‘Circus of Books’ and the family-run gay bookstore | movie review
Rachel Mason documents the story of the gay adult bookstore run by her elderly Jewish parents in Circus of Books
Quick review: Where the Circus of Books lacks focus, it makes up for in pure heart and a touching personal story that gives hope to a community. It will be available on Netflix on April 22.
★★★★
“I thought it was just a bookstore… with a circus theme.” That’s what Alaska, a drag queen and winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars 2, had to say about Circus of Books, a store where she once worked in West Hollywood. And from the outside, the unassuming concrete facade wouldn’t really reveal that behind those walls was what co-owner Karen Mason called a “hardcore gay adult business.”
The way that Karen and her husband Barry, a straight Jewish couple, fell into owning a store selling gay porn is less interesting than the point in time it happened. It was the 80s and on the precipice of the gay liberation movement. A few gay activists from the time recall their involvement in a demonst…