Distiller: Doni Faber
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me
by Bill Hayes
Bloomsbury
to be released Feb. 14, 2017*
(291 pages)
This memoir by Oliver Sacks'
lover until his death, felt more approachable than Sacks' own memoir.
I didn't get very far in On the Move, because the hard-core,
motor-cycle loving adventurer portrayed seemed mismatched with the
eccentric, endearing and shy person he was later in life. Insomniac
City is not an exposé, but
a respectful description of a man he loves.
Hayes hasn't just written about
Oliver, but also vignettes of life and New York. His deep affection
for Oliver is counterbalanced by his appreciation for random people
he meets in the streets and subways of New York. I love that this is
what he builds his community out of. He snaps photos of people (with
their permission), and also chats with them, getting glimpses into
their lives. His portrayal of life in New York is filled with compassion and
beauty.
At first, the book felt choppy.
I wanted more of each vignette. Hayes would say he has hundreds of
subways stories, but then end the chapter there. His journal entries
seem like an experiment that is uncomfortable to him. As the book
progresses, he sinks more comfortably into his narration.
There are some choice gems that
lift this memoir from charming to memorable: "O" wearing
swimming goggles when he uncorks champagne for the first time or the
way he invests objects with feelings all the while maintaining this
attitude is ridiculous or making lists of all the elements not found
in a body. My favorite photo among the many portraits, is one simply
of Oliver's desk that has a nature of haphazard orderliness.
In the end, as in the beginning,
I found myself wanting more: more process, more mourning of Oliver's
death. Perhaps Hayes felt this was too private and therefore
off-limits. But what is a memoir if not personal? Still Hayes has
given us a glimpse into something sweet and special.
* Copy of book given in exchange for honest review
0 comments:
Post a Comment