Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of Michael Cunningham's
The Hours, a beautiful novel destined to become a classic.
Reeling from the recent death of his invalid mother, a worn, jaded professor comes to our nation's capital to recuperate from his loss. What he finds there in his repressed, lonely landlord, in the city's mood and architecture, and in the letters and journals of Mary Todd Lincoln shows him new, poignant truths about America, yearning, loneliness, and mourning itself.
Since Andrew Holleran first burst onto the scene with 1978's groundbreaking Dancer from the Dance, which has been continuously in print, he has been dazzling readers and critics with his haunting, brilliant prose. The Publishing Triangle ranks Dancer from the Dance at #15 on its list of the 100 best lesbian and gay novels ever, along with titles by Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf. A new Andrew Holleran book is a major literary event; with Grief, Holleran is poised to reach a wider audience than ever before.
Review
"As usual, Andrew Holleran has written a unique and moving story that seems to have been happening while we were busy looking elsewhere. This is one of the most moving accounts of grief and loss I have read, and so carefully presented that it consoles, in an unexpected way, at the same time it exposes raw realities. As a native Washingtonian, I was stunned to see how well he captured the spirit of a place that is often misunderstood as being only a political engine, while those who have lived inside have long noticed its strange undertones and because he all but personifies the place its vulnerability. Wow." Ann Beattie
Review
"Only three or four living writers whose new novels make me run to the bookstore; Holleran heads this... list." Edmund White
Review
"This is a remarkable book. Beautiful and patient and mordantly funny and gut-wrenchingly well-observed. There is more art and courage in a single paragraph of Andrew Holleran's prose than in whole novels. For the talent and courage it took to write this story, I am grateful to him. To everyone else, I can only say, read it and weep." Adam Haslett
Review
"Andrew Holleran's novella manages to be mournful and exhilarating all at once, containing as it does, on nearly every page, some beautifully percipient passage about the relentlessness of loss. Holleran's deep understanding of the ravaged 'survivors' of AIDS is matched by a superb feeling for the real Washington, D. C. a city that has eluded and defeated so many novelists. Grief is a spare, superb achievement." Thomas Mallon
Review
"Andrew Holleran combines the personal pain of his characters, and the historical pain of our country, into an illuminating and irresistible narrative. I read this book in one sitting, and I learned from it. " Sean Wilsey
Review
"A pensive, creative, and haunting novel that speaks expressly to the heart without sentimentality." Booklist
Review
"Though slim, this rewarding volume is densely packed with feeling for those who have been lost, have held themselves back and not become what they might have been, or have been so afraid to love that now they find themselves alone." Library Journal
Review
"Andrew Holleran's slender, elegant fourth novel is as shape-shifting as an optical illusion....Taken on its own, Grief is more generous in its reach." New York Times
Review
"Grief is an important, beautiful book. It will repay your investment." Los Angeles Times
Review
"Like much of Holleran's short fiction, Grief is a talky piece of fiction. Dialogue nudges the narrative along, while the languorous beauty of Holleran's observations gives the book bottom and weight." Philadelphia Inquirer
Synopsis
Now in paperback, the universally acclaimed novel about loss and yearning
Reeling from the recent death of his invalid mother, an exhausted, lonely professor comes to our nation's capital to escape his previous life. What he finds there--in his handsome, solitary landlord; in the city's somber mood and sepulchral architecture; and in the strange and impassioned journals of Mary Todd Lincoln--shows him unexpected truths about America and loss.
About the Author
Holleran is the author of three highly acclaimed novels. A Harvard graduate, he is a well-known journalist and frequent contributor to major gay publications.