History and AIDS in Was and Angels in America (original) (raw)

This paper explores the fantastical representations of AIDS in Geoff Ryman's novel Was and Tony Kushner's play Angels in America. It argues that these works provide critical interventions into dominant narratives surrounding the AIDS crisis by challenging traditional historical and mimetic discourses, thereby revealing the limitations of conventional imagination. Through the concept of the 'threshold of revelation,' the paper examines how these narratives, while rooted in the realities of the epidemic, also suggest alternative futures and embody the complexities of truth, history, and identity.