Book Review: Greenwich Connection

Reviewed by Addison Ciuchta

An expertly woven story collection about love and identity in a fully fleshed Greenwich Village

Made up of one novella and fifteen short stories, Greenwich Connection is all set in the same world— Greenwich Village in New York—but taking place at different times. 

The novella follows Monty and Terry, both soldiers in 1944 who fall in love with each other on the battlefield. When Monty is presumed dead, Terry is left reeling in the aftermath of their brief but meaningful time together. Then a chance encounter in a parking lot sets Terry’s life in another direction. The short stories that follow take the point of view of other residents of Greenwich Village between 1944 and 2001, all of whom have their own journeys finding love and happiness as members of the LGBTQ+ community across the decades.

Each character’s story intertwines with another’s. Those set in the later years give a new perspective or resolution to those set further in the past, and each adds more depth and development to the world. A character who may play a small role in the lives of Terry and Monty may take center stage in another’s life or even get their own moment to shine as the main character of their own short story. It’s a fun and enriching way to build on a world while only giving characters glimpses into the lives of characters who feel real. The author writes with a sharp poeticism, introducing characters and their quirks in as little as one sentence before they’re endearing enough to root wholeheartedly for.

“Terry was eternally on the lookout for trouble and overjoyed when it found him.”

While it could be easy to slip into the same voice for each character, the author doesn’t fall into that trap. Each point of view is different, each struggle is unique to the character, and each love story is individual and touching in equal measure. Each character is gay or lesbian or queer, and their stories are intentional, thoughtful, and realistic. The author doesn’t shy away from hard topics either, with characters experiencing AIDS, addiction, violence, heartbreak, and tragedy. But the stories don’t tokenize or caricature anyone; each character is given their space to become their own person with flaws and dreams and a unique point of view.

“Miss Dee Andrea Monet smoothed the nylon stocking against her left calf, which still bore several almost-imperceptible welts from her childhood.”

The setting becomes a character in and of itself, especially as characters move around the same spaces in the same neighborhood but seen through different eyes. The constant interweaving of stories gives the city a lived-in feel as readers get to see it across nearly sixty years. Since the one-off character we see walking down the street or doing performance art in one story could get their own story down the line, it emits a living, breathing atmosphere to the entire neighborhood. We’re reminded that everyone in that city (and in your own) has their own lives, struggles, and identities.

“She was happy for me, but sad too because she’d seen lightning strike and knew it wasn’t going to happen twice.”

Greenwich Connection is a striking, superbly interwoven collection that rings with realism as queer characters languish, live, and love in the same neighborhood spanning six decades.

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