If you’ve been fortunate enough to make it to be “middle-aged” then you’ve also at some point probably dealt with at least some anxiety about aging and questioning your purpose in life. For queer people, these feelings can be compounded by the fact that many don’t necessarily tally their lives by traditional mainstream milestones like getting married and having children — not to mention the particular pressure gay men often feel to remain young, fit, and sexually viable.
In his exciting debut novel I Make Envy on Your Disco, Tony-winning Broadway producer Eric Schnall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Fleabag) takes us back to the early 2000s, following 37-year-old art advisor Sam Singer who’s feeling stifled by his partner and predictable life in New York City. The story kicks into high gear when Sam flies to Berlin for a gallery opening, where he finds the once-divided city also going through its own sort of rebirth; past and present colliding and combining to create a palpable new energy.
Over the course of a few days against a backdrop of Berlin’s graffiti-stained streets, candlelit cafés, and techno clubs, Sam contemplates his life and purpose. And of course, meets some interesting characters along the way — like “lonely wannabe DJ” Jeremy, local artist Kaspar, with whom Sam feels immediate sexual chemistry, and Magda, the cool-headed and mysterious hotel manager.
I Make Envy on Your Disco is a fun, fresh, and surprisingly hopeful take on the classic mid-life crisis tale. Star of stage and screen and the Emmy-winning host of Peacock’s Traitors Alan Cumming said the book, which won the Barbara DiBernard Prize in Fiction, is “a love letter to Berlin, to travel, and to saying yes to life.” Ultimately, it’s about the journey of letting go of who you thought you were supposed to be in life and becoming and embracing the person you truly want to be.
I Make Envy on Your Discois now available at most major booksellers, including the recently released audiobook narrated by actor Charlie Carver (Ratched, The Boys in the Band).
Actor Charlie Carver, narrator of the audibook version of 'I Make Envy on Your Disco'Instagram @charliecarver