People in Trouble

I didn't love this book as much as other Sarah Schulman novels at first. But it grows on me over time. The story is based on her personal experiences and parts of it were foreign to me since I never lived in an kind of ghetto. For folks outside the gay urban community of that time, it may seem as foreign as the environment in a Shakespeare play. There's no need to mention the many similiarities with RENT because these were acknowledged by the composer J. Larson before he died. More importantly, discussing comparisons between RENT and People in Trouble mistakenly gives the impression that the two works of art are comparable in important ways, which is absolutely not true. It *is* possible to enjoy one without trashing the other, but when you put them side by side, the musical strikes some false notes to people who actually lived through the early years of the AIDS epidemic, or who were gay and lived during the 70s and 80's. Larson's musical is a romanticized version of poverty and true love and has some beloved songs and touching scenes. The various characters are whitewashed as is to be expected for Broadway audiences; no body odor, no unpleasant character traits - and neither poverty and heroin addiction can destroy those beautiful white teeth and that shiny hair. Its a lovely but false story like the black and white TV characters in PLEASANTVILLE and it's a great example of art as escapist fare. Sarah Schulman's novel is a real world version of the AIDS and gay experience story, and it will be harder reading for some people as a result. It may seem a 'rougher' experience, but think of it this way: if you look at two bowls side by side: one unearthed by archeologists from 4000 BC, and the other made by a 20th century artisan that is stunningly crafted and finished, the later bowl is clearly more beautiful. BUT THE OLDER BOWL WAS THE FIRST ONE, AND THE PERSON WHO ACTUALLY INVENTED THAT FIRST 'BOWL' IS a whole universe more original than the 20th century craftsman who made something beautiful after studying 6000 other attempts. Also: reading People in Trouble is uncomfortable only when it's *meant* to be uncomfortable. It doesn't have accidentally ugly implications that make your pleasure feel a bit guilty. In contrast, the musical occasionaly presents lies about the early AIDS experience in New York, and also makes the unfortunate choice of depicting, side by side, 1) a nasty bickering lesbian relationship; 2) a sad-but-sweet gay relationship that ends in death; adn 3) a sexy and romantic straight relationship that is the only one to survive the end of the show. Oppression comes in a new guise these days. No matter how you try to get around it, that kind of thoughtless prioritizing of a straight relationship over the gay ones is pretty damaging for so many people. You'd only know this if you every had the fifty million models for your own life taken away as if they'd never existed. So this novel is a great experience for peopel wh

Sarah Schulman is one of my very favorite writers in the world. Heck, just the fact she's on the planet makes me smile. In People in Trouble, Schulman returns to themes in all her books, Queerness, loss, and being lost. Incidentally, the plot of this novel is a heck of a lot like that musical RENT. So similar that it can't be a coincidence. And this book came first....