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Title details for Four Squares by Bobby Finger - Available

Four Squares

by Bobby Finger
David Pittu
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
From the beloved author of The Old Place comes a tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered, and then again thirty years later.
In 1992, on his thirtieth birthday, Artie Anderson meets the man who will change his life. Artie spends his days at a tedious advertising job, finding relief in the corner of New York City he can call his own, even as the queer community is still being ravaged by HIV. But when his birthday celebration brings Artie and his friends to his favorite bar, a chance encounter with Abe, an uptight lawyer and Artie’s opposite in almost every way, pushes Artie to want, and to ask for, more for himself.
Thirty years later, Artie is stunned when Halle and Vanessa, Abe’s daughter and ex-wife, announce they are moving across the country. Artie has built a lovely, if small, life, but their departure makes Artie realize that he might be lonelier than he previously thought. When a surprising injury pushes Artie into the hands of GALS, the local center for queer seniors, a rambunctious group of elders insist on taking him under their wing.
Alternating between both timelines, Four Squares is an intimate look at what it means to find community at any age. With humor and compassion, it honors the enduring power of queer friendship, its history, and how essential it is to keep those stories alive.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 18, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593865156
      • File size: 269498 KB
      • Duration: 09:21:27

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 8, 2024
      Finger’s affectionate and evocative sophomore novel (after The Old Place) alternates between two distinct periods in a writer’s life. In 1992, 30-year-old Artie Anderson meets a married man named Abe at Julius’, the Greenwich Village gay bar, and feels a mix of friction and attraction (“He may be a little prickly, but he makes me confident”) that turns out to be a harbinger for their fraught sexual relationship. Thirty years later, in 2022, Abe has been dead for 18 years, and his widow and pregnant daughter—whom Artie has kept in touch with—are moving to Seattle. Feeling adrift, Artie volunteers at GALS, a gay and lesbian senior center. After he has an accident and breaks his foot, he returns to GALS as a member and befriends the folks he was helping. He gets particularly chummy with Carson, a new member who offers the promise of romance and inspires Artie to write a sequel to Four Squares, the book he published about his friends when he was 30. Though the wistful digressions into Artie’s past tend to lose momentum, he makes for an endearing protagonist, one who is deeply shaped by his evolving feelings for others in his life. Admirers of Finger’s first book will love this. Agent: Kate McKean, Morhaim Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In a stellar narration, David Pittu infuses this audiobook with genuine wit and plenty of tenderness. In two timelines, we follow Artie, a struggling gay copywriter who hates his job, first, on his 30th birthday in 1992 and, again, on his 60th in 2022. On his 30th, his three best friends urge him to quit his job and write a novel. David Pittu imbues young Artie with a funny, gentle personality, and as stories unfold about the lives of his three friends, we believe their friendship is real. By his 60th birthday, Artie is a successful ghostwriter and novelist. At this point, Pittu has the right elder voices for Artie's new friends, seniors from a gay senior support group, and his delivery of their memories rings with truth. Pittu's performance is first-rate. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      September 13, 2024

      Narrator David Pittu offers a bright presentation of Finger's second humorous and wise novel (after The Old Place). The story follows Artie Anderson, a gay man living in New York City, across two timelines--in 1992, when Artie is 30, and in 2022, when a 60-year-old Artie encounters a new community and found family in the wake of long-standing grief. In 1992, Artie and his three close friends try to find sparks of joy, even as the queer community faces the continued outbreak of HIV/AIDS. In 2022, after the death of his partner Abe, Artie has closed himself off, accepting only his partner's ex-wife Vanessa and her daughter Halle into his inner circle in hopes of preventing further grief. When they both move away, he finds himself alone and further isolated by a sudden injury. A reluctant Artie finds help and support within the tight-knit community of GALS, a local center for queer seniors. Pittu's warm narration perfectly captures both the hopeful 30-year-old Artie and the down-on-his-luck 60-year-old Artie. VERDICT A heartwarming, funny novel about belonging and community, recommended for fans of Mike Gayle's similarly uplifting All the Lonely People.--Taylor Skorski

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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