With Spring almost springing, it’s time for our next Nonchalant book review. Every month, it is so difficult to pick what to read, when so many good novels are coming out all the time, and the to-read list continues to grow exponentially.
But this choice felt like a no-brainer. For fans of the TV show, It’s A Sin, which is due to hit the stage in the form of a dance show later this year, March’s book review is on Love From The Pink Palace by Jill Nalder, on whom the character of Jill and the story of It’s A Sin are based.
Enter with caution, as an emotional rollercoaster ensues.
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What is Love From the Pink Palace about?
It’s 1984, and up until now Jill Nalder has been growing her thriving social circle of loveable characters with a mutual love for theatre and fun, a cast of talented young individuals, many of whom are young gay men who, like Jill, have moved to the city of London to pursue their dreams on the West End.
The papers have been spreading rumours of a peculiar disease making headlines in the States, something that has hitherto felt far away, warranting gentle caution for any of Jill’s friends who would be visiting the US. In a crucial time of damaging misinformation, or fatal lack thereof, with the ‘disease’ granted various names like GRID: Gay Related Immune Deficiency, American doctors finally gave the mysterious illness a real name: AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Sooner rather than later, a 1984 evening Panorama programme brings awareness of AIDS to households across the UK for the first time. Jill recounts the experience of her and her friends piecing together the information, coming to the slow realisation of how the disease spreads. Through leaflets from the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), information begins to enter Jill and her peers’ consciousness, instilling fear of what is to come.
What stands out?
Both a celebration of joy and of how precious life is, and an ode to Jill’s friends who are no longer here or those who were also on the front lines of care, advocacy and fundraising to destigmatise AIDS, this book will stay with you long after you read it, as you think of those whom Jill shared her memories of in all their vivid vitality, from theatre shows to theatrical cabaret parties created from their own imaginations and their adventurous holidays around the world, even chronicling iconic queer venues and the trailblazing drag queens of days past who inspire the city’s drag scene today. One such mention is that of David Raven, also known as Maisie Trollette, the UK’s oldest drag queen, who passed away after the book’s publication, aged 91.
But the presence of AIDS looms ever nearer, as Jill Nalder takes us on both an emotional, colourful journey through the 80s, when she first arrives at drama school in London and becomes best friends with an eclectic group of spectacular actors and personalities. When AIDS begins to take hold, we step into the tragic experience as Jill’s friends begin to battle the disease around her. But Jill’s account never loses sight of one thing: how precious each and every individual is, and how deserving they are of love.
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Our Verdict for Love From The Pink Palace
This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, but life-affirming novel that shares the intricate and vivid lives of those who were impacted by AIDS in the 80s, those who were on the front line to defy the odds and do what they could to care for those impacted during the struggle to find a cure. As much as it is an account of the wonderful people Jill lost, it is also a beautiful testament to life, to connection, to the friends she made, to the impact they had on the world, and to the legacy she earned by advocating for those she so selflessly sought to care and protect, particularly when society so brutally stigmatised the disease and the LGBTQIA+ community in light of Section 28.
An Extract from Love From The Pink Palace
“I don’t know her name and never will, but for that half hour she spent with me, she gave me advice that I have carried with me ever since. I read recently that an inheritance is what you leave behind someone, but a legacy is what you leave inside them, in their spirit. A gift of heartfelt words from an unknown person: that was her legacy to me.
The legacy of AIDS, the pandemic of forty-two years ago, continues to be inspiring, heartbreaking, and amazing for me.”
Our star rating
For more book reviews, visit our book review pages.
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