I spent my life doing everything I could to fight normality and where do we find ourselves. Normality. What a vic-tor-y. Dear, did you get any biscuits, I would love a biscuit.
There are biscuits, I got us biscuits.
Because of course normal men are all awful. To become one of them, to become normal, us queers need to be awful every moment of every day. (p. 55)

It's only January but I may have stumbled upon my favorite queer novel of 2025. It's hard nowadays to write fiction about the AIDS epidemic, considering that we're at remove of several of generations, ever intense neoliberal society of spectacle, and not least the newfound freedoms that have come with PrEP and other effective means of prevention. And therein lies the possibility of a contemporary politicisation of AIDS. Porter asks what we have forgotten, or rather what we have been forced to forget by trauma, by cisheterofascism, by spectacle. "To forget would be to assimilate," writes Porter (p. 209). Porter shows forms of living alongside the consumer cisheteronorm that were just beginning to emerge when the epidemic struck, and along with the personal loss of the main character, Johnny, we are also made to experience the loss of what might have been if these experiments had not only survived but thrived. An incredible novel of emotional and intellectual depth that came out of nowhere, and I'm sitting here completely blown away.

3.5 stars
A beautiful story about love, loss and grief. There were so many tender moments in this book, moments of joy and peace and anger as Johnny lives a life overshadowed by the death of Jerry. His relationship with Jerry, although it only lasted a few years, defined the rest of his life and there is so much beauty in this writing. This book gives a voice to those who were forgotten and lost during the AIDS crisis, and those who were left behind. It’s a poignant and heartbreaking story to read.

I have to admit, I did struggle a lot with the writing style. I found myself skimming sentences and having to go back and reread them to fully understand what was happening. But I also think this unique style works for this book, it acts as a continuous inner monologue of Johnny and his grief.

Charlie Porter's Nova Scotia House is an emotional powerhouse which details the AIDS crisis and how it impacts upon one man, Johnny, and his partner Jerry. The writing is strong, unique and distinctive, written from the point of view of Johnny. It is not always an easy read - as something on this subject is always going to be harrowing - but there are moments of joy and hope for life interspersed here that it's raised into something beautiful. A grand novel, and one to be savoured.

This was a very moving read. It took me a while to get used to the writing style and I found myself skimming over sentences and having to go back and read it properly. The writing style made me really have to slow down my reading. The story is heartbreaking and brutal, a true reflection of the heartbreak and brutality of the AIDS crisis. The section towards the end with the quilt was so poignant, and I was glad that the book ended how it did.

This was one of those books that I just knew was going to stay with me before I even started reading. Charlie Porter has a very unique style of writing, with its repetition and fast paced-ness I couldn’t help but devour this book.

Nova Scotia House revolves around Johnny, his partner Jerry, their fabulous friends and the abundance of love they clearly have for one another. It is also set within the time of the AIDS pandemic, showing the struggle to be heard, be seen, the judgement that was passed and the devastating impact it had on so many people’s lives.

Throughout the book Johnny reflects on his relationship with Jerry, the decline of his health and the survivors guilt he feels. We see the wonderful human Jerry is through Johnny’s POV and I absolutely loved that he stood up for what he believed in. And quite frankly, took no shit. I honestly cannot imagine the pain of seeing your loved one go through that but Charlie Porter made me feel like I was experiencing this with the characters, the emotion jumps off the page and my heart ached at so many points of the book. I felt the anger. I felt the loss and I’m in awe at Charlie Porter’s ability to capture so much in just under 250 pages.

I’m not quite sure any review I write will do this one justice. It’s definitely one you’re going to have to read for yourself. There are moments of joy and hope inter-dispersed and this book is full of love, but be prepared, it’s most likely going to break your heart.

In "Nova Scotia House," Charlie Porter tells the story of Johnny, a forty-eight year old gay man who still mourns the death of his lover Jerry. Johnny was a young college student and Jerry was a much older HIV-positive man who was dying. The novel explores what it's like to be a survivor when so many around you died from a disease that was ignored and underfunded by the government. The mere act of persevering was a form of rebellion because the government's cruelty and homophobia indicated that they did not care if you lived or died.

Charlie Porter allows Johnny to reflect on that time, and how his lover Jerry had to carve out a whole new off-the-grid identity as a type of sexual outlaw. Through Johnny's memories, we hear from Jerry himself who serves as a Professor Higgins character who initiates Johnny into how to survive in a world that is antagonistic to your very identity as a person. As readers, we understand why Johnny was so drawn to Jerry. Johnny's memory version of Jerry is of a man who never compromised his ideals to live in the world. He refused to silence himself or allow others to dictate the way his life and death should go.

Porter not only details what it was like to live as a gay man, but he connects this with the survivors. How do you deal with the guilt and the grief when you're mourning a life you could have had? A life stolen from you by a disease. Porter offers moments of grace and respite from the grieving process and survivor's guilt. As Johnny begins to come out of the pain, Porter offers a sliver of hope for the character and for readers. In a 2024 world where anti=gay attitudes are on the rise, the hope is a nice balm to all the hatred in the current world.