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briannareadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
This book really hit me in marvelous ways and I know I will never forget it, and I probably won't stop thinking about it for a long time. The description makes it seem like the book is about Ari as an adult, and honestly, as someone who's barely an adult and prefers YA novels or books about college kids, I was actually thinking of not reading this book at all. But when I realized that the majority of the book takes place from when Ari is a teenager, and the parts where Ari is an adult is very brief, which I very much enjoyed.
This book is intense almost from the very start. I admire Ari so much, and the fact that he had very little friends for quite some time in the beginning of the novel surprised me because he is definitely someone I'd want to be friends with. I think I'm actually similar to Ari in so many ways and he was just such a cool kid. Justin was also a favourite character of mine, along with Ari's dad who was just an Angel. The part of the novel where Ari is a teenager takes place over his four years of high school and I was so, so proud of him. You can feel Ari develop as a person over the course of the four years, and you slowly realize things like how in his first year of high school he had no friends, and then he has a group, and at first he's ashamed of being gay and then he's the one standing up for himself when his mom urges him to find a girlfriend, and he starts to stand his ground more. I was so so so happy for teen Ari.
But of course, Ari experienced something so traumatic, and I think the book does an amazing job at showing that even as Ari grows up and learns to be more comfortable in his skin, he must suffer from some sort of PTSD (it isn't stated in the book but the symptoms are there). Just because he's now an adult with his own life, doesn't mean he feels safe when a group of teenage boys approach his house and that's so understandable. And I love how he always reminds himself that he's safe because it shows that recovering from something so emotional is not linear and takes years and years of practice and I am so proud of him.
I didn't care about the plot with M at all. It was so small in my opinion, that it either had to be cut out completely or expanded a lot, and at the point, I don't care if it was edited out completely. I also didn't care about Adult Ari as much as I cared about Teen Ari and ultimately, the Justin and Ari situation in Adult Ari's point of view let me down a bit. In my mind, Ari and Justin were going to have that Moonlight moment where they reunite as adults and hold each other and reunite. I understand why it didn't happen, but the fact that it didn't just makes me a bit sad. I want to know more about Justin, but I guess at the end of the day there are just people in your life who meant a lot to you and left without closure, without talking about it, without figuring out why, and that's life. I thought it was amazing that Ari came full circle, and the novel ended with Ari opening his door for the boy. It was so wholesome and heartwarming, as was the whole novel. I loved it so much.
This book really hit me in marvelous ways and I know I will never forget it, and I probably won't stop thinking about it for a long time. The description makes it seem like the book is about Ari as an adult, and honestly, as someone who's barely an adult and prefers YA novels or books about college kids, I was actually thinking of not reading this book at all. But when I realized that the majority of the book takes place from when Ari is a teenager, and the parts where Ari is an adult is very brief, which I very much enjoyed.
This book is intense almost from the very start. I admire Ari so much, and the fact that he had very little friends for quite some time in the beginning of the novel surprised me because he is definitely someone I'd want to be friends with. I think I'm actually similar to Ari in so many ways and he was just such a cool kid. Justin was also a favourite character of mine, along with Ari's dad who was just an Angel. The part of the novel where Ari is a teenager takes place over his four years of high school and I was so, so proud of him. You can feel Ari develop as a person over the course of the four years, and you slowly realize things like how in his first year of high school he had no friends, and then he has a group, and at first he's ashamed of being gay and then he's the one standing up for himself when his mom urges him to find a girlfriend, and he starts to stand his ground more. I was so so so happy for teen Ari.
But of course, Ari experienced something so traumatic, and I think the book does an amazing job at showing that even as Ari grows up and learns to be more comfortable in his skin, he must suffer from some sort of PTSD (it isn't stated in the book but the symptoms are there). Just because he's now an adult with his own life, doesn't mean he feels safe when a group of teenage boys approach his house and that's so understandable. And I love how he always reminds himself that he's safe because it shows that recovering from something so emotional is not linear and takes years and years of practice and I am so proud of him.
I didn't care about the plot with M at all. It was so small in my opinion, that it either had to be cut out completely or expanded a lot, and at the point, I don't care if it was edited out completely. I also didn't care about Adult Ari as much as I cared about Teen Ari and ultimately, the Justin and Ari situation in Adult Ari's point of view let me down a bit. In my mind, Ari and Justin were going to have that Moonlight moment where they reunite as adults and hold each other and reunite. I understand why it didn't happen, but the fact that it didn't just makes me a bit sad. I want to know more about Justin, but I guess at the end of the day there are just people in your life who meant a lot to you and left without closure, without talking about it, without figuring out why, and that's life. I thought it was amazing that Ari came full circle, and the novel ended with Ari opening his door for the boy. It was so wholesome and heartwarming, as was the whole novel. I loved it so much.
haleyisamess's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
kelseymay's review against another edition
5.0
Nirvana is Here is set in "the segregated suburbs of Detroit during the 1990s", during the years when Nirvana achieved fame and rocked the country. The story is formatted in a now / then unveiling, where you get one chapter of current events followed by a much longer section detailing chronological events in Ari Silverman's childhood and teen years. Within the first fifty pages, we learn that Ari was sexually assaulted repeatedly by a classmate and neighbor, and this early trauma shaped his subsequent school-age years. Hamburger fantastically presents the emotional and mental consequences of such a betrayal and depicts the failure of Ari's religious community to take the assaults seriously, as is the case in so many real-world religious communities. The other significant story arc follows Ari in his attempts to become closer to his high school crush and eventual best friend, a heartwarming and bittersweet relationship that readers of all sexual identities can relate to.
Most moving is the growth of Ari and the clean weaving of his past horrors into an informative and mature handling of the awkward situtation he finds himself in as an adult: his ex-husband, a professor at the university they both work at, is accused of sexual misconduct by a student, and Ari is on the decision board. Both timely and refreshing in its complexity, Nirvana is Here gets to the heart of matters and revels in the glory of accepting one's against-the-grain identity.
Despite occasional typos and missing words, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Thank you again to Three Rooms Press for the review copy. Well done, Aaron Hamburger.
Most moving is the growth of Ari and the clean weaving of his past horrors into an informative and mature handling of the awkward situtation he finds himself in as an adult: his ex-husband, a professor at the university they both work at, is accused of sexual misconduct by a student, and Ari is on the decision board. Both timely and refreshing in its complexity, Nirvana is Here gets to the heart of matters and revels in the glory of accepting one's against-the-grain identity.
Despite occasional typos and missing words, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. Thank you again to Three Rooms Press for the review copy. Well done, Aaron Hamburger.
stitchandwitch's review against another edition
5.0
This is a powerful, emotional and deep read. The narrative follows two points in the main character's life. In one thread it is modern day, and his husband is being investigated for sexually harassing a student at the college they both teach in. In the other thread he is a teenager, recovering from the trauma of sexual assault, facing the fact that he's gay, and nursing a deep obsession with Kurt Cobain. The two threads intertwine to reveal the way trauma sticks with us, the deep damage we do when we deny our truest selves, and the beauty of gay relationships.
charoah_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I really liked this book. I liked the use of being in first person pov when Ari was young vs the third person pov for when he was an adult to perhaps show how much his childhood was still near him and almost still the present. We see this in his touch aversion too. I wish Justin had reacted better however I think how the story was written made the most sense, with them meeting up again, and Ari’s choice to not see Justin before that felt significant because of Justins reaction and his desire for them to try again. I thought it was well written and the characters felt real and you instantly got a bad feeling from M from what we saw from him and his indifference to boundaries. All I want is for Ari to find a good boyfriend now like jesus christ he deserves so much more. I wish they had explored Mark more and that he had gotten more punishment but the idea of violent predators hiding behind newfound belief and religion is a very important talking point and felt very in line with his story. It still irked me how Mark was trying to explain himself away as if he didn’t force him with very real threats of violence and murder.
Another thing I found very interesting was his parents reaction to the assault and his coming out. The mother was good at being there for him after the assault (tho making him drop off that letter i still dont really understand, i thought she was testing him if he really was okay but then nothing really came of it?) however she had a hard time dealing with him coming out. The dad however, unable to be there for him emotionally after the assualt had little if any reservations about him coming out. Maybe the mother still worries about him in an unhealthy way and the dad just wanting to be there like he couldnt before maybe? or he just did not care which is also very likely. He seemed comfortable discussing the topic unlike the mother.
Overall, I recommend this book a lot, I think it brings up important issues in very good ways through a likeable character you want to root for.
Another thing I found very interesting was his parents reaction to the assault and his coming out. The mother was good at being there for him after the assault (tho making him drop off that letter i still dont really understand, i thought she was testing him if he really was okay but then nothing really came of it?) however she had a hard time dealing with him coming out. The dad however, unable to be there for him emotionally after the assualt had little if any reservations about him coming out. Maybe the mother still worries about him in an unhealthy way and the dad just wanting to be there like he couldnt before maybe? or he just did not care which is also very likely. He seemed comfortable discussing the topic unlike the mother.
Overall, I recommend this book a lot, I think it brings up important issues in very good ways through a likeable character you want to root for.
mad_taylh's review against another edition
3.0
"These men were what I wanted: to have as well as to be. But the universe had gotten it all wrong, trapping me with this soft body that failed to perform on command, this overactive mind that vexed me with strange and worried cravings, and this crooked heart that resisted being molded into its proper shape."
bretts_book_stack's review against another edition
4.0
All the feels! Aaron Hamburgers novel has so much going on on so many levels, and I found myself not only sucked into his story but relating so much to these characters but especially his protagonist, Ari. Set in the early nineties in a Detroit suburb, Ari Silverman is Jewish, awkward, and gay, struggling to fit in when an act of sexual violence from a neighborhood boy results in him changing schools. Feeling branded, he finds his escape in art and the band Nirvana, and in time begins to find a tribe of his own, but most importantly someone who he falls in love with. These awkward, angst filled high school years flesh out the bulk of the book while in present day Ari, now a university Art History teacher finds his current relationship in tatters when his partner, also a teacher, is accused of sexual harassment. As if this doesn’t bring up enough of his own issues, through social media he reconnects with the boy from past who is now married with kids. Hamburger nails not only the confusing years of sexuality and sexual identity as well as the pervasive fear of becoming a victim again, as well as the anticipation and reality of reconnecting with someone of significance from your past. A ‘Perks of Being A Wallflower’ for the #metoo generation with a trace of ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Really liked this a lot.
soubhi's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very well done queer coming of age book. I especially enjoyed Ari’s discovery of music, and of course his love of Nirvana in particular. This felt like a slice of my own growing-up-story.
The main focus of the book is Ari’s teenage years, with shorter glimpses of his 40 year old self. From the blurb I was expecting more of his later self, but I ended up loving the book as it was.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. There was a bit of awkward prose at the beginning and some grammatical issues throughout, but I’m sure they’ll be worked out in the editing process before the book is released in May.
The main focus of the book is Ari’s teenage years, with shorter glimpses of his 40 year old self. From the blurb I was expecting more of his later self, but I ended up loving the book as it was.
I received an ARC from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program. There was a bit of awkward prose at the beginning and some grammatical issues throughout, but I’m sure they’ll be worked out in the editing process before the book is released in May.
bookishlybrief's review
4.0
A well crafted and wonderful coming of age story set amongst the mid to late 90’s.
I suppose I identified with this more so because this was my time and my same coming of age. There were things I couldn’t identify with in the book but those paled in comparison to the things I did hold dear.
Ari is your quintessential 90’s teen dealing with some severe sexual trauma. The young infatuation you experience when you meet a kindred spirit was so close to home.
I would recommend this LGBT coming of age novel to any child of this time.
I suppose I identified with this more so because this was my time and my same coming of age. There were things I couldn’t identify with in the book but those paled in comparison to the things I did hold dear.
Ari is your quintessential 90’s teen dealing with some severe sexual trauma. The young infatuation you experience when you meet a kindred spirit was so close to home.
I would recommend this LGBT coming of age novel to any child of this time.