SKU: 18658770837

The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek

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The Wonderful World That Almost Was: A Life of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek"As official narratives everywhere strain and crack, Peter and Paul and Durbin offer a desperately needed alternative way of seeing and being." Benjamin Moser, author of Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work, winner of the Pulitzer Prize "Andrew Durbin has made of these lives and these times a jam packed poem in prose. It's like a trip with these guys, without pulling tight at the ending, just death." Eileen Myles, author of a "Working Life" The cinematic,

"As official narratives everywhere strain and crack, Peter and Paul--and Durbin--offer a desperately needed alternative way of seeing and being." --Benjamin Moser, author of Susan Sontag: Her Life and Work, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

"Andrew Durbin has made of these lives and these times a jam-packed poem in prose. It's like a trip with these guys, without pulling tight at the ending, just death." --Eileen Myles, author of a "Working Life"

The cinematic, never-before-told story of two intimately entangled artists who redefined queer art.

When Paul Thek met Peter Hujar in the winter of 1956 in Coral Gables, Florida, a slow-simmering connection began to burn. Thek, twenty-three and living in Miami, was handsome and itching to make it as a painter; in the twenty-two-year-old Hujar, a shy, sensual photographer, he'd found a kindred spirit. By 1960, they were dating and living in New York, beginning decades of sex, love, competition, and reconciliation--an entanglement that changed American art forever.

Surrounded by a robust creative scene populated by Susan Sontag, Andy Warhol, Fran Lebowitz, John Waters, and David Wojnarowicz, Thek and Hujar's profoundly influential careers, from the early 1960s through the late 1980s, differed as much as the men themselves. The unpredictable and often overlooked Thek crafted visceral installations and sculptures, while Hujar, celebrated and sociable, took penetrating portraits of his world, queer and otherwise. Yet even at their most estranged, and even after their deaths from AIDS, both men were united by a pursuit of liberation--from artistic and sexual limits, from anything short of changing the world.

Andrew Durbin's The Wonderful World That Almost Was unravels, for the first time, the intertwined stories and work of two boundary-burning, paradigm-tilting, never-more-relevant American artists. Weaving together deft art criticism with moving portraits of both men's inner lives, and assembled with exhaustive research, Durbin's book is an ode to a lost but still-living world--and two men who defined it.

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SKU: 18658770837

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Tilly
Alexandria, US
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Great fitting sandals
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Great fitting. Beautiful. Fit like a glove. Great to walk in. Great quality. Lightweight. All in one gorgeous sandals.
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Lowell, US
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My new favorite summer sandal!
Size: 8.5, Color: Bay Fog
I am loving these shoes so far this summer! The color is so cute, perfect for a light summer palette. It's the perfect light purple that doesn't make me look pale or washed out. For reference, I have fair to light neutral skin tone. They are SO comfortable - a little too comfortable for a shoe, it's more comfortable than my ugg slippers! They do take a second to put on as you have to either force your ankle in without unstrapping the back - don't judge me - or undo them. Thankfully they have a strap to help get them on easily. I love these shoes. I am a medium width, but I think these have some wiggle room since both the straps are velcro and adjustable somewhat. They are easy to walk in, hold onto the foot, have been more balanced than some others I have had in this platform style, and are very cushioned to walk in. Slight arch support to me but I have somewhat high arches so if you are more flat footed or standard arch these will give you even better support. Really impressed with these. They are more casual but work with many different outfits from sundresses to jeans. For me, these were a great buy and I will be wearing them all summer.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2026
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Sonia
Charlottesville, US
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Comfort and style
Size: 8.5, Color: Chestnut
Like walking on clouds with support. Thank you Ugg’s. Perfect size 8.5 Will buy again.
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Jennifer
Draper, US
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Size: 9, Color: Sand
If I could give a Ten Star review, I would. Hands down the most comfortable pair of sandals I have ever owned. I wore them 16 days straight while touring Italy. Comfortable and goes with all of your outfits. They pack well in a suitcase too. Light weight.
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Naomi L.
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 5
Wonderful
Super comfy and easy on and off, yet stylish imo! I could walk miles in these as a 56 yo and have worn them for three years! I hope they never stop making them. The only tweek I would suggest is to cover the footbed with leather or suede not cloth so they would last longer!
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