Seth is a recovering addict and ex-rentboy on the streets of New York in the height of the AIDS epidemic. The book follows two timelines, 1981/2 when his career on the streets started, and 1988 where he works at an AIDS hostel/hospice opposite the eponymous Pier 45 where he used to turn tricks.
This sounds like it should be a depressing and gritty tale of tragedy but it isn't. It's packed full of memorable characters, some of whom you'll fall in love with. Hope shines through even the darkest parts of the narrative. It's laced with a decidedly wicked sense of humour amongst the tragedy. There's a scene where he goes to his sister's house (his sister managed to marry out of the life traps that Seth got stuck in) for possibly the funniest and most awkward dinner party scene I've read in years.
Alderman's prose is excellent. It dragged me mercilessly through the story. It's cliched to say it, but this book will make you laugh and it will make you cry. Alderman will have you at his mercy. There are some ideas in this book that genuinely pull hope from one of the worst atrocities in human history.
It's not a perfect novel. I'm not sure the ending worked entirely for me, but the journey to get there was more than worth it. It comes out next month and I highly recommend you get your dirty mitts on a copy ASAP.
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