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pturnbull's review
4.0
Interesting collection of primary source literary writing by people in LA affected by AIDS. Paul Monette may be the best known of the contributors here. After reading his exquisite and wistful memoir, Borrowed Time I was not expecting to encounter a much stronger voice in this book filled with rage and cynicism. There are descriptions about taking the HIV test and being unsurprised by the results. There are hospital tales of confusion, lack of decent care, and deaths that come faster and more numerous than anyone can bear. There are also numerous examples of loving, caring relationships between friends and lovers who bring food, visit, advocate, and witness the suffering of their comrades. Though the poems and stories give valuable eyewitness accounts about this public health disaster, what's understandably missing is the profound awareness of the empty space left by each person brought down by this scourge.
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