Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Harper Perennial (1998), Edition: Reprint, 352 pages
Description
"An eloquent testimonial to the power of love and the devastation of loss" from the National Book Award-winning author of Becoming a Man (Publishers Weekly). In 1974, Paul Monette met Roger Horwitz, the man with whom he would share more than a decade of his life. In 1986, Roger died of complications from AIDS. Borrowed Time traces this love story from start to tragic finish. At a time when the medical community was just beginning to understand this mysterious and virulent disease, Monette and others like him were coming to terms with unfathomable loss. This personal account of the early days of the AIDS crisis tells the story of love in the face of death. A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, Borrowed Time was one of the first memoirs to deal candidly with AIDS and is as moving and relevant now as it was more than twenty-five years ago. Written with fierce honesty and heartwarming tenderness, this book is part love story, part testimony, and part requiem. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Paul Monette including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the Paul Monette papers of the UCLA Library Special Collections.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member heavyleg
"Grief is a sword, or it is nothing."
A furious, sharp and heartbreaking memoir of the early days of the U.S. AIDS epidemic, and Monette's partner's diagnosis, illness and death. Fiercely sorrowful, unsparingly angry. This book has substantial gaps in its political insight; it is primarily a story
Be careful with this one, especially if you have major ghosts to mourn. It will break that grief open; it will rage through you and may break you apart.
A furious, sharp and heartbreaking memoir of the early days of the U.S. AIDS epidemic, and Monette's partner's diagnosis, illness and death. Fiercely sorrowful, unsparingly angry. This book has substantial gaps in its political insight; it is primarily a story
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of the ravages AIDS wreaked on white rich gay men's community in Los Angeles in the mid-80s. But it is still one of the best political memoirs I've ever read, for its sheer determination and clarity of vision. Love and rage, Monette's got it down. Beautifully written.Be careful with this one, especially if you have major ghosts to mourn. It will break that grief open; it will rage through you and may break you apart.
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LibraryThing member picardyrose
Brilliant at the time, but we were not as inured to people dying.
LibraryThing member cyafer
Very touching, if a little long-winded at times.
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
Devastating firsthand account of living - and dying - with AIDS. Author and activist Paul Monette, who died from complications related to the disease in 1995, writes about the tragic loss of his lover Roger Horwitz ten years earlier with unflinching detail and brutal honesty. At first, Paul's
'The party was going to have to stop', Paul begins; 'a lot of us were already ticking and didn't even know'. I think personal stories like this are often more educational than all the weighty non-fiction texts on the subject, because the lesson is made real by the human lives involved and a lot of uneducated misunderstandings can be dispelled. For instance, as Paul makes clear, 'the disease wasn't drawn to obsessive sex or meaningless sex. Sex itself, pure and simple, was the medium'. Paul and Roger were in a loving, committed relationship, but he still had to watch his partner of ten years - and many other close friends - die a terrible, painful death.
The greatest tragedy, of course, is that Roger - and later Paul - died primarily of ignorance. Not theirs, but the medical, political and social ignorance facing the early patients of the 'gay cancer'. Paul talks about not recognising the early symptoms, or fearing that every ailment might mean the worst. Mistaking a bruise for Kaposi's sarcoma, for instance, or a cough for the first signs of pneumocystis (PCP). The first treatments were equally vague, initially ineffective and often acquired illegally, like Suramin and AZT. AIDS patients and activists had to go 'underground' to fight for drugs, lobbying the FDA to test and release potentially life-saving medicine.
The real breakthrough - which is also the term for the onset of fullblown AIDS - came in 1995, too late for Roger, Paul and thousands of others. But their story is still important, and always heartbreaking to read.
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attitude of 'What about me?' bugged me, especially in the face of his partner's display of dignity and bravery, but after reading the whole book, I now respect the author for being so open about his own feelings.'The party was going to have to stop', Paul begins; 'a lot of us were already ticking and didn't even know'. I think personal stories like this are often more educational than all the weighty non-fiction texts on the subject, because the lesson is made real by the human lives involved and a lot of uneducated misunderstandings can be dispelled. For instance, as Paul makes clear, 'the disease wasn't drawn to obsessive sex or meaningless sex. Sex itself, pure and simple, was the medium'. Paul and Roger were in a loving, committed relationship, but he still had to watch his partner of ten years - and many other close friends - die a terrible, painful death.
The greatest tragedy, of course, is that Roger - and later Paul - died primarily of ignorance. Not theirs, but the medical, political and social ignorance facing the early patients of the 'gay cancer'. Paul talks about not recognising the early symptoms, or fearing that every ailment might mean the worst. Mistaking a bruise for Kaposi's sarcoma, for instance, or a cough for the first signs of pneumocystis (PCP). The first treatments were equally vague, initially ineffective and often acquired illegally, like Suramin and AZT. AIDS patients and activists had to go 'underground' to fight for drugs, lobbying the FDA to test and release potentially life-saving medicine.
The real breakthrough - which is also the term for the onset of fullblown AIDS - came in 1995, too late for Roger, Paul and thousands of others. But their story is still important, and always heartbreaking to read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member deldevries
Well written. A detailed walk through the lives of some of the AIDS stories of the 1980's. Not always easy to read, but I understand why it has been included in the 100 New Classics list.
LibraryThing member homeschoolmimzi
This was on a friend's list, and since I love memoirs, I picked it up at the library. I haven't read anything like this before. The context couldn't be more foreign to me- Gay intellectuals of 1980's West Hollywood. The writing is superb though. Paul Monette was obviously a gifted poet, narrator
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and archivist. Despite what your views are on gays, (and I'm certainly , as one reviewer stated, "not a worshiper of the gay couple") this book is worth reading. It's a very good picture of the AIDS realities during the 80's, the marginalization of the gay population, and the real horror that was so present at this time. I did struggle through some parts- in particular the jet-setting lifestyle common to them- hobnobbing w/screen writers, producers, poets and artists, the constant parties and stuffy fundraisers, jaunts to Greece or other foreign countries.. It's a bit much for me but the writing was so obviously good. I'm curious now to read his 1992 memoir, Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story. Show Less
LibraryThing member rainpebble
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette; (4*)
It was really difficult to pull my head out of this memoir. I took my time reading it and found myself very caught up in the lives of Monette and the people he wrote about. I also found myself much more sympathetic with Paul's lover, Roger, than
These are Paul's memories of the days of HIV, Aids and those who lived with it before it was even admitted that there was such a disease. In those years, the 80s, contracting this disease was a death sentence. Paul's lover died in 1986 and when Paul began this beautiful memoir, he had no assurance that he, himself, would live long enough to complete it. (He passed away in 1995.) I am thankful that he did for this memoir is his very beautiful legacy.
Now before you think that I found this book to be perfect, I did not. I found Paul to be a bit full of himself and to be self important. He was also quite the name dropper of those of the Hollywood and L.A. scene in those days. But the book IS wonderfully written and so much of it is heart rending.
I took the extended families of these men and also their friends quite to heart and found myself loving the character of many of them. I remember thinking as I read this that I would so have appreciated knowing a great many of the people who fill this memoir.
All in all, a lovely memoir and tribute to the thousands of gay men who fought this dread disease and sadly lost.
It was really difficult to pull my head out of this memoir. I took my time reading it and found myself very caught up in the lives of Monette and the people he wrote about. I also found myself much more sympathetic with Paul's lover, Roger, than
Show More
with Paul himself. These are Paul's memories of the days of HIV, Aids and those who lived with it before it was even admitted that there was such a disease. In those years, the 80s, contracting this disease was a death sentence. Paul's lover died in 1986 and when Paul began this beautiful memoir, he had no assurance that he, himself, would live long enough to complete it. (He passed away in 1995.) I am thankful that he did for this memoir is his very beautiful legacy.
Now before you think that I found this book to be perfect, I did not. I found Paul to be a bit full of himself and to be self important. He was also quite the name dropper of those of the Hollywood and L.A. scene in those days. But the book IS wonderfully written and so much of it is heart rending.
I took the extended families of these men and also their friends quite to heart and found myself loving the character of many of them. I remember thinking as I read this that I would so have appreciated knowing a great many of the people who fill this memoir.
All in all, a lovely memoir and tribute to the thousands of gay men who fought this dread disease and sadly lost.
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LibraryThing member DrFuriosa
An unflinchingly honest, eloquently written memoir about love and watching your beloved die of AIDS in the 1980s. Tragic and important reading all at once.
LibraryThing member scottjpearson
“What am I going to do without him?”…
“Write about him Paul… That’s what you have to do.”
In a world before triple-drug therapy (HAART) was enacted and allowed individuals to live a normal lifespan with HIV, Monette and his lover Roger Horwitz contracted HIV, which ineluctably
The secret is that this book is not a story of a disease. Instead, it is a love story as passionate and profound as any written down in human language. In today’s world of marriage equality, works like this demonstrate the deep value of homosexual relationships. Monette beautifully voices his love using floral, expressive language that is expected among articulate heterosexuals… only Monette did so in an America and in a world that did not accept his humanity as fully as they do now. That defiant decency is the brilliance of this work.
Managing HIV/AIDS took over this couple’s lives. They went from vacationing in Greece to making regular stays at the hospital over 19 months. Horwitz dies at the end of this work, and Monette lived until 1995 – both dying of AIDS-related complications. Their love did not falter while being confronted with an evil enemy. It sustained until the bitter end. Thus, this book combines themes of love with those of a noble death.
Dare I say that heterosexuals need to read this book more than the gay and lesbian community? It speaks of the dignity of love in any context. It does not debauch into sensationalism, nor does it cower without decency. It puts to death many stereotypes of gay folk (even more common in the 1980s than in the 2020s). Evocative words draw readers from whatever background into Monette and Horwitz’s relationship and dare them to find something wrong with it. That message of love’s triumph still needs to be heard in 2021 as much as it did in 1988.
Obviously, gay men, who remain disproportionately and cruelly plagued with incurable HIV, and their allies will sympathize with Monette’s plight. They will find themselves and their own stories in the characters of this narrative. This is the natural audience. Nonetheless, Monette’s vivid words, so common to lovers yet glistening in the setting of AIDS in the 1980s, shine brightly for readers of varied backgrounds. They teach humanity inasmuch as they inspire humanity. Perhaps especially those who continue to belittle gay men as second-rate should listen and stand corrected.
“Write about him Paul… That’s what you have to do.”
In a world before triple-drug therapy (HAART) was enacted and allowed individuals to live a normal lifespan with HIV, Monette and his lover Roger Horwitz contracted HIV, which ineluctably
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progressed into AIDS. Professionally, Horwitz was a lawyer and a lover of literature; Monette was a writer. Both were educated at Ivy League schools. This work is the first personal memoir of someone with AIDS.The secret is that this book is not a story of a disease. Instead, it is a love story as passionate and profound as any written down in human language. In today’s world of marriage equality, works like this demonstrate the deep value of homosexual relationships. Monette beautifully voices his love using floral, expressive language that is expected among articulate heterosexuals… only Monette did so in an America and in a world that did not accept his humanity as fully as they do now. That defiant decency is the brilliance of this work.
Managing HIV/AIDS took over this couple’s lives. They went from vacationing in Greece to making regular stays at the hospital over 19 months. Horwitz dies at the end of this work, and Monette lived until 1995 – both dying of AIDS-related complications. Their love did not falter while being confronted with an evil enemy. It sustained until the bitter end. Thus, this book combines themes of love with those of a noble death.
Dare I say that heterosexuals need to read this book more than the gay and lesbian community? It speaks of the dignity of love in any context. It does not debauch into sensationalism, nor does it cower without decency. It puts to death many stereotypes of gay folk (even more common in the 1980s than in the 2020s). Evocative words draw readers from whatever background into Monette and Horwitz’s relationship and dare them to find something wrong with it. That message of love’s triumph still needs to be heard in 2021 as much as it did in 1988.
Obviously, gay men, who remain disproportionately and cruelly plagued with incurable HIV, and their allies will sympathize with Monette’s plight. They will find themselves and their own stories in the characters of this narrative. This is the natural audience. Nonetheless, Monette’s vivid words, so common to lovers yet glistening in the setting of AIDS in the 1980s, shine brightly for readers of varied backgrounds. They teach humanity inasmuch as they inspire humanity. Perhaps especially those who continue to belittle gay men as second-rate should listen and stand corrected.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Nominee — 1988)
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Biography/Autobiography — 1988)
PEN Center USA Literary Award (Winner — Nonfiction — 1989)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1988
ISBN
0156005816 / 9780156005814
Other editions
Borrowed Time: An Aids Memoir by Paul Monette (Paperback)
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette (Hardcover)