a quick, downwards emotional spiral. Baker committed suicide at his home on November 5, 1997. His death was noted in literary circles and mainstream press; The Gay TimesGay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
in the United Kingdom wrote, "Baker's suicide is particularly tragic because it robs American gay writing of a refreshingly distinctive voice quite unlike the po-faced prose of so many of his contemporaries."
Legacy
Since his death, Baker's reputation has steadily increased among critics and the reading public; and his works now have cult status in the literary community. , first editions of Adrenaline, Boy Wonder, Fuel-Injected Dreams and Tim and Pete have become collector's items and command high prices at rare book stores.Robertson, now Baker's literary executor, was successful in having two additional novels published after Baker's death. One of those, Testosterone, was filmed in 2003. Directed by David Moreton and starring Antonio Sabato Jr., the plot was significantly altered and the film was a critical and financial failure. Both Boy Wonder and Fuel-Injected Dreams have been optioned for the movies several times, most recently in 2004, though they were never produced. Baker's work has also been published in Germany, Sweden, Italy, Great Britain, Australia, Japan and Russia.
Though Tim and Pete was his most controversial work, Boy Wonder is generally considered his magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
, and remains his most popular book. A black satire of the film industry, it is also a parody of the "oral biographies" popularized by George Plimpton
George Plimpton
George Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
with his books about Edie Sedgwick
Edie Sedgwick
Edith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick was an American actress, socialite, model and heiress. She is best known for being one of Andy Warhol's superstars. Sedgwick became known as "The Girl of the Year" in 1965 after starring in several of Warhol's short films in the 1960s...
and Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, in that the protagonist's life is revealed in the form of interviews between the writer and the characters. Though it has been praised as "one of the few novels from the last couple of decades that could justifiably be called a classic", reviewers have also pointed out that it is probably unfilmable due to its bitter cynicism regarding the movie industry.
Baker's last published work, Right Wing, as well as his posthumous novels Testosterone and Anarchy, represent a stylistic departure in that he inserts himself into the plot as either a secondary character or the protagonist. The latter two were edited, and in the case of Anarchy, partially rewritten by his editor, Scott Brassart. Testosterone needed only minor changes, while Anarchy underwent an entire rewrite, with Brassart restructuring the plot and streamlining over 500 pages of prose and notes into a fast-paced, 250 page novel. For the reader, however, it is only Baker's voice as writer that is heard.
Three of Baker's books have thus far not been published. They are White Devils, Proto Punk, and Crucifying Todd. Additionally, he wrote two screenplays which have not as yet been filmed: Inez and Desert Women.
Published works
- AdrenalineAdrenaline (novel)Adrenaline is the first novel written by James Robert Baker , an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a...
(1985) Signet Books/New American Library ISBN 978-0-451-13563-6 - Fuel-Injected Dreams (1986) E. P. DuttonE. P. DuttonE. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
ISBN 978-0-525-24417-2 - Boy WonderBoy Wonder (novel)Boy Wonder is a novel by James Robert Baker published in 1988. The novel is a mock of oral history of Los Angeles, California in which we hear the life of Hollywood avant-garde film producer Shark Trager.-References:*Baker, James Robert. Boy Wonder...
(1988) New American LibraryNew American LibraryNew American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948; it produced affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works, as well as popular, pulp, and "hard-boiled" fiction. Non-fiction, original, and hardcopy issues were also produced.Victor Weybright and Kurt...
ISBN 978-0-453-00597-5 - Tim and PeteTim and PeteTim and Pete is the third novel written by James Robert Baker , an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a...
(1993) Simon and Schuster ISBN 978-0-671-79184-1 - Right Wing (1996, only published on the Internet)
- Testosterone (published posthumously 2000) Alyson PublicationsAlyson PublicationsAlyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, is a book publishing house which specialises in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the home of award-winning books in the areas of memoir,...
ISBN 978-1-55583-567-5 - Anarchy (published posthumously 2002) Alyson PublicationsAlyson PublicationsAlyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, is a book publishing house which specialises in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the home of award-winning books in the areas of memoir,...
ISBN 978-1-55583-743-3