{"id":7074,"date":"2026-08-18T09:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T09:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=7074"},"modified":"2026-08-18T09:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T09:18:12","slug":"pier-45-by-scott-alderman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=7074","title":{"rendered":"Pier 45 by Scott Alderman"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gritty and real,<\/strong> Pier 45<\/em><\/strong> is a rollicking ride across generations and demographics.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

During a time when AIDS wards are flooded with patients and a nation stands horrified and seemingly unwilling to help or to understand, places like Wilde House offer homeless AIDS victims shelter and help. This is where we find Seth, the novel\u2019s narrator.<\/p>\n

Here, Seth recounts a turbulent childhood amid Holocaust survivors\u2014specifically with Magda, his mother\u2019s sister who stepped in to raise Seth and his sister after their mother\u2019s death. Seth recounts multiple experiences, including those that left him in the care of a drag queen named Mother, who, on Pier 45, frequently cared for battered, brutalized LGBTQ individuals.<\/p>\n

Many years after Seth himself first met Mother, he finds himself gripped by grief as numerous friends and acquaintances succumb to AIDS. Feeling burnt out, he breaks his sobriety and embarks on a terrifying psychological and emotional path that makes him question what is real and what is not.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Pier 45<\/em> is an intricate novel, weaving gritty, realist fiction with compelling historical anecdotes about New York City. These anecdotes reveal the area\u2019s significance to the gay community\u2014a connection harkening back to World War I.<\/p>\n

The incorporation of these details is significant: they remind the book\u2019s audience that, despite how America has attempted to conceal or to even deny its LGBTQ+ history, many of America\u2019s most important and most influential cities have always had their own LGBTQ+ communities.<\/p>\n

Thus, community\u2014the ones people make and where people find them\u2014is an inherent theme. Alderman expertly weaves this discussion into Seth\u2019s entire character. Not only is Seth LGBTQ-identifying, he participates in Narcotic Anonymous. He balances his Jewish identity with his LGBTQ identity, and his recollections about the Jewish community\u2019s influence on his upbringing is ever-present in many chapters. The idea of community is reinforced in settings like Wilde House, and the incorporation of such a place testifies to the power of underground grassroots movements during times of crisis.<\/p>\n

While Pier 45<\/em> is fascinating from a historical perspective, at times it can be difficult to follow since the chapters alternate time periods and experiences. However, this structure does facilitate multiple aspects of Seth\u2019s persona and experience successfully. First, it reflects Seth\u2019s own changing personality and psychological state. Next, it mirrors the ever-changing relational dynamics due to the AIDS epidemic. The structure intelligently mimics the psychological and emotional shifts caused by grief and uncertainty, and readers are all the better for it.<\/p>\n

Pier 45<\/em> adeptly tackles important social justice issues America still contends with today. An impactful, unforgettable read, it portrays not only a tumultuous time in America but also a redefining time for New York City.<\/p>\n

The post Pier 45 by Scott Alderman<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gritty and real, Pier 45 is a rollicking ride across generations and demographics. During a time when AIDS wards are flooded with patients and a nation stands horrified and seemingly unwilling to help or to understand, places like Wilde House offer homeless AIDS victims shelter and help. This is where we find Seth, the novel\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7074"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}