Christ Like (novel)

Christ Like (novel) is a 1999 novel by author Emanuel Xavier.[1][2]

As an openly queer writer of color without any formal education, the author, a former drug dealer and male hustler, had difficulty finding a literary agent. The only mainstream publisher that expressed any interest wanted him to edit the book to make it a young adult novel. The book was eventually published by Painted Leaf Press, which went out of business, leaving the book out of print until it was picked up in 2009 by another small press, Rebel Satori Press.[3] The book was a Lambda Literary Award finalist.[4] It has since developed a cult following as the first queer novel by a person of color to introduce characters involved in the ball culture scene as featured in the documentary Paris is Burning, Pose (TV series) and Legendary (TV series).[5] The main characters are part of the House of X and hang out at a fictional NYC nightclub known as The Sanctuary, loosely based on The Limelight.

The author wrote the book when he was 25 years old in South America.[6][7][8]