The Other Pandemic: An AIDS Memoir

This heartbreaking memoir by Curlee (The Great Nijinsky) chronicles “how it was to grow up and live as a gay man in the United States” before and during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Taking an elegiac tone, Curlee describes his childhood in 1960s North C arolina. Quick-moving subsequent chapters recall Curlee’s experiences participating in the disco scene on Fire Island, his impulsive move to California in 1979, and his return to N.Y.C. in the early 1980s, where he and his friends struggled to understand why so many gay men were “dying horrible, gruesome deaths.” While perceived comparisons to Covid-19, as outlined in an introduction, are minimally explored, Curlee briefly covers their medical and social differences and similarities, as well as the pervasive impact they each had on society. Sidebars about HIV/AIDS succinctly detail the facts, and Curlee’s straightforward prose capably conveys the era’s worsening bias and fear. Most powerful of all, however, is the novel’s focus on Curlee’s inner circle and the people he lost to the crisis, including his partner, making for a thought-provoking history about what it was like to live during that time, and a good start for further exploration. Extensive back matter concludes. Ages 12–up. Agent: Liz Nealon, Great Dog Literary. (June)