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A review by magnuscumlaude
Grief by Andrew Holleran
4.0
Found this little novel in a used bookshop in Halifax, Nova Scotia called Trident. I read it over my short trip there, and I really enjoyed it. The name and cover make it seem like it could be depressing, but I found it to be a pretty gentle read. As the narrator cycles through his routine - walking through Washington DC, talking to the few people in his life, ruminating about Mary Todd Lincoln - I feel like it had a hypnotic effect on me. In the same way that I often enjoy a plotless film, meandering through someone's life, Grief by Andrew Holleran lulls you into the story and you don't see it's culminative power until the end.
I think my favourite part is how Holleran writes about art, architecture, and the life of a city through the eyes of an outsider. I read his novel 'Dancer from the Dance' a couple years ago now, and I don't remember feeling that impressed with it, despite it's position as a modern gay classic. Grief is more my vibe.
I think my favourite part is how Holleran writes about art, architecture, and the life of a city through the eyes of an outsider. I read his novel 'Dancer from the Dance' a couple years ago now, and I don't remember feeling that impressed with it, despite it's position as a modern gay classic. Grief is more my vibe.