Release: February 16, 2021
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Source: Algonquin Books
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, Indiebound, Bookshop.org
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What Does It Mean to Be a Gay Man Today?
It’s just weeks after the historic Supreme Court marriage equality ruling, and all Sebastian Mote wants is to settle down. He is an high school art history teacher, newly single and desperately lonely. And he envies his queer students their freedom to live openly the youth he lost to fear and shame.
So when he runs into his childhood friend Oscar Burnham at a wedding in Washington, D.C., he can’t help but see it as a second chance. Now thirty-five, the men haven’t seen each other in a decade. But Oscar has no interest in their shared history. Instead, he’s angry by what he sees as the death of gay culture. Bars overrun with bachelorette parties; friends getting married, having babies.
Oscar and Sebastian struggle to find their place in a rapidly changing world. However, each is drawn into a cross-generational friendship that treads the line between envy and obsession. Sebastian with one of his students and Oscar with an older icon of the AIDS era. And as they collide again and again, both men must come reckon not just with one another, but with themselves.
Rich with sharply drawn characters and contemporary detail, provocative, and emotionally profound, Let’s Get Back to the Party is sure to appeal to readers of Garth Greenwell, Alan Hollinghurst, Claire Messud, and Rebecca Makkai.
About the Author:
Zak Salih earned his BA in English and Journalism from James Madison University, and his MA in English from the University of Virginia. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous magazines. He lives in Washington, D.C.
His writing has appeared in Crazyhorse, the Chattahoochee Review, the Millions, the Rumpus, and other publications. This is his first novel.
Let’s Get Back to the Party Review:
“Let’s Get Back to the Party” is a raw, contemporary tale with solid characters that make you think about life and fitting in, and I found it profound.
What struck me about the story is how the author realistically captured the tone and theme of the LGBTQ community in the present world and how you can still feel alone even with all the progress that’s happened. This book is raw and emotional and will make you connect with the characters and how they struggle with progressing in life and relationships.
Both the leads also shine in the tale. I thought the author portrayed Oscar and Sebastian accurately, and the author immersed me in their lives. I could empathize with Oscar’s nervousness and found his scenes with Patrick and the explosion memorable. Similarly, Sebastian’s scenes revolving around school life and reconnecting with Oscar were notable. One of the best moments in the story revolved around their reaction to Sean and made the story stand out.
However, I did face quite a few challenges with the book. I am not a fan of books with very few chapters, and each chapter spans 40+ pages. Secondly, while I enjoy a story with an open-ended climax that leaves you the rest of your imagination, I felt this was an instance where it did not work. In my opinion, the story finished abruptly and had me yearning for more.
Nevertheless, “Let’s Get Back to the Party” is an impressive debut by the author that stands out because of its realistic depiction of the community and what it is like for a middle-aged person to fit into the world.
Book Tour Schedule
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Let’s Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih Blog Tour hosted by Algonquin Books.
