Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.
Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life–he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.
Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret–this fragile, tender thing between them–seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.
We Could Be So Good, by Cat Sebastian
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
I usually listen to audiobooks while I walk the dogs around my neighborhood. While listening to this book, my neighbors probably wondered why I had a big ol’ dopey grin on my face for days.
Nick lives his life so far in the closet he’s almost in Narnia. Unfortunately, he has reasons to do so, as being outed as homosexual would destroy his job and his relationship with is family. He carefully considers every conversation, every friendship, every place he goes through the filter of worry about being found out. It is a stifling life.
And then along comes Andy, who is a friendly, sweet, smart (though scattered) man who pushes all of Nick’s buttons. Oh, and who also appears to be 100% straight. But the two strike up a wonderful friendship as their work, social, and family lives intertwine, and Andy starts to realize that he’s not quite as straight as he thought he was.
This book is the slowest of slow burns, but that is right up my alley. I love to get to know the characters, to understand where they are from, their histories, their motivations. We get that in spades here and I love it. I enjoyed getting to know Nick and Andy not just through their interactions, but by their relationships with friends and family around them. The side characters are great, and though we don’t spend a lot of time on their backstories, they add a nice depth to how Nick and Andy think and behave.
It’s not hard to predict the ending halfway through, but I’m OK with that. As they say, getting there is part of the fun. If have any complaint it’s that I would have liked a little more at the end, perhaps a longer epilogue. I’m happy with the ending overall though.
As I was reading this, I was struck by how oppressive and pervasive the societal homophobia could be. To complain about feeling that oppression seems ungrateful and shallow, as people like Andy and Nick helped get us to where we are today. The story provides an interesting measure of how far queer life has come in 55 years, and how much further we have to go. Sebastian does an amazing job of nailing the details of late 1950’s NYC, incorporating historical elements and references into the story to give a strong feeling of the era in the city, the newsroom, or Nick’s apartment in a working-class neighborhood.
As I mentioned, I listened to the audiobook version of this. Joel Leslie was fabulous as always, giving Nick a world-weary New York accent, while Andy’s voice reflects his upper class upbringing. All of the different characters have unique, consistent voices, something that can be a pet peeve of mine so I appreciate when it’s done right.
I highly recommend this book! And hey – if you have a library card with your local library, see if you can get access to the e-book or audiobook for free through Hoopla or a similar service like I did!