Our History in New York [Paperback]

Linsey Abrams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1999

Our History in New York covers a single year in the lives of narrator Chloe, her long-time lover Helen, and their mostly lesbian and gay friends. These characters follow their individual destinies--pregnancy by insemination, running for office, the vicissitudes of romance and aging, AIDS.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Abrams' short novel lives on its textures--those of its various New York settings as well as those of the pursuits, passions, and fragilities of its characters. The latter are an interwoven lot, members of the city's gay and lesbian community who meet at ACT-UP gatherings, run into or miss each other at the Gay Pride Parade, and catch up at a Gay Men's Health Crisis fund-raising fashion show in an abandoned supermarket. Among them are Alex and Rosalie, a lesbian couple having a baby; Rodger, the narrator's former theatrical compatriot and onetime drinking buddy, now drinking more than ever as he faces death from AIDS; Helen, a TV news editor who is not out at work but tries, anyway, to edit in order to present fair representations of gay men and lesbians; and Ramon, a well-read teen in the city's gay high-school program who turns to crack. Connecting all these whirling lives is Chloe--Ramon's teacher, Helen's lover, and a roving general reporter on this particular slice of gay history and life. Whitney Scott --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

Abrams paints...neighborhoods with the precision of the old Dutch Masters. [Her] success is in her narrative style...each chapter is an exquisite short story. -- Sojourner

Linsey Abrams has written a novel that I believe foreshadows the literature of the future...I did not want to put it down. -- Marilyn French

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Great Marsh Press; 2nd edition (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928863027
• ISBN-13: 978-1928863021
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,429,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Completely Different Love Story, February 3, 2000

By 

Michele Landsberg (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our History in New York (Paperback)

Having just read this lovely book for the second time, I want to add to what other reviewers have said: this is not just an intricate, intimate portrait of contemporary New York life, it is a highly unusual love story. The deep, steady love of Chloe, the narrator, for Helen, her partner, is evoked, not through graphic sex scenes or expressions of emotion, but through the tender, open-hearted, respectful portrait of Helen's character. (How rare is that! ) Helen, the witness of the common people's history of New York -- with her quirky humour, quick observation and incredible memory --- becomes almost mythic in the way Chloe describes her. I can't remember when I've read love made manifest through an appreciation of the loved one's political passions and engaging conversation. Check out the way Helen patiently lulls the overwrought Chloe to sleep by describing, in brilliant visual detail, the videos of England she has seen that day ... This is more tender and moving than almost any description of lovemaking! Another quality I love about this book is its pleasurable wit and humour. Some of the anecdotes (like Lucien Freud's strange, silent appearance on a TV talk show), and some of Chloe's wry , obliquely expressed insights into characters and events, are delectably, laugh-out-loud funny. Pass the word about this book!

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this lovely and important book!, December 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our History in New York (Paperback)

Our History includes ACT UP meetings at the Center, AIDS, the Quad, Silence = Death symbols and t-shirts saying "Godzilla was gay." It is, in fact, a subtle yet poignantly accurate portrait of a critical time in the lives of lesbian and gay New Yorkers. Abrams paints relationships delicately against a backdrop of time, using the shared routines of life to illuminate the unique value of every passing moment. This is a seminal piece of lesbian fiction.

5.0 out of 5 stars Combines the strong suits of fiction and memoir, November 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Our History in New York (Paperback)

Our History in New York, the lastest Linsey Abrams novel, is a perfect complement to the memoir craze sweeping the nation. It's fiction, yes, but it deftly achieves what the better memoirs do: it immortalizes everyday life, writing it into art. The book says, "Everything is complex, uplifting, interesting, layered, connected." Abrams manages to interlock and make meaningful a walk along 14th street, an ACT-UP meeting, a small dinner party at a friend's house. The tone is slightly distanced, which I think universalizes the story. It's simultaneously a slice of life of a lesbian couple in the East Village, and the exerience of maturing and watching one's relationships, perspective, and priorities transform.