Waiting On A Friend by Natalie Adler
As 1984 New York is devastated by AIDS, one woman sees the ghosts of the dead in this moving and warm queer fable on grief and community
Renata sees dead people, and in New York’s AIDS-stricken East Village in 1984 their numbers are increasing exponentially. When her flatmate and best friend Mark dies and his ghost fails to appear, Renata’s distress becomes unbearable. His is the only apparition she desires, and the fact he doesn’t show negates any form of closure.
When a group called Manhattan Remediation move into the area with the promise to rid homes of anything ‘unsettling’ or ‘uncomfortable’ (deliberately nebulous terms) she is at first intrigued, then appalled – the prospect of never seeing Mark is too much to bear. Her investigations into the company lead her to the realisation that, while we must mourn, life is about the living, and, while never letting go of her pain, she channels it into helping others in the neighbourhood who are being taking advantage of, and who are also suffering.
Vividly and wittily capturing the sights and sounds (and other sensations) of such a specific time and place, Waiting For A Friend uses this backdrop to examine grief and loss, but also friendship, compassion and community. It’s a novel written with humour, humanity and heart, while never avoiding the reality of how individuals and communities were devastated by this most terrible disease. It’s as much a righteous celebration as it is a lament, and to carry off such a balancing act in this manner shows Natalie Adler to be a writer of some finesse.
