Christodora

I certainly was the target demographic for this book. Having grown up in the timeframe the book primarily takes place in, having loved NYC as an East Coaster and having lost family members and loved ones to AIDS, this book had the potential to crush me. I was actually a little nervous to start it because I was worried it would be emotionally devastating, a la A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara. I went in bracing myself, but instead it was a complex character study of a family, their friends and offspring with NYC and the AIDS crisis as both backdrop and purpose for bringing a good number of the characters together.

I really fell in with these characters. I didn't love them all. Some were quite frustrating in their obstinance or inability show more to see outside themselves. Those flaws gave the story layers and complexity. I liked the passion and that some of them didn't reach redemption or clarity. And I appreciated that there wasn't a tidy bow at the end, though there was enough that brought the book to a logical ending.

My only complaint, as it were, was that I wasn't in love with how the timeline moved. At points in the story, it felt too jarring a leap to make in time, or we just started to follow random names for no discernible reason. I also felt that some of the pop culture references were sprinkled in too liberally and may feel very awkward in a decade.

But even with those challenges, I still would give the book a 3.5-4. I think it is a very good book for someone who may want a character study of NYC during the AIDS Crisis and from outside the traditional gay lens, though with important gay characters. It would be a good accompaniment to the masterwork of the subject- Randy Shilts' nonfiction reportage, And The Band Played On. And for another, very different look at NYC in that time, the new Netflix TV series The Get Down which documents in vibrancy the birth of hip hop and graffiti culture in NYC. show less

The Christodora (an actual apartment building on the Lower East Side of NYC) has an interesting history and I was excited to read a novel that featured it as a setting. Written by Tim Murphy, The Christodora is an ambitious novel that deftly captures the AIDS epidemic and the ensuing activist movement around it. The novel spans four decades – from the first arrival of AIDS to the future in 2021 – much of it centered around the character of Mateo (and the family and friends in his orbit), an adopted Latino son to white, upper middle class parents. Murphy is clearly a gifted and skilled writer and his journalistic background allowed for nuanced detail throughout the book that gave me a better understanding of the far-reaching effects show more and impacts of AIDS. I tend to shy away from fiction that delves into recreational drug use and I also tend to not sympathize with characters who are drug addicts. However, in the hands of Murphy, he humanized this topic that is so difficult for me to read and showed me a different side of it that led me to feel sympathetic to those who are addicted to drugs. He told me their story and for the first time, I was able to see it through a different lens. Murphy covers a lot of ground in this book and in addition to AIDs and activism, he also explores race, adoption, identity, gentrification and class. Richly layered, there are topics running beneath the surface such as parenting that put the novel on an even deeper level for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with copy in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

This is an epic history of some of the residents of an East Village building known as the Christadora superimposed on some of the historical events that constituted the American reaction (or, in the case of the government, lack thereof) to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Its non-linear narrative jumps around from various time frames from the 80s through 2021 and it is narrated by at least half a dozen distinct characters.

Murphy does an outstanding job slow-building empathy for the characters, many of whom are bundles of bad choices resulting in terrible consequences. Central to the story is a pair of (secular) Jewish East Village artists married to one another who adopt the child of a Latina AIDS activist, who dies from complications arising from show more HIV/AIDS. The child proves to be an artist in his own right, but in his teenage years rebels against his parents and ultimate becomes a heroin addict--destroying many lives on the way. This child's finding his way as an adult to a kind of redemption and amends-making -- however incomplete -- is the main thrust of the story.

If Murphy's novel suffers from a defect, it is that some of the storytelling seems to have been shaped to fit the HIV/AIDS history, instead of growing organically from the characters. For the most part, though, these maddening characters manage to carry the narrative forward, and Murphy does not fall prey to the need to wrap up all the loose ends. show less

I really loved this book. With prose and a voice both succinct and evocative, I felt drawn in by every detail I learned about these characters and their lives. I was only thrown off by one particular detail involving Mateo's parentage that I won't divulge here - but even then the quality of the story and writing was too good to be bothered by it.

Christodora House is a historic building in Alphabet City/East Village in New York City. Tim Murphy integrates the building’s true story into his saga about its residents in Christodora. Murphy uses this place to anchor his story of AIDS and the AIDS community in New York over the 40 years between the earliest cases to the near future. The non-linear storytelling (the story skips back and forth in time during the 40 year period) is disorienting at first, but, ultimately helps to build the story and enables Murphy to present deeply flawed characters sympathetically. Murphy, a journalist who has written extensively about HIV/AIDS, captures the various eras of the book and confronts the drug culture that underlies this story. Murphy’s show more hopefulness and compassion is underscored by the extension of the story beyond the current moment (the novel ends in the year 2021), to a world where AIDS has been cured. Recommended especially for fans of Rent, Tell the Wolves I’m Home and A Little Life.

I received a galley of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! show less

This book grabbed me and wouldn't let go - I read all 500 pages in 2 days - It was recommended by Goodreads as a book for people who loved "A Little Life" which was my favorite of 2016. The story covers several decades in the life of a family and all their friends and relatives. Christodora is a condo building in the Village in New York City where the central family lives - The intertwined plotline follows the AIDS epidemic through people with the disease, health and political advocates, and friends and family members. Interestingly, the plot jumps back and forth in time and even into the future, yet is very easy to follow -

I was totally engrossed in the story, cared deeply for the characters, and have spent much of today thinking show more about them. For me, that in itself is the sign of a very worthwhile read! show less

There is something for everyone here, plenty of characters to love, hate, dislike, respect, pity, and fell disdain for. The Christadora, an old building in the East Village, plays an integral part in many lives. It's a story of AIDS, drugs, sex, heartbreak... well really it's simply a story of life with all it's ups and downs. We get a quasi insiders look into life in New York City, while also touching life in Los Angeles as well. It's quite well written, draws you in, and forces you to care about the lives of these diverse characters.