Brian in Three Seasons

by Patricia Grossman

The year is 1995. Thirty-nine-year-old Brian Moss lives alone in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, his survival in the city barely rising above the marginal. He's in danger of becoming a fixture on his block, someone not registered by those around him. Brian hasn't succeeded in his ambition of becoming an art historian, but neither has he fully forsaken it. He still thinks about his unfinished dissertation, but mostly at odd moments-on his way...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1579621228
• ISBN13: 9781579621223
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Permanent Press (NY)
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

recommended

Nice novel-had a satisfying feel at the end. I liked that the main character cobbled together a living. Lots of people put together a life in odd or disparate ways but you don't often find them in novels. I found this novel a convincing evocation of a certain kind of urban life.

very well done

You can tell that the author really inhabited her main character's head. She doesn't let him slip away once. Brian Moss may not be an "impressive person" on the outside, but he is on the inside, where it counts, and Grossman manages to convince us of this. I don't think Brian struggled any more or less with being gay than most of us, but it was interesting to see how his conflict held him back and, I think, finally pushed him forward. This is not "gay lit" in capital letters. It's a very good character study (actually more than one character). Just plain old lit.

Beautiful and compelling

A beautiful and compelling novel This is a beautiful book whose main character, Brian, has such a convincing and compelling voice that I felt I could trust myself in his hands. Even though his life is not "together" by conventional standards, there is a quiet authority about him that made me hope his changing circumstances would allow him to fully claim his life. The novel's language is direct and elegant. Brian's conflicts as a gay man are authentic and there is no stereotyping going on here. This book doesn't make a lot of noise to attract attention to itself, which is one of the many reasons why it deserves attention. It is simple, fine, and deeply moving.

A quietly wonderful book.

Patricia Grossman is a terrific writer. I've read two previous novels (all have been published with small presses, which may mean they don't get the kind of review attention they deserve), and find her writing graceful, perceptive, moving, and funny. BRIAN IN THREE SEASONS may be her best yet. To begin with, it's impressive how well the author, a woman, writes inside the head of her main character, a gay man. But while she successfully evokes an individual, idiosyncratic character in a distinctive environment--Manhattan, and specifically gay Manhattan, in the 1990s--the novel's themes are universal. Without being the least bit smarmy, the story is inspiring, as we follow Brian from a state of physical, emotional, and professional intertia through a series of quiet transformations that will help him reach his full potential in love and work. Everyone who has ever felt "stuck" in their lives will relate to the ideas and feelings Grossman explores here, and care about these characters. Best of all, she manages to be "deep" without being "heavy." The supporting characters are quirky (the uptight sister and teenaged niece are especially well drawn), the situations are often funny, and novel is a pleasure to read.