How often do you encounter a book which you think is really terrific but which you would be very careful who you would recommend it to? For me, this happens hardly ever and I wonder if I’m feeling more aware as I had a query last week about a crime novel I reviewed asking if it had any sexually explicit or graphic scenes because the lady’s 15 year old son wanted to read it, and to be honest, I couldn’t remember as I tend to take such scenes in my stride, they don’t usually flag up for me. Here, in this unflinching debut novel they do, as do scenes of grief and loss so raw that I would be nervous to foist it upon someone who might find things too triggering.

But I think this is an amazing book, an important book, even though there are aspects I would not normally champion. First and foremostly, is the writing style, perhaps best termed as stream of consciousness. It is largely a memoir from Johnny who lost his partner Jerry to AIDS in 1995. They had met when Johnny was 19 and Jerry was HIV+ and in his mid-forties. Twenty-four years later and Johnny is still in the same flat they lived in together, still grieving, still unable to move on until the proposed building of a tower block will cut out the light to Jerry’s garden which Johnny has tended all these years.

The style veers from present tense to recollections of his time with Jerry and if I say it features numerous examples along the lines of I’m going, I don’t want to go, I’m not going, I’m going, you’ll see what I mean about the stream of consciousness style which generally speaking I don’t like and here it took me a while to get into it through an early section where Johnny walks to a place he used to visit with Jerry, but do you know, here it really works and I think it is because the level of observation is extraordinary and everything feels immediate and a certain observation can trigger a recollection which is not separated, it just tends to flow into the narrative.

This reflects a time when death in the gay community was ever-present and it is recreated here chillingly yet superbly. The locations are vague, the music is specific and it is probably that which puts me right there. Jerry represents a lost generation, those that came after and many of those who survived emerged differently. LGBTQ+ life has been far more assimilated into mainstream society, this is not what Jerry and his friends wanted. It is a pin-point accurate depiction of this particular time, just before medication gave people a chance to live with AIDS and when people had been dying horrifically and tragically for years.

The Johnny of now looks back at his younger self, his love for and learning from Jerry, on how Jerry would not recognise what has happened since and his desire to live as he believes Jerry would have wanted him to. This is raw, unflinching stuff – the grief, the love, the sex, everything feels exposed and honest and that is why this book is pretty extraordinary. I’ve either now put you off it or given you a real desire to read it, I understand if it’s the former, but hope it’s the latter .

Charlie Porter has had non-fiction work published but this is a debut novel and now it is all four of my five star novelists this year who have seen 2025 debuts. He is joining Karissa Chen, Garrett Carr and Rupert Dastur in my Superstar Debutants list- all four so very different novels. Exciting times.

Nova Scotia House is published on 20th March by Particular Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

When I started reading Nova Scotia House I was worried it wouldn't be for me. I was judging this purely on the writing style which is like a stream of consciousness, but thank goodness I didn't abandon it in favour of something 'easier' because I would have missed out on something special.

The story is told by forty-eight year old Johnny who is in mourning for his partner Jerry, a man who he lost almost three decades ago to an AIDS-related illness just a year before antiretroviral medicines became widely available. The book reads like Johnny is talking to us about their relationship, reminiscing about their time together at 1, Nova Scotia House, whilst trying to navigate his life without Jerry so many years later. He stumbles over his words and repeats himself, which lends the work a dose of realism as his language becomes less fluid as his emotions are heightened. The story also moves between time frames without ever becoming confusing. Charlie Porter really has a wonderful way of writing.

Johnny is desperate for Jerry not to be forgotten, and to make sure that his life means something. He is battling with insecurity and survivor's guilt, afraid that the choices he makes will never be enough to do the legacy of Jerry proud. We witness him trying to arrive at a place of acceptance, both for the loss of Jerry and for the person he has become without him.

There is much here for readers to relate to, and it covers a hugely important time in modern history. It is an evocative and intelligently written book, telling a story of just one couple during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but which sadly reflects what many people of the time will have gone through. Read it for the history and the social commentary, but most of all, read it for those who were lost so that we can remember them.

I struggled with this a bit because it is a meandering stream of consciousness as Johnny reflects on his life with Jerry, who has passed away due to AIDS. Despite the title, the story isn’t about a the house, but about the people, love, and memories that once filled it.

It’s a story about resilience as much as it is about loss. It also highlights the different ways people impact each other. Johnny’s memories and reflections are kind of like an old beloved photo that you keep going back to and looking at.

Nova Scotia House is a tender read of love, living and grief, set in the 90s, amid the AIDs crisis.

The characters are so palpable. The way the book is written, you cannot help but feel a connection to them. The well-timed shifts help the reader understand how life was for the characters and how it has changed, and allowed the reader a deep insight into Johnny and Jerry's relationship.
It’s an important topic and is done well, and given the style of writing it’s difficult to forget it’s fiction. The characters are beautifully curated and help tell such an important story.

Unfortunately, the stream of consciousness writing style was something I did struggle with. At points I loved it and couldn’t put the book down, but at others it all seemed a bit too overwhelming, reading without proper punctuation and in small spurts of thought made it difficult to keep up with at points. I understand Porter’s intention, but at times it was a bit overdone, and that’s why I’m giving it 4 stars. This is personal preference though!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC!

This was a tender and bittersweet story of love, loss and grief, amid the AIDs/HIV crisis during the 90s.

The characters were so likeable, they each had their own part to play within this book and by the end I felt a deep attachment to them all, especially Johnny. I liked that we got time jumps to Johnny's and Jerry's relationship and saw how life had been for them before and after everything changed. The story in general is an important topic too; it's easy to forget while reading that this is a fiction rather than a biography, all the characters seemed well thought out and I feel could have easily been based on real couples from this time.

Unfortunately, the stream of consciousness writing style in this prevents me from giving it a full 5 stars; I understood what the writer was trying to do but for me, it made the book slightly tedious to read some of the time. This is only personal preference though and I can see how this style would be enjoyable to a lot of other readers.

Aside from that, I still enjoyed this overall. It was emotional and poignant and the characters will live in your head long after the last page.

Thank you to the publisher & Netgalley for my free eARC!

Much of what I would like to say would seem anodyne in the face of the dreams, love, loss, and survivor’s guilt embodied in this novel. It took me a wee while to settle into Charlie Porter’s style of writing, but the isolation and plight of so many during the AIDS calamity clasps one hard, and remains indelible.

This book has a direct confrontational style that suits it subject matter, and that forces itself into your thinking as you read on. Johnny is bereft, still grieving for his lost partner Jerry in the context of a changing London and the fallout from the early days of HIV as it tore across a London scene that had become home.

Johnny looks back at his relationship with Jerry, and looks forward at his prospects for the future in a London which is no longer there for him. The book is harrowing, exciting, confrontational and challenging, from start to finish. And it is full of hope from despair, as you see Johnny start to move forward through his persistent grief to a new space.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Press publishing for a free e-ARC of 'Nova Scotia House' by Charlie Porter.

This was such a beautiful and simultaneously heart wrenching book. As I do with a lot of the ARCs I read, I went into this book not fully knowing what to expect, other than that it is set in the aftermath of the AIDS crisis.

Nova Scotia House is written in a very unusual and interesting way, as others have noted, I found adjusting to the style a bit hard at first. However, it became clear that the book follows Johnny's thoughts as they come, both in the past with his relationship with Jerry, and in the present time in a really immersive way

"oh I've heard all about you, they would say, or words like that, the one who finally settled him down, I would smile, not counter them, settled down, the total opposite of my life with Jerry, he ignited me, he gave me the world"

The relationships and emotions are written about beautifully, especially in relation to confusion and grief. It often felt like I was right there at many of these difficult moments. I had to pause after some of the hard-hitting chapters of this book as it was so impactful - it is such an important remembrance of queer history. I loved the exploration of queerness and 'normality', as well as of Jerry and Johnny's love and their domesticity.

"He taught me to walk where we were not wanted"

"I used to think how we lived was so pioneering, such radicals, but now I realise that we were doing what humans have done for millennia, living communally, in groups. It is only in this very recent history that we have become so segregated and so removed from one another, and this forces those of us who believe in communality to be seen as militant"

For me, reading Nova Scotia House felt like gold prospecting. I was shifting through tones of rubble to find the occasional nugget of gold. The grief was very raw and it really touched me, especially as I am dealing with the loss of my dad right now! But unfortunately those heart-wrenching moments were overshadowed by the unlovable writing style and the history of the queer movement. Sure, there's merit in reading accounts of what it was like, and what people had to go through to finally have some dignity and much needed rights. But for someone who may have read a lot about that, the story showcased in Nova Scotia House will come as a sort of repetition. In my view, the uniqueness of this novel lies in it's deep love story and the grief of losing the most important person of your life. And we don't see enough of that... a shame!

A debut novel with quite an unusual writing style and built around a relationship of two men and the effects of HIV and AIDS and the impact on society and the individuals concerned. For those readers who have witnessed the suffering I imagine it is an emotional tale. I can understand why some readers would not have finished the book as it is harrowing in places. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

This is a stunning novel about love and loss during the AIDS epidemic, in an unnamed city which I think is London. The novel is fragmentary and told in stream of consciousness, which takes a little time to get used to but works beautifully for this story. Thank you for the early copy! One for literary fiction lovers.

Beautiful and devastating, Nova Scotia House is a difficult yet powerful read. The writing style took some getting used to but it doesn't take away from the story.

A beautiful book about queer love, queer magic and grief. Not just grief for the people we lose, but also for the cities we live in and their histories. One of the things that struck me was the elegy to places lost as London has changed through the decades - the queer spaces, the green spaces, the places where people could come together and build new communities and new ways of living.

Like a few other people, I found the narrative style difficult at first and a bit annoying to get a handle on. Then, around halfway through, I found myself getting into the rhythm of things and being swept up by the prose. I did feel that it lost a bit of its impact towards the end and got a bit annoying, but the beauty of the story more than makes up for any minor annoyances over form and style.

It reminded me of Derek Jarman's Modern Nature, a beautiful book in its own right. It's a story that will linger in the memory long after the final page is turned.

Charlie Porter’s debut novel, Nova Scotia House, is a poignant and deeply moving exploration of love, loss, and the resilience of the human spirit. Set against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and its devastating impact on the queer community, this novel is both a love story and a lament, weaving together the personal and the political with remarkable grace.

The story follows Johnny Grant, a man grappling with grief and the weight of memories after the death of his long-time partner, Jerry Field. Their relationship—beginning when Johnny was just 19 and Jerry was 45—was unconventional, passionate, and deeply transformative. Together, they built a life at Nova Scotia House, a sanctuary that became a symbol of their love and the radical philosophies they embraced. Now, with Jerry gone, Johnny is left to navigate a world that feels irrevocably changed.

Porter’s narrative shifts seamlessly between past and present, immersing readers in the vibrant, defiant queer culture of the 1980s while also confronting the pain and loss that followed. Through Johnny’s reflections, we witness the joy, creativity, and experimentation of a community that refused to conform, even as it faced unimaginable tragedy. The novel is a testament to the enduring power of love and the importance of preserving stories that might otherwise be forgotten.

What makes Nova Scotia House truly stand out is its intimacy and authenticity. Porter’s prose is lyrical and evocative, capturing the complexities of human relationships with a rare sensitivity. The characters feel real and fully realized, their struggles and triumphs resonating long after the final page. Johnny’s journey—both inward and outward—is a powerful reminder of the ways in which we carry our loved ones with us, even as we forge new paths forward.

This is a novel that will stay with you. It is a celebration of queer life, a tribute to those lost, and a call to honour the past while embracing the future. Charlie Porter has crafted a debut that is not only deeply affecting but also urgently necessary. A great read for anyone who appreciate emotionally rich, character-driven stories; those interested in queer history and the AIDS crisis

This book was uncomfortable to read. It is meant to be uncomfortable. It is meant, I think, to shake us out of the ease with which we accept our lives and question what we value and what we're doing with our one wild and precious life.

Written in a style akin to Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway stream of consciousness, the protagonist dips from his current situation, frozen in time, living in a borrowed space he has carved out from the mainstream, still grieving the most important relationship of his life, back to the birth of his adulthood and the one, pivotal relationship of his life. This asks questions about queer spaces, the value of queer lives and questions the sacrifice, literal and metaphorical of the AIDS generation and what we do with that grief and loss and whether it has left any wisdom or insight behind that might allow for different spaces and ways of living to open up in future.

There is so much here to unpack. This is a beautiful, disturbing elegy of a book that paves the way for a reckoning and hope for a queerer, greener future.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Press for providing me with the eARC of this book!

“Others want us to seek comfort in forgetting. To seek solace in forgetting. To forget would be to assimilate. We live with our wounds they never close.” – P. 209.

Nova Scotia House reads like one long stream of consciousness – emotional, convoluted, panicked, resilient. While some will certainly be put off by the style of narration, it lends itself perfectly to the story being told. Johnny is stuck but also isn’t, wants to hold on to the past but also doesn’t want to get trapped, wants to move forward but doesn’t want to forget.

Nova Scotia House is a poignant story of love, community, loss and grief, injustice and perseverance. It’s a vivid display of the lives and losses of an entire generation of queer men and more than once it had me tear up and cry for the lives we’ve lost due to negligence and prejudice.
This story is also a clear rejection of assimilation, of bowing to normality and in that it brings hope, highlights the importance of building community. In our modern individualist age, it’s a stark reminder of what can be possible if you come together with your fellow human beings.

An incredible read I would recommend to everybody.

Charlie Porter's debut novel 'Nova Scotia House' is a story of love and loss set in the gay community at the time of the AIDS epidemic. Johnny was 19 when he fell in love with the much older Jerry who was HIV positiv. Johnny reflects on their relationship in an inner monologue. The stream of consciousness took a little while to get used to. In the end I found that the unusual writing style suited the atmosphere of the story. The novel gives a great insight into the gay community during that time and the sadness and hope that prevailed in those years.

This was quite a hard read for me, the style of writing is bold, barren and confronting at times. I'm assuming that the text will be a little better laid out in the final copy!

As for the novel itself, it leaves very little to the imagination so I could see many being shocked by the honesty writing. I'm definitely not the target market for this book, being a straight female. But I remember the AIDS epidemic and the impact it made on all who witnessed it, so I couldn't help but cry at certain points of the story. I felt the emotion, the overwhelming sense of grief, the immense sadness. A very powerful, if difficult, read.

A tender and moving account of queer love and life when those suffering with HIV and AIDS were stigmatised and rejected by society. This story relates a deeply personal reflection on how these harsh reactions affected the people who died from the illness, and their loved ones. The narrative runs away with itself - the lack of grammar and punctuation emphasises the voice of the author - the reader is drawn into his mind and thoughts, as if seeing the pages of a journal or listening to him talking. There is much sadness but also vivid descriptions of the hedonistic world of gay men in the late 80's/early 90's. Friendships run deep, even if many sexual encounters seem shallow and unemotional. There is hope for a brighter future at the end of the novel.

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter is a raw, powerful exploration of love, loss, and grief, set against the backdrop of the AIDS epidemic. The story follows Johnny Grant, who reflects on his life and relationship with Jerry Field. Thirty years ago, Johnny, at 19, fell in love with 45-year-old Jerry, and together they built a life at Jerry’s Nova Scotia House. Now, Johnny is alone, grappling with the void left by Jerry’s death and the changing world they once knew.

Porter beautifully captures the deep connection between Johnny and Jerry, weaving memories of radical love, sex, and friendship. Through Johnny’s journey, the book reflects on the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis on the queer community while also celebrating its creativity and resilience.

This book is intimate and visionary, offering a poignant tribute to a lost era and the enduring pain of the epidemic. Nova Scotia House is a heartbreaking yet unforgettable tale of love, loss, and the power of memories. A stunning debut from a writer with a unique and liberating voice.

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