Nights in Ariba, Andrew Holleran

Description

Nights in Aruba
by Andrew Holleran
Paperback | December 18, 2001

A quietly devastating classic of gay literature, Nights in Aruba is Andrew Holleran’s wry, reflective follow-up to Dancer from the Dance, exploring the long aftershocks of coming out, desire, and faith.

The novel follows Paul, a gay man living a divided life between his fast-paced, openly queer existence in New York City and extended visits to his aging parents in Florida. Once immersed in the disco-era whirl of sex, drugs, and nightlife, Paul now finds himself bored, restless, and increasingly aware of time slipping away. Middle age has arrived without resolution, and the freedom he once chased no longer feels like an answer.

As Paul reflects on his Catholic upbringing in Aruba, his complicated relationship with his emotionally distant parents, and the lingering guilt and secrecy that shaped his early life, Holleran captures the quiet tension between liberation and responsibility. The novel is less about dramatic revelation than about reckoning: with family, with faith, and with the realization that acceptance does not always bring peace.

Written with subtle lyricism, dry humor, and emotional restraint, Nights in Aruba remains a powerful meditation on identity, aging, and the private costs of living honestly in a world that once demanded silence.

This title is a remainder, offered at half the original cover price. Remainder copies are new and unread, but may show minor shelf wear.