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reneelyons 's review for:
Christodora
by Tim Murphy
This book gutted me; it tore me apart. It made me laugh and made me cry. It's the kind of book that sticks - I know I will be thinking about this story and these characters for a long, long time. Tim Murphy's Christodora is a bold story centered around AIDS activism in New York in the 80's and 90's. There's so much more to it than that, though. There is love, death, and heartbreak. There is loneliness, addiction, and depression. There is beauty, art, and hope.
At the heart of this story is Milly - a talented young artist and daughter of Ava, a pioneer in the fight for AIDS research. In a story spanning 30 decades, we follow Milly from her youth into her middle-age, jumping back and forth in time to paint a clear picture of her life. Ava struggles with her mental health, something that impacted her ability to be a good mother to Milly when she was a child. As Milly gets older she begins experiencing depression and fears that she is following in her mother's footsteps.
In her early 20's Milly lives with her sculptor husband, Jared, in the Christodora House, an iconic apartment building in New York's East side. Hector, their neighbour, was once a prominent AIDS activist, but after a personal tragedy turned to crystal meth. Jared is frustrated by his presence in the building and wants him out. However, Hector and Ava were a part of the early AIDS fight together, and Milly feels conflicted about where her loyalties should fall. Through Ava's work, Milly and Jared meet a 5 year old boy, Mateo, whose mother died of AIDS when he was a baby. Milly falls for the little boy with the wild hair, and they end up adopting him. Mateo's life will eventually crash with Hector's in unimaginable ways.
Going into this book I knew very little about AIDS and the activism that took place during the 80's and 90's. For example, I had I no idea that early definitions of AIDS excluded women and that many believed women couldn't contract the illness. I had no idea that there was a fight for proper medical funding and research, a fight for adequate medication. This book was an education, and I have to thank Tim Murphy for that - it was eye opening. That said, please don't think of this as an AIDS book, it's so much more than that.
Murphy has created something truly remarkable with this story, and I didn't want it to end. Even though they are often selfish and flawed, I can't recall the last time I felt so deeply invested in the characters of a book. Reading Murphy's acknowledgements solidified for me how personal this book was for him, and I can only be grateful that he chose to share so much of himself, his experiences, and his losses with the reading world. Fans of A Little Life, this one is for you.
At the heart of this story is Milly - a talented young artist and daughter of Ava, a pioneer in the fight for AIDS research. In a story spanning 30 decades, we follow Milly from her youth into her middle-age, jumping back and forth in time to paint a clear picture of her life. Ava struggles with her mental health, something that impacted her ability to be a good mother to Milly when she was a child. As Milly gets older she begins experiencing depression and fears that she is following in her mother's footsteps.
In her early 20's Milly lives with her sculptor husband, Jared, in the Christodora House, an iconic apartment building in New York's East side. Hector, their neighbour, was once a prominent AIDS activist, but after a personal tragedy turned to crystal meth. Jared is frustrated by his presence in the building and wants him out. However, Hector and Ava were a part of the early AIDS fight together, and Milly feels conflicted about where her loyalties should fall. Through Ava's work, Milly and Jared meet a 5 year old boy, Mateo, whose mother died of AIDS when he was a baby. Milly falls for the little boy with the wild hair, and they end up adopting him. Mateo's life will eventually crash with Hector's in unimaginable ways.
Going into this book I knew very little about AIDS and the activism that took place during the 80's and 90's. For example, I had I no idea that early definitions of AIDS excluded women and that many believed women couldn't contract the illness. I had no idea that there was a fight for proper medical funding and research, a fight for adequate medication. This book was an education, and I have to thank Tim Murphy for that - it was eye opening. That said, please don't think of this as an AIDS book, it's so much more than that.
Murphy has created something truly remarkable with this story, and I didn't want it to end. Even though they are often selfish and flawed, I can't recall the last time I felt so deeply invested in the characters of a book. Reading Murphy's acknowledgements solidified for me how personal this book was for him, and I can only be grateful that he chose to share so much of himself, his experiences, and his losses with the reading world. Fans of A Little Life, this one is for you.