Housemates
Ratings9
Average rating4.1
What does it feel like, standing in the moments that will mark your life?
When Bernie replies to Leah’s ad for a new housemate in Philadelphia, the two begin an intense and defiantly uncategorizable friendship based on a mutual belief in their art, and one another. Both aspire to capture the world around them: Leah through her writing; Bernie through her photography.
After Bernie’s former photography professor, the renowned yet tarnished Daniel Dunn, dies and leaves her a complicated inheritance, Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie to his home in rural Pennsylvania, turning the jaunt into a road trip with an ambitious mission: to document America through words and photographs.
What ensues is a journey into the heart of the nation, bringing the housemates into conversation with people from all walks of life—“the absurd dreamers and failures of this wide, wide country”— as they try to make sense of the times they are living in. Along the way, Leah and Bernie discover what it means to chase their own ideas and dreams, and to embrace what they are capable of both romantically and artistically.
Warm and insightful, Housemates is a story of youth and freedom—a glorious celebration of queer life, and how art and love might save us all.
Tags
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
Two young queer artists go on a roadtrip to make cool art!
Housemates brings you along in this journey towards identity, creativity, reinvention, and acceptance. Leah and Bernie, our main characters, are queer artists figuring out what they want their lives and art to look like. This story focuses heavily on the creative processes of both our writer, Leah, and our photographer, Bernie, as they figure out how to translate the world into art that means something and produces change. It's also successful in its exploration of queer friendships and relationships (as well as the messiness that can often come from them!).
One of the strongest topic this novel discusses is how fatness changes the experience of being a human both internally and externally. Some of the most powerful chapters explored how Leah felt about being perceived, interacting with the world around her, how limiting and dehumanizing it often felt. I really identified with a lot of it; the exploration of this theme provided the space and language to process a lot of my own emotions about it.
The only reason I couldn't give this book a five-star rating is because the narrator's story and our main characters' story didn't feel like it came together in any meaningful way (or at least it wasn't clear to me). Of course, there are parallels between their stories, but I was hoping it was building up to something emotional or impactful. It didn't. More often than not, it took me out of the story.
Another thing to note is that this is written without the use of quotation marks. I don't mind that at all, especially when the text is still clear in terms of who's speaking and what's being said. However, I know some people have strong opinions about it, so it's best to know it in advance.
I think this book is a great addition to your Pride Month TBR! Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing a review copy of this book.
i cried and i laughed and i got angry. this is exactly the book that i needed at this point in my life. god, what i would give to go on a road trip and make art about it. that's the fucking life.
3.5 rounded up to 4 for Goodreads
This book is so startlingly and refreshingly honest, and I cannot wait for the conversations it will lead to when our book club discusses it at the end of this month!
Maybe this stood out more to me because I listened to the audiobook rather than reading the text, but the use of “blank said.” felt excessive at times and weighed down dialogue for me which then broke immersion.
