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lezreadalot's review
4.0
People may talk of needles, and of haystacks, but let me tell you; such similes are inexact. To lovers, metal of the piercing kind has a distinctively different shine to that of straw, and the two could not ever be confused.
4.5 stars. This was gorgeous in a way that I forgot books can be. I loved it so so so much. A series of short stories taking place in various addresses in London over various periods of time, all of them with queer men at their heart. It wouldn't be literary fiction if it didn't inspire a certain amount of impatience in me, but that was overshadowed by all the enjoyment I got out of this, just how utterly beautiful I found the writing and the interrogation of its themes. A lot of it is simple stuff that you're bound to see in queer fiction, discovery and first love and the reality of societal rejection and grief, but the writing really made it something special. I loved the worshipful obsession and devotion in "103 Cavendish Mansions (Again)". I loved the joy and terror and friendship and pure love that shone out of "72 Seaton Point", the fragility of finding your place. I ached at the loss and grief in "40 Marine Parade". That one took a while to really get to me, but by the end I found it so amazing. Not all the stories were as effective as I could have wanted, but they were all poignant in some way. I really did appreciate the range of time periods, from the late 1800s to the 1960s to 1980s to present day. Getting snapshots of the survival and beauty of queer men in all those times... it was great.
People think it’s your mind that remembers, you see. But actually, it’s your body.
Listened to the audiobook as read by the author. without which I would not have read this book. I loved his performance for each story; each character sounded like their own person, and there was none of the stiffness or awkwardness that sometimes comes when an author reads their own work. But I literally wouldn't have read this without the audiobook, because the written version does that thing I can't abide, where it doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue. God, what is it with pretentious litfic (affectionate) and a refusal to use quotation marks?? I understand that it's a stylistic choice but I will always stand firm in my opinion that it's a bad stylistic choice. Lmao. Anyway, so I'm glad Scribd came through with the audiobook, or I would have passed this by, and not gotten the chance to experience this excellent writing. And that would have been a shame. There are lines in this that I'm going to be thinking about for ages.
Yea, as I lie here in the first ruddy morning light, I renew that vow with every breath and bone in my body. I shall never speak—or think—of Shame and Him together.
thingy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
cmangles_'s review against another edition
5.0
It is a tragedy to me that Address Book is not more widely known, or loved, because this is a stunning read on the domestic lives of seven queer relationships.
"And as it turns out, being ready for your big day has nothing at all to do with history, or the law. It has to do with the fact that the one thing you can never be ready for is love"
Delivered through monologue-type narration, this short collection of stories takes you to seven very different times and situations: from a new millennium civil partnership celebration to erotic obsession in a Victorian tenement, from a council-flat bedroom at the height of the AIDS crisis to a doctor’s living-room in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
This is truly a deep look into love, loss, and acceptance and discrimination of queer lives written in a way that is easy to read with each story’s narrator clearly having their own tone of voice. Moving from one story to another is seamless and Bartlett does an amazing job of making each story unique whilst interweaving them through time and location.
"And as it turns out, being ready for your big day has nothing at all to do with history, or the law. It has to do with the fact that the one thing you can never be ready for is love"
Delivered through monologue-type narration, this short collection of stories takes you to seven very different times and situations: from a new millennium civil partnership celebration to erotic obsession in a Victorian tenement, from a council-flat bedroom at the height of the AIDS crisis to a doctor’s living-room in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
This is truly a deep look into love, loss, and acceptance and discrimination of queer lives written in a way that is easy to read with each story’s narrator clearly having their own tone of voice. Moving from one story to another is seamless and Bartlett does an amazing job of making each story unique whilst interweaving them through time and location.
jamesanthony80s's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jedbird's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Queer stories of London from Victorian times through the present. The final story, about a man in mourning for his husband, was especially affecting.
perfektionaise's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
snoakes7001's review against another edition
5.0
Somewhere between a novel and a collection of stories, Address Book introduces us to seven different people in their respective homes. Their stories are loosely connected (so loosely in fact that I'm sure I missed some of the links) and all are fascinating.
Neil Bartlett inhabits each of these lives perfectly and the individual characters have totally distinct voices.
Twickenham was one of my favourite stories from Mainstream, the anthology by outsiders for outsiders published by Inkandescent earlier this year. Here, it's been expanded upon and forms the first entry in the address book as a doctor about to relocate remembers his adolescent encounter with an older man. It's just as beautiful and sensual second time round.
Other characters we meet include a naive young pregnant woman in the sixties as she sparks up a timid almost-friendship with her gay neighbour. There's an early photographer in 1891, looking for the perfect pose for his model of Saint Michael and a young man starting out who spends more than he can afford on a mattress because of the shop assistant's attitude towards him. The final, deeply affecting tale is of a grief stricken man whose partner of thirty-six years has recently died.
They are all everyday lives, but compellingly told.
Neil Bartlett inhabits each of these lives perfectly and the individual characters have totally distinct voices.
Twickenham was one of my favourite stories from Mainstream, the anthology by outsiders for outsiders published by Inkandescent earlier this year. Here, it's been expanded upon and forms the first entry in the address book as a doctor about to relocate remembers his adolescent encounter with an older man. It's just as beautiful and sensual second time round.
Other characters we meet include a naive young pregnant woman in the sixties as she sparks up a timid almost-friendship with her gay neighbour. There's an early photographer in 1891, looking for the perfect pose for his model of Saint Michael and a young man starting out who spends more than he can afford on a mattress because of the shop assistant's attitude towards him. The final, deeply affecting tale is of a grief stricken man whose partner of thirty-six years has recently died.
They are all everyday lives, but compellingly told.
claire60's review against another edition
4.0
Such a clever idea to use a series of addresses to explore what happened behind those doors. This is a selection of stories that are linked about the various gay men that live in these addresses, from the 15 year old exploring his sexuality with an older man, to a lesbian civil partnership, to a relationship with domestic violence, finishing with a longer moving portrayal of grief. The stories are visceral, sensual and wonderfully written. The send of place is palpable and each story is also set in a different era, which is another engaging way to reflect the diversity of LGBT experience through the years. Recommended.