5 LGBTQ+ Books About Travel: Stories of Escape, Desire, and Rediscovery

Travel has always been a metaphor for change, discovery, and freedom. For LGBTQ+ travelers, it can also mean searching for places where they can be themselves, love without fear, and rewrite their own story. In this article, we highlight five LGBTQ+-themed books where travel—whether real, symbolic, or mythical—takes center stage. Perfect reads to pack in your suitcase or dive into when you feel the need to set off, even if only in your imagination.

Less – Andrew Sean Greer

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize, Less is a brilliant and bittersweet comedy that takes readers on a journey around the world through the eyes of Arthur Less, a middle-aged gay writer facing a deep existential crisis. When he receives an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding, Arthur decides to accept a series of unlikely international engagements—book readings, literary awards, and conferences—just to avoid the awkwardness of attending. What begins as an escape quickly turns into a hilarious and gently tragicomic journey through cities like Berlin, Paris, Marrakech, Kyoto, and parts of India. Less is a smart and tender novel, capable of making you laugh and feel deeply at the same time.

Call Me by Your Name – André Aciman

Set in the sun-drenched Italian countryside of the 1980s, Call Me by Your Name is a poignant and sensual novel that tells the story of the intense relationship between Elio, a 17-year-old Italian boy, and Oliver, an American student staying with the family for the summer. It all begins with subtle gestures, silences, and glances, gradually developing into a deep connection filled with desire, discovery, and tenderness. Aciman masterfully captures the slow bloom of attraction between the two protagonists, in an atmosphere suspended between seaside afternoons, cultural evenings, ripe fruit, and breathtaking landscapes. The novel is also a journey through memory and emotional growth, leaving an indelible mark on both the characters and the reader.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong

The debut novel by Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a powerful and poetically charged epistolary novel. It is written as a letter from a son to his illiterate mother, recounting his own story: a childhood marked by war and migration, the struggle of growing up in a broken family, and the discovery of his homosexuality within a context filled with violence and silence. The book shifts between moments of tenderness and passages of stark brutality, always maintaining a refined and evocative language. While there is no literal geographic journey, the protagonist traverses cultural, linguistic, and identity boundaries, ultimately finding a voice through which to tell his story.

The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller

In this epic and romantic novel, Madeline Miller reinterprets Greek mythology through a queer lens, telling the legendary love story between Achilles and Patroclus. Narrated in the first person by Patroclus, the book follows their journey from childhood friendship to their tragic end during the Trojan War. It is a tale of adventure, of course, but above all an emotional and mythical journey into the intimacy between two immortal figures. Miller breathes new life into classical myths with elegant and captivating prose.

Nevada – Imogen Binnie

Considered a landmark novel in contemporary trans literature, Nevada offers a raw and unflinching portrait of Maria Griffiths, a trans woman living in Brooklyn and working in a bookstore. After a painful breakup and a personal crisis, Maria steals her ex’s car and sets off on a journey westward across the United States, with no clear destination. More than a road trip, Nevada is an introspective journey filled with cynicism and clarity, challenging gender roles, human relationships, and how society treats trans people.

Whether they are wild escapes, mythological odysseys, or love letters to the self, these five books show how travel can be a powerful metaphor for exploring queer identity. They are stories of love, belonging, loss, and freedom—perfect reads for those who seek to discover new worlds, both within and beyond themselves.