Nirvana is Here, Aaron Hamburger
Nirvana is Here, Aaron Hamburger
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Nirvana is Here
A Novel

Author: Aaron Hamburger

Narrator: Charlie Thurston

Unabridged: 10 hr 39 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 12/24/2019

Categories: Fiction, Lgbtq+


Synopsis

For Ari Silverman, the past has never really passed. After twenty years, the trauma from a childhood assault resurfaces as he grapples with the fate of his ex-husband, a colleague accused of sexually harassing a student. To gain perspective, Ari arranges to reconnect with his high school crush, Justin Jackson, a bold step which forces him to reflect on their relationship in the segregated suburbs of Detroit during the 1990s and the secrets they still share.

An honest story about recovery and coping with both past and present, framed by the meteoric rise and fall of the band Nirvana and the wide-reaching scope of the #metoo movement, Nirvana is Here explores issues of identity, race, sex, and family with both poignancy and unexpected humor. Deftly told intertwining stories with rich, real characters are reminiscent of the sensuality and haunting nostalgia of André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name blended with the raw emotion of Kurt Cobain’s lyrics.

About Aaron Hamburger

Aaron Hamburger is the author of a story collection titled The View from Stalin's Head, winner of the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His second book, the novel Faith for Beginners, was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His writing has appeared in the New York Time, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, O, the Oprah Magazine, Details, the Village Voice, Poets & Writers, Tin House, Out, Michigan Quarterly Review, the Forward and numerous other publications. In addition, he has also won fellowships from Yaddo, Djerassi, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Edward F. Albee Foundation as well as first prize in the Dornstein Contest for Young Jewish Writers. He has taught creative writing at Columbia University, the George Washington University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and the Stonecoast MFA Program. He currently resides in Washington, DC.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Thomas on August 15, 2019

Apologies in advance for my lukewarm feelings toward this book, as literally every other review rated it four stars or above. I appreciated the author’s sensitive portrayal of the narrator’s struggle to recover from a sexual assault, including the narrator’s triggers, flashbacks, and difficulty with......more

Goodreads review by Alvin on May 22, 2019

The bulk of NIH consists of a first-person coming-of-age tale focused on a clandestine interracial/interclass queer love affair, a violent sexual assault, and the redeeming power of grunge music, but there's a secondary timeline showing how the protagonist's teen traumas play out in his adult life.......more

Goodreads review by Bryan on January 21, 2019

Wednesday, April 6th, 1994, I awoke in my London hotel room to find a note had been pushed under the door. "I won't be joining today's activities. My favorite singer just died and I can't cope." That was how I learned of Kurt Cobain's suicide. I was not a follower of Nirvana. Frankly I was too old,......more

Goodreads review by Nev on July 19, 2019

4.5 - I stumbled across this novel when searching for non-fiction about the band Nirvana. This immediately caught my eye because it combined things I typically enjoy in books, stories about people reflecting back on their past, dealing with living life in the aftermath of trauma, and using bands or......more

Goodreads review by Lesléa on January 17, 2019

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced copy of this amazing book. Aaron Hamburger is my kind of writer: smart, funny, sensitive, and full of heart. I loved his previous novel, FAITH FOR BEGINNERS and his short story collection, THE VIEW FROM STALIN'S HEAD. I have also read many of his ess......more