Lavender Menace volunteer Katie Marson reviews Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler, which will be published by Quercus Publishing later this year.
Natalie Adler’s Waiting on a Friend is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, triumph of a debut. It is both a celebration of queer culture and history, and a creative condemnation of the capitalist systems that led to the death of so many in the AIDS crisis. It boldly blends genre, taking a magical realist approach to a dark period of queer history, and imbuing scenes of grief and pain with love, humour, and compassion.
The novel follows Renata, native New Yorker, young “dyke-about-town”, part-time employee at a vintage store in the quickly gentrifying East Village, and seer of ghosts. While she’s had this ability to see and commune with ghosts since a young age, it has been increasingly intrusive as the 1980s progress in New York City and more of her friends are dying from the disease known as AIDS. Renata is grieving the death of her long-time best friend and housemate, Mark, and is troubled that he has yet to visit her in his afterlife. Through flashback and memories, we see deeper into Mark and Renata’s relationship—a complicated love and partnership that defies easy categorisation. When the emotional weight of visits from dead friends—still anyone but Mark—becomes too much to carry, Renata enlists the service of a police-like force which has a unique method of ridding the East Village of its ghosts. Quickly guilt-ridden for having aided in the removal of the ghosts of her loved ones to make room for new wealthy residents in the neighbourhood, Renata makes it her mission to expose the company and stop the removals.
Waiting on a Friend is a powerful story of love and grief. Renata is grieving not just the loss of her close friends, loved ones, and community members, but also her home. The ghost removal force acts as a poignant metaphor for gentrification and the systemic exploitation of the queer community during the AIDS crisis. While Renata and her friends are left reeling from the loss of loved ones, they also must attempt to stand up against a system which seems eager to capitalise on the death of queer folks, so that the space they occupy can be filled with new wealth, and their presence in the city’s history and culture can be erased. While it doesn’t shy away from the darkness of these topics, Waiting on a Friend manages to find a note of hope. Through Renata’s various friends and relationships, we see the resilience of the queer community and the importance of relying on one another when times get unimaginably tough.I would recommend Waiting on a Friend to any fans of queer literary fiction, 1980s period pieces, and stories of queer strength and resilience.
Lavender Links
At Lavender Menace, we love to find connections between new releases and the older titles on our archive shelves. Whenever we review a new book on the blog, we’ll be pairing it with a book from the archive. We might choose Lavender Links based on genre, setting, characters or just the general vibe!
Waiting on a Friend‘s Lavender Links
Jumping the Cracks by Rebecca O’Rourke
Jumping the Cracks is—as far my internet sleuthing can tell!—the first crime and mystery novel published by the renowned feminist publisher Virago Press. Read this if you enjoyed Waiting on a Friend’s mystery and suspense elements, 1980s time-period, big city setting, and exploration of how witnessing death firsthand can alter a life.
She Came to the Castro by Mary Wings
She Came to the Castro is the fourth book in the Emma Victor crime and mystery series by Mary Wings, published by Women’s Press in the 1990s. Read this if you enjoyed Waiting on a Friend’s crime and mystery elements and setting in a queer enclave of a major city.
Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman
Rat Bohemia is a literary fiction novel which follows a group of queer friends living in New York City through the 1980s and the AIDS Crisis. Read this if you enjoyed Waiting on a Friend’s sombre tone, New York City setting, and exploration of the toll AIDS, gentrification, and familial rejection had on the queer community of the time.
Love from the Pink Palace by Jill Nader
Love from the Pink Palace is a memoir which explores Jill Nader’s experience during the height of AIDS in London in the 1980s. She writes about losing several close friends and grappling with the loss of her community while maintaining a career, campaigning for AIDS awareness, and supporting sick friends. Read this if you want a UK-focused story of the AIDS crisis, as well as an exploration of the lesbian community’s role in supporting gay men during the time.
