The Very Heart of It

New York Diaries, 1983-1994

By: Thomas Mallon

Narrated by: Thomas Mallon

A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • ONE OF NPR’S “BOOKS WE LOVE” • From the renowned novelist and critic, an exquisite collection of journal entries from the 1980s and ’90s, tracking a young, gay author’s literary coming-of-age in New York during the AIDS crisis

In 1983, Thomas Mallon was still unknown. A literature professor at Vassar College, he spent his days traveling from Manhattan to campus, reviewing books to make ends meet and searching the city for his own purpose and fulfillment. The AIDS epidemic was beginning to surge in New York City, the ever-bustling epicenter of literary culture and gay life, alive with parties, art, and sex.

Though he didn’t know it, everything would soon change for Mallon. Riding the success of his debut, A Book of One’s Own, he became a fixture within the city’s literary scene, crossing paths with cultural giants and becoming an editor at GQ. He captured it all in his daily journals. But in some ways it was the worst possible time for a gay coming-of-age in the city. One of his lovers succumbed to AIDS, and the illness of others was both a heartbreaking reality and a constant reminder of his own exposure.

Tracing his own life day by day, Mallon evokes all that those years encompassed: the hookups, intensifying politics, personal tragedies, as well as his own blossoming success and eventual romantic happiness. The Very Heart of It is a brilliant and bewitching look into the daily life of one of our most important literary figures, and a keepsake from a bygone era.

Solitary, child free yuppie focuses on career

Diary entries, heavily redacted. A biographer might tell a more interesting story from the source material. And oh, by the way, the author was gay during the plague years, and that partly explains why he had so much time to write and network in the publishing world. If you want to read about gay men in the 80-90s, there are much better accounts.

dull and not that great

Little bits of little stories, not enough to paint a real picture of the author's life. It makes you wonder why people feel their lives are so substantial. I wouldn't recommend.

Yawn

I listened to the whole thing, especially because I’m gay, and about his age, and lived through the worst years of the AIDS crisis in Manhattan.
It’s all so very self-absorbed and trivial about literary doings in New York from 1983 into 1994.
Yes, he conveys the impact in his personal life, but he waits until he’s 33 to go to a gay bar and constantly speaks with condescension about “ordinary” gay men and horrors like a Pride Parade. He never engages in any kind of activism or support for GMHC or ACTUP or any organization fighting against AIDS and all the attendant discrimination. It’s all dinners at upscale restaurants and cabaret life. He never has a kind word for any Democratic political figure, when those were the only ones who cared at all about AIDS and lesbians and gays.
He ghost writes Dan Quayle’s book after DQ leaves the vice presidency.
He “sobs” when Nixon dies.