I thought this was an exceptional piece of literature that almost feels like it could be autofiction. Holleran has that too, capturing so many elements of the march of time including the loss of your parents as well as the being alone as you get older, and all of the potential complications that can arise. His musings on life, on loneliness and the tenuous connections we keep with one another to stave off the isolation of existing on an metaphoric island by yourself reminded me of alot Elizabeth Strout, both in her sense of humor but also in her deep empathy and understanding of the human animal. “By the time Earl was in his eighties and I was in my sixties there were evenings when I walked home from the movie wondering if my interest in him was slightly sadistic: watching what happened when old age gets its claws in you, or at least puts you to sleep in your chair, like a man overcome with carbon monoxide in a closed garage.” This time Holleran presents an unnamed narrator who for the bulk of the book talks about his relationship with one of his neighbors, also a gay man who is twenty years older. #KingdomOfSand feels like a continuation or maybe more an extension of his previous works, the closest being #TheBeautyOfMen which like this book took place in the authors home state of Florida and dealt with an aging gay man who has come home to take care of his dying mother. Literary heavyweights in the canon of LGBTQ lit, most of whom have now since passed from AIDS. Holleran, who is now in his late seventies is from a generation of gay writers like Larry Kramer and Paul Monette. The first book by Andrew Holleran in sixteen years is an exquisite meditation on growing older and coming to term with the end of life.

The kingdom of sand andrew holleran