Four Squares

From the beloved author of The Old Place comes a tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered, and then again thirty years later.

In 1992, on his thirtieth birthday, Artie Anderson meets the man who will change his life. Artie spends his days at a tedious advertising job, finding relief in the corner of New York City he can call his own, even as the queer community is still being ravaged by HIV. But when his birthday celebration brings Artie and his friends to his favorite bar, a chance encounter with Abe, an uptight lawyer and Artie’s opposite in almost every way, pushes Artie to want, and to ask for, more for himself.

Thirty years later, Artie is stunned when Halle and Vanessa, Abe’s daughter and ex-wife, announce they are moving across the country. Artie has built a lovely, if small, life, but their departure makes Artie realize that he might be lonelier than he previously thought. When a surprising injury pushes Artie into the hands of GALS, the local center for queer seniors, a rambunctious group of elders insist on taking him under their wing.

Alternating between both timelines, Four Squares is an intimate look at what it means to find community at any age. With humor and compassion, it honors the enduring power of queer friendship, its history, and how essential it is to keep those stories alive.

It's a good summer fun read

The book is interesting with a few twists and turns. It's very well written and the story is compelling, especially to the LGBTQ community.

Wonderful book

Easy and light . Well written . Very likable characters make this book a delight . Sad when it was over .

Subtle, heart wrenching, excellent writing

I’m a longtime Who? Weekly fan, and thus a longtime admirer of Bobby’s powers of observation, humor, and storytelling.

As comedic as the tone of that show is, and as larger-than-life as its “characters” are, I’m not surprised by Bobby’s ability to write with such poignancy, depth, and humanity as he does in his novels (The Old Place is wonderful - my favorite so far). I’m grateful that his novels complement his podcasting in such a way that I get to immerse myself in two different sides of his extraordinary abilities, and I already look forward to the next one!

This story was not quite as captivating to me as that of The Old Place, but I also don’t think I was the intended audience. That said, Bobby Finger is an exceptional writer, and although the world of Four Squares is very far from my own reality, I was moved, educated, and challenged by the story and its themes.

Recommend!