Scan barcode
theeuphoriczat's review against another edition
4.0
Just could not put this book down last night and ended up finishing it at about 1am this morning. I will just highlight here the general plot and what I have taken from it and a few reflections.
It is quite rare to find books with not just queer history but a w/w adult relationship. Sure like a lot of literary fiction these days, Kate is cheating on her husband by sleeping with Molly, but if heterosexual couples are doing it, why not the queers (and that on equality). Jokes aside, while we do follow a range of POV's including that of Kate's husband Peter, the book itself provide a humane view of the AIDS Crisis. This diverse view points allows readers to experience a range of perspectives, including the activism, 'stigma' and lackadaisical attitudes that a lot of people had towards the AIDS Crisis.
Of particular interest to me was how, corporations and large investment funds benefited from the crisis; and I am talking in terms of housing right now. Sure I could go into how the whole issue was framed in the media as a gay person disease, reducing research funding etc. until it became a problem for people who were heterosexual. However, that part of the crisis is not new to me, I focused a bit more on how the crisis allowed for the gentrification of certain neighbourhoods, allowed developers to push out dying people, increase the wealth & income gap, and increase the cost of living. This is the side of the crisis that we don't see often talked about.
This speaks a lot on how we view certain problems in general. It's the same thing with the monkey pox, rather than take it seriously, people seem to be a bit too comfortable hearing that it is majorly affecting queer men. Not gonna go into it right now. Only when it hurts the general public bottom line, will people speak up and then will the government do something about it. Big Corps, are counting on the general public lackadaisical attitude towards minority groups. It is the divide and conquer strategy!!
It is quite rare to find books with not just queer history but a w/w adult relationship. Sure like a lot of literary fiction these days, Kate is cheating on her husband by sleeping with Molly, but if heterosexual couples are doing it, why not the queers (and that on equality). Jokes aside, while we do follow a range of POV's including that of Kate's husband Peter, the book itself provide a humane view of the AIDS Crisis. This diverse view points allows readers to experience a range of perspectives, including the activism, 'stigma' and lackadaisical attitudes that a lot of people had towards the AIDS Crisis.
Of particular interest to me was how, corporations and large investment funds benefited from the crisis; and I am talking in terms of housing right now. Sure I could go into how the whole issue was framed in the media as a gay person disease, reducing research funding etc. until it became a problem for people who were heterosexual. However, that part of the crisis is not new to me, I focused a bit more on how the crisis allowed for the gentrification of certain neighbourhoods, allowed developers to push out dying people, increase the wealth & income gap, and increase the cost of living. This is the side of the crisis that we don't see often talked about.
This speaks a lot on how we view certain problems in general. It's the same thing with the monkey pox, rather than take it seriously, people seem to be a bit too comfortable hearing that it is majorly affecting queer men. Not gonna go into it right now. Only when it hurts the general public bottom line, will people speak up and then will the government do something about it. Big Corps, are counting on the general public lackadaisical attitude towards minority groups. It is the divide and conquer strategy!!
emiiisen's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
macaroniman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
bellasgonemissing's review against another edition
i felt this book in my chest the whole time i was reading it. schulaman possesses both such a wonderful and artistic way with words as well as the expertise and life experience to make this a really special book
derekmoodyrutledge's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 round up to 4. Would be higher if the characters weren’t so awful half the time (and Peter about 95% of the time.) great writing about some terrible people.
terracottalily's review against another edition
Someone said that Kate and Peter are unbearable. So I only read the Molly chapters. The version of the book I read was warm, full of character and complex.
connorgirvan's review against another edition
3.5 / 5 stars
Very enjoyable book - pretty much what I expected from a Sarah Schulman book. Really enjoy her writing and would like to read more (but I still love Rat Bohemia much more for some reason).
❤️ - Interesting mix of topics from sexuality to gender being explored through the character Kate, enjoyed that it included the struggle women faced during AIDs crisis not just focusing on men but the barriers that women faced in getting treatment for AIDs
❌- Not really a problem with the book but one of my chapters was entitled Peter (as in from his POV) but it was a Molly chapter so error (?), Molly seemed like the least developed character and I would have liked to have seen more interaction between her and Peter as I liked their brief scenes together given the dynamic
Very enjoyable book - pretty much what I expected from a Sarah Schulman book. Really enjoy her writing and would like to read more (but I still love Rat Bohemia much more for some reason).
❤️ - Interesting mix of topics from sexuality to gender being explored through the character Kate, enjoyed that it included the struggle women faced during AIDs crisis not just focusing on men but the barriers that women faced in getting treatment for AIDs
❌- Not really a problem with the book but one of my chapters was entitled Peter (as in from his POV) but it was a Molly chapter so error (?), Molly seemed like the least developed character and I would have liked to have seen more interaction between her and Peter as I liked their brief scenes together given the dynamic
gingercatreads's review
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
womxyn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
5.0