People in Trouble (Plume) [Paperback]

Sarah Schulman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kate, involved in a love triangle with her husband and her lesbian lover, works as an artist and AIDS activist in New York City. "At times lapsing into melodrama, Schulman carefully balances the story lines, using Kate's own sexual awareness and awakening as a benchmark for the situation of the besieged homosexual community," PW wrote.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

AIDS is a metaphor for "the beginning of the end of the world" in this dark gay-lesbian novel about Kate, a married artist dabbling in lesbian sex, Molly, her lesbian/activist lover, and Peter, Kate's Yuppie scene designer husband, who is confused by not only his wife's increasing interest in the gay world, but by the increasing gayness of the world itself. They play out their story in a futuristic New York City, where a radical gay group robs banks to help AIDS patients. Though Schulman has talent, the sophisticated, New York flavor of the book and the often inaccessibility of the characters leave little for many readers to identify with, and the graphic gay sex scenes may be offensive to conservative audiences. Nevertheless, Schulman creates a disturbing picture of the plight of humanity and our seeming indifference, a theme which cuts across strictly gay borders. For larger collections with demand for gay/lesbian literature.
- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Free Libs., Seaside, Cal.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Plume (January 30, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452265681
• ISBN-13: 978-0452265684
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #668,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sarah Schulman is the author of fifteen books, including nine novels. Forthcoming is the hard cover edition of a new nonfiction book THE GENTRIFICATION OF THE MIND: WItness to a Lost Imagination by University of California Press, to be followed in Spring, 2012 by the paperback of TIES THAT BIND: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences Then is Fall 2012, Duke University Press will publish ISRAEL/PALESTINE AND THE QUEER INTERNATIONAL. Most recently the paperback edition of her novel THE MERE FUTURE was published by Arsenal Pulp.Previous novels are THE CHILD, SHIMMER, EMPATHY, RAT BOHEMIA, PEOPLE IN TROUBLE, AFTER DELORE, GIRLS VISIONS AND EVERYTHING and THE SOPHIE HOROWITZ STORY. Her nonfiction titles are TIES THAT BIND: Familial Homophobia and Its Consequences, STAGESTRUCK:Theater, AIDS and the Marketing of Gay America, and MY AMERICAN HISTORY: Lesbian and Gay Life During the Reagan/Bush Years. A working playwright, her productions include: CARSON McCULLERS (published by Playscripts Ink), MANIC FLIGHT REACTION and the theatrical adaptation of Isaac Singer's ENEMIES, A LOVE STORY. As a screenwriter, her films include THE OWLS (co-written with director Cheryl Dunye)- Berlin Film Festival 2010, MOMMY IS COMING (co-written with director Cheryl Dunye)- Berlin Film Festival selection 2011, and she is co-producer with Jim Hubbard of his feature documentary UNITED IN ANGER: A History of ACT UP, which will premiere in Jan/Feb 2012.. SOPHIE, a film based on her 1984 novel, THE SOPHIE HOROWITZ STORY is being written and director by Claude Mangold and is currently in pre-production. As a journalist, her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, and Interview. She has won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwrighting, a Fullbright in Judaic Studies, two American Library Association Book Awards, and is the 2009 recipient of the Kessler Prize for sustained contribution to LGBT studies. Sarah is Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, College of State Island, a Fellow of the New York Institute for the Humanities at New York University. She is on the advisory board of the Center for Human Rights and Social Movements at Harvard's Kennedy School. She is the US coordinator of the first LGBT Delegation to Palestine. She lives in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not one of my favorite Schulman books at first . . ., June 27, 2008

By 

John Labella (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: People in Trouble (Plume) (Paperback)

I didn't love this book as much as other Sarah Schulman novels at first. But it grows on me over time. The story is based on her personal experiences and parts of it were foreign to me since I never lived in an kind of ghetto. For folks outside the gay urban community of that time, it may seem as foreign as the environment in a Shakespeare play.

There's no need to mention the many similiarities with RENT because these were acknowledged by the composer J. Larson before he died. More importantly, discussing comparisons between RENT and People in Trouble mistakenly gives the impression that the two works of art are comparable in important ways, which is absolutely not true. It *is* possible to enjoy one without trashing the other, but when you put them side by side, the musical strikes some false notes to people who actually lived through the early years of the AIDS epidemic, or who were gay and lived during the 70s and 80's.

Larson's musical is a romanticized version of poverty and true love and has some beloved songs and touching scenes. The various characters are whitewashed as is to be expected for Broadway audiences; no body odor, no unpleasant character traits - and neither poverty and heroin addiction can destroy those beautiful white teeth and that shiny hair. Its a lovely but false story like the black and white TV characters in PLEASANTVILLE and it's a great example of art as escapist fare.

Sarah Schulman's novel is a real world version of the AIDS and gay experience story, and it will be harder reading for some people as a result. It may seem a 'rougher' experience, but think of it this way: if you look at two bowls side by side: one unearthed by archeologists from 4000 BC, and the other made by a 20th century artisan that is stunningly crafted and finished, the later bowl is clearly more beautiful. BUT THE OLDER BOWL WAS THE FIRST ONE, AND THE PERSON WHO ACTUALLY INVENTED THAT FIRST 'BOWL' IS a whole universe more original than the 20th century craftsman who made something beautiful after studying 6000 other attempts.

Also: reading People in Trouble is uncomfortable only when it's *meant* to be uncomfortable. It doesn't have accidentally ugly implications that make your pleasure feel a bit guilty. In contrast, the musical occasionaly presents lies about the early AIDS experience in New York, and also makes the unfortunate choice of depicting, side by side, 1) a nasty bickering lesbian relationship; 2) a sad-but-sweet gay relationship that ends in death; adn 3) a sexy and romantic straight relationship that is the only one to survive the end of the show. Oppression comes in a new guise these days.

No matter how you try to get around it, that kind of thoughtless prioritizing of a straight relationship over the gay ones is pretty damaging for so many people. You'd only know this if you every had the fifty million models for your own life taken away as if they'd never existed.

So this novel is a great experience for peopel who want to know about AIDS in the early years, and for gays and lesbians who want to know their history.

17 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely nothing like Rent-, March 15, 2005

By 

J. Guthrie (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: People in Trouble (Plume) (Paperback)

I admit, the claims that this book was the actual (and unacknowledged) basis for Rent may have colored my perceptions; the book certainly suffered by the comparison. Taken on its own merits it's an acceptable novel. However, it is nothing at all like Rent.

I only purchased this after reading all the Amazon reviews of the Rent book. Every negative review mentioned this novel. Strangely, all of the reviews were anonymous, or from "readers" who had reviewed nothing else, which does not lend them much credibility. This always makes me picture one angry author, or one desperate fan, entering review after review.

People in Trouble is the story of a married couple, Peter and Kate, and Kate's affair with a woman named Molly. The background is the birth of AIDS activism in NYC, and Peter and Kate's successful careers in the arts. It takes place in the summer.

Rent is the story of a group of friends who are kicked out of their homes by a former roommate, who has since become wealthy. In the background is the struggle to live with HIV, homelessness, and questioning the validity of bohemianism. It takes place at Christmas.

There are some similarities: both have riots and tent cities. Both make passing mention of people wearing watches with alarms to remind them to take their AZT. Both have "Robin Hood" subplots- in Rent the ATM is reprogrammed to furnish a "stipend" to anyone who puts in the right code. In People in Trouble, activists steal credit card numbers from restaurant carbons and from eavesdropping at pay phones, which they then use to help those in need. There the similarities end.

The mood of Rent is upbeat and hopeful. The characters are warm, humorous and vaguely mocking, and the music unsurpassed.
The characters of People in Trouble are self involved, pretentious and moody, and the overall tone, while not ironic enough to be called "dark" is certainly gray.

Skip this book, buy the cd to Rent.

10 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book- The basis for RENT?, April 22, 1998

By 

Tex Clark (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: People in Trouble (Plume) (Paperback)

Sarah Schulman is one of my very favorite writers in the world. Heck, just the fact she's on the planet makes me smile. In People in Trouble, Schulman returns to themes in all her books, Queerness, loss, and being lost. Incidentally, the plot of this novel is a heck of a lot like that musical RENT. So similar that it can't be a coincidence. And this book came first....