{"product_id":"waiting-on-a-friend","title":"Waiting on a Friend","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\"\u003c\/i\u003eA wildly inventive and moving novel that walks a tightrope of emotion with grace and humor . . . an astonishingly brilliant debut.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Patrick Ryan, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eBuckeye\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A magical retelling of queer history, a celebration of NYC youth and friendship.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] rich and intimate narrative.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A terrific read and an exciting promise of more to come.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] brilliant twist on the supernatural genre . . . \n\u003ci\u003eWaiting on a Friend\u003c\/i\u003e is a horror story where all the monsters are real--but so are the heroes. Even as they've disappeared, Renata keeps the memory of her lost friends, of their lost world, alive. In an era obsessed with optimization and monetization, Natalie Adler reminds us that living as your authentic self, in community with others . . . is a triumphant and deeply pleasurable form of resistance.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Adler's novel is about the stories we tell ourselves to live. . . . It is also a reminder to lean on each other--a warning that no one will come to the defense of the most vulnerable among us but our own community.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Provincetown Independent\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A neon immersion into the gay '80s party scene, and a life-affirming case for feeling it \n\u003ci\u003eall.\u003c\/i\u003e 'Fun, ' as [Adler's protagonist] Renata realizes, is 'just as real as pain, ' and this debut packs both in breathtaking abundance.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Oprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Fresh and refreshing, both heartbreaking and uplifting . . . Natalie Adler has given us a gem.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Rabih Alameddine, author of \u003ci\u003eThe True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother), \u003c\/i\u003ewinner of the National Book Award\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A fun, sexy, heartbreaking, inventive whirl of a novel.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Ann Napolitano, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eHello Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Quirky, queer, poignant, and funny, this book shines with spirit and hope.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Julia Glass, author of \u003ci\u003eThree Junes\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the National Book Award \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A perfect ghost story . . . beautiful, quietly radical, and so heartfelt it hurts.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of \u003ci\u003eManhunt\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Adler gets the feeling of the time more right than almost any historical fiction I've read about the early-middle height of AIDS in NYC.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Andrea Lawlor, author of \u003ci\u003ePaul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Natalie Adler is bringing one incarnation of the AIDS experience into the present where it all belongs. Someone is listening. \n\u003cb\u003e\"--Sarah Schulman, author of \u003ci\u003eLet the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A book] everyone should be itching to read. Adler has her finger on the pulse of humanity, humor, and a damn good haunting plot.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eDebutiful\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A riveting debut by a writer of tremendous compassion and insight.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Helen Phillips, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Need\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A breathtaking novel . . . I absolutely loved it and could not stop reading.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Jiaming Tang, author of \u003ci\u003eCinema Love\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This book will linger long after the last page.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Garrard Conley, author of \u003ci\u003eBoy Erased\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Tender, funny, insightful . . . These characters and this world stayed in my heart long after I finished the book.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Carter Sickels, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Prettiest Star\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"At turns funny and wise, sexy and sad, paranormal and devastatingly real--this book made me feel more human.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Molly McGhee, author of \u003ci\u003eJonathan Abernathy You Are Kind\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"By turns biting and generous, funny and devastating, \n\u003ci\u003eWaiting on a Friend\u003c\/i\u003e evokes friendship in all its complexity--its resentments, tender obsessions, marvelous intimacies, and supernatural power.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--Beth Morgan, author of \u003ci\u003eA Touch of Jen\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Spellbinding.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Dazzles like a mirror ball.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"An elegy for 1980s Manhattan.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Harper's Bazaar\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNatalie Adler\u003c\/b\u003e has an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Brown University. She was a Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow at the Center for Fiction and is an editor at \n\u003ci\u003eLux \u003c\/i\u003emagazine. She is from New Jersey and lives in New York City.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBrief Description\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Renata is a young dyke-about-town who can see ghosts, something she's doing more and more of lately as too many of her friends are dying of a new, terrifying disease. When Renata's best friend Mark dies of complications from AIDS, Renata is devastated by the loss of the person she loved most in the world. And to her disappointment and increasing despair, Mark seems unwilling or unable to return for the proper goodbye they both were denied. While Renata waits anxiously for Mark, she must stay vigilant: a mysterious, police-like force has begun ridding their East Village neighborhood of anything abnormal or inexplicable. What first seems like a scam reveals itself to be far more sinister, targeting the soul of Renata's community. With her band of lovably eccentric pals and lovers, Renata is determined to fight back against the erasure of her friends' memories and the sanitizing of her beloved New York. But haunting her every step is Mark, the one ghost who stubbornly refuses to reappear. Both heartbreaking and healing, tragic and triumphant, Waiting on a Friend is a magical retelling of queer history and a celebration of youth and camaraderie. With pathos and humor, empathy and an edge, Natalie Adler freshly reimagines the past for a new generation, reclaiming the spirit of resistance and determination that would become one of the era's defining legacies\"-- Provided by publisher.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNew York City, East Village, 1984. A young woman with the power to see the ghosts of her friends is haunted by the one who refuses to return--a dazzling, big-hearted debut of friendship and community during a time of devastation and defiance. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eOprah Daily'\u003c\/i\u003es #1 Pick for Summer Reading\u003cbr\u003eONE OF \u003ci\u003eDEBUTIFUL\u003c\/i\u003e'S BEST DEBUTS OF THE YEAR SO FAR: \"Adler has her finger on the pulse of humanity, humor, and a damn good haunting plot.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eWaiting on a Friend\u003c\/i\u003e is Natalie Adler's first novel but, already, I'd argue she can do what greats like Ann Patchett, Patrick Ryan and Celeste Ng do. . . . A terrific read and an exciting promise of more to come.\"--\u003ci\u003eMinneapolis Star Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I slowed my pace finishing \u003ci\u003eWaiting on a Friend, \u003c\/i\u003e because I didn't want the novel to end. . . . [A] rich and intimate narrative.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A wildly inventive and moving novel . . . an astonishingly brilliant debut.\"--Patrick Ryan, author of \u003ci\u003eBuckeye\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"A beautiful study of friendship, of how loss unmoors us, and how if we keep turning towards love, anything is possible.\"--Ann Napolitano, author of \u003ci\u003eHello Beautiful\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Fresh and refreshing, both heartbreaking and uplifting. Natalie Adler has given us a gem.\"--Rabih Alameddine, winner of the National Book Award\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\"[A] powerhouse debut . . . This dazzles like a mirror ball.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Spellbinding.\"--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily, Debutiful, Lit Hub, Publishers Lunch\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eRenata is a young dyke-about-town who can see ghosts, something she's doing more and more of lately as too many of her friends are dying of a new, terrifying disease. When Renata's best friend Mark dies of complications from AIDS, Renata is devastated by the loss of the person she loved most in the world. And to her disappointment and increasing despair, Mark seems unwilling or unable to return for the proper goodbye they both were denied. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile Renata waits anxiously for Mark, she must stay vigilant: a mysterious, police-like force has begun ridding their East Village neighborhood of anything abnormal or inexplicable. What first seems like a scam reveals itself to be far more sinister, targeting the soul of Renata's community. With her band of lovably eccentric pals and lovers, Renata is determined to fight back against the erasure of her friends' memories and the sanitizing of her beloved New York. But haunting her every step is Mark, the one ghost who stubbornly refuses to reappear. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBoth heartbreaking and healing, tragic and triumphant, \n\u003ci\u003eWaiting on a Friend \u003c\/i\u003eis a magical retelling of queer history and a celebration of youth and camaraderie. With pathos and humor, empathy and an edge, Natalie Adler freshly reimagines the past for a new generation, reclaiming the spirit of resistance and determination that would become one of the era's defining legacies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/01\/2026 pg. 97 (EAN 9780593734025, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/02\/2026 (EAN 9780593734025, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/15\/2026 (EAN 9780593734025, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Hogarth Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496152498454,"sku":"9780593734025","price":33.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780593734025.jpg?v=1783054171","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/waiting-on-a-friend","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}