''Loaded'' is the first novel by Australian writer

Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...

. It was first published in 1995, and was adapted into the 1998 film '' Head On''. ''Loaded'' was adapted as an

audio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

by the Malthouse Theatre company in 2020.

Plot

The novel describes twenty-four hours in the life of "Ari", an angst-ridden young

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Greek Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek an ...

. Ari travels across the city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia, taking

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (ma ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

and smoking marijuana whenever presented to him. He is uncomfortable with his homosexuality, favours no strings attached hook-ups with anonymous, masculine suitors who debase or demean their own homosexuality, and is regularly at odds with friends as well as family.

Publication

When Tsiolkas submitted the manuscript of ''Loaded'' to an independent publisher, it was rejected as "racist and homophobic".

References

1995 Australian novels 1990s LGBT novels Novels by Christos Tsiolkas Novels with gay themes Australian LGBT novels Novels set in Melbourne 1995 debut novels {{1990s-LGBT-novel-stub