“One of the toughest things about any friendship is remembering that the mere act of listening is often not only enough but also the totality of what the other person wants. Sometimes there is no follow-up question, no complementary personal anecdote, no soothing cliché that will do more than a silent nod or caress on the hand or pat on the knee.”
Bobby Finger’s new book begins in 1992 in NYC. It’s Artie’s 30th birthday and he and his two best friends, Adam and Kim, are going to celebrate. They’re still in the midst of losing friends to AIDS, which makes them cling tighter to one another. That night, at their favorite bar, Julius’, Artie meets Abe, a closeted bisexual lawyer who will be the love of his life.
Thirty years later, Artie has a successful writing career (mostly as a ghostwriter), and a relationship with Halle, Abe’s daughter. It’s a quiet life, and once Halle moves across the country, it’s a lonely one, but Artie is determined to thrive. And when a freak accident leads to his becoming a member of GALS, a center for queer seniors, he opens his life to a new circle of friends, realizing that the length of a friendship isn’t what matters.
The book shifts back and forth between the 1990s and 2022-23. It’s sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and just absolutely beautiful. It’s the story of friendship, love, chosen family, fear, and hope, as well as the power of connection. I’ll be thinking about this for a long time.
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