Now and Yesterday

by Stephen Greco

"An often poignant, and sometimes chilling, romance of the creative class." --Edmund White

In the three decades since Peter first moved into his Brooklyn apartment, almost every facet of his life has changed. Once a broke, ambitious poet, Peter is now a successful advertising executive. He's grateful for everything the years have given him--wealth, friends, security. But he's conscious too of what time has taken in return, and a busy stream of invitations doesn't dull the ache that remains since he lost the love of his life.


Will is a young, aspiring journalist hungry for everything New York has to offer--culture, sophistication, adventure. When he moonlights as a bartender at one of Peter's parties, the two strike up a tentative friendship that soon becomes more important than either expected. In Peter, Will sees the ease and confidence he strives for, while Peter is suddenly aware of just how lonely his life has become. But forging a connection means navigating very different sets of experience and expectations, as each decides how to make a place for himself in the world--and who to share it with.


Beautifully written, warm yet incisive, Now and Yesterday offers a fascinating exploration of two generations--and of the complex, irrefutable power of friendship--through the prism of an eternally changing city.


"Greco slides a slice of American gay culture under the literary microscope... With his gift for observation and turns of phrase...Greco offers a book about big ideas rather than ideas about gay life; about the depths and importance of friendship; about money and power; about the need for love and sex; and about a man s moral relationship to who he is and what he does. Greco has written a life-affirming yet melancholy, John O'Hara like analysis of post-baby-boom-meets-millennial-queer Big Apple society." Kirkus Reviews on Now And Yesterday

Genres: Fiction, Gay

458 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Stephen Greco is Editorial Director of InsideRisk and Editor-at-Large of the magazine Upstate Diary. He has contributed to and/or served as editor for Air Mail, Elle Décor, Interview, MTV online, New York, the New York Times, Opera News, Stagebill, Trace, and the Village Voice, among others. Greco is author of the novel Now and Yesterday (Kensington, 2014). His most recent novel, Such Good Friends, based on the friendship of Truman Capote and Lee Radziwill, published by Kensington in May, 2023.

For the stage, Greco has written Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood, an orchestral-theatrical work from Giants Are Small, the partnership of Edouard Getaz and Doug Fitch, that premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2017. With Fitch, Greco has written the multi-media works How Did We…? (2014; University of Buffalo Center for the Arts) and Punkitititi/Breakfast Included (2020; Salzburg Marionette Theater, Salzburg Mozarteum). Greco wrote the libretto for the Victoria Bond opera How Gulliver Returned Home in a Manner that was Very Not Direct, and is working on musical theater projects with composers Scott Wheeler and Douglas Cuomo.

Among the celebrity interviews that Greco has done for various publications are Maya Angelou, Geoffrey Beene, Joan Juliet Buck, Trisha Brown, DJ Cam, Wes Craven, Quentin Crisp. Merce Cunningham, Diane von Furstenberg, Frank Gehry, Allen Ginsberg, Marcelo Gomes, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Cynthia Gregory, Arianna Huffington, Patti LuPone, Gelsey Kirkland, Spike Lee, Marilyn Minter, Errol Morris, Jane Moss, Nana Mouskouri, Mark Morris, Mike Nichols, Yoko Ono, Sir Peter Pears, Ned Rorem, Andre Leon Talley, Donald Trump, and Kehinde Wiley.

Greco lives in Brooklyn, New York.


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AUTHOR PHOTO BY DAVID A. PEREZ

Reviews

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original review can be found at http://kristineandterri.blogspot.ca/2...

I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

This book was different from what I have read before. That is a good thing. I always like to get lost in the pages of something that I am not very familiar with. Now and Yesterday took me into the gay community with Peter as he struggles with past and present.

There is a good story here with good writing but it took a long time to get there. It started out slow and I found it took a long time to catch my interest. With the slow start I found that I was indifferent to both Peter and Will and they both came across a little boring. I did however plug through it because I always see a book through to the end and it did eventually improve.With a little more editing and a few pages removed I think this book could go from good to great. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the pacing of this novel, but it's not for everyone. Those who prefer a fast-paced plot may lose interest. I enjoyed the nuances, the details, and the layers of psychological interest, both large and small. The characters are complex and likable, the settings nicely crafted, and the prose intelligent. This is a book I'll likely reread in the future.

[Bumblebee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend it for the relationships between the characters and for anyone interested in the subject matter. I skimmed over a lot of redundant pontificating from the author about the nature of adulthood and love and age and culture etc. That was all quite dry. If it were half as long, it would be a much better book. The conversations between the protagonist and his sick friend felt like the most genuine and compelling scenes in the book.

[Andrew Chidzey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel - and really wanted to give it 4 stars however I felt that it just went on for about 100 pages too long. Whilst I enjoyed the characters of Will and Peter I felt that overall the ending of this story was very "Hollywood" which detracted from the depth Greco had built into these individuals. I also thought much more could have been revealed about Jonathon - his life and layers. His death and memorial felt rushed which detracted from the quality of the book.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally well written book about two very different gay men negotiating a romance. It is realistic and heartfelt plus a big of a fairy tale for those of us who don't belong to the gay A list!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

goes beyond the romance tropes and takes a close look at the motives and memories of several generations. painfully relatable but ultimately emotionally rewarding.

[Charlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.

Buried somewhere in there is a good book. However, the author's tendency to either spend pages on descriptions or in Peter's musings detracts from finding it.

The basic story is that Peter, a 59 year old ad executive, has not had a serious relationship in 10 years. His first long term relationship ended with the death of his partner from AIDS, and the second due to the partner's drug use. Will, a 28 year old catering bartender is fairly new to NYC and still searching for his own career. Peter is attracted to Will and Will is attracted to Peter...maybe. It takes forever for both the reader and Will to know what Will is feeling.

In much of GLBT lit the plot is loosely held together between sex scenes. That is definitely not the case here. Frankly, some sex scenes might have made the plot move along better. Peter & Will share some chaste pecks on the cheek and a touch here & there.

There are two sub-stories that were actually more interesting than the will they/won't they relationship between Peter & Will. One is Peter's being forced to work on an ad campaign for a man whose politics & ideas are in opposition to his. The other is Peter's long time friend Jonathan's battle with cancer.

Unfortunately, they become mired in the drawn out story of Peter & Will's possible relationship. So, again, had the 444 pages of the book been pared down and less time spent on what seemed somewhat self indulgent ramblings on the author's part there was the possibility of a terrific book. I understand that the author was trying to fill in Peter's point of view or references as to where he started out and where he ended up but I often felt myself mentally going yadda, yadda, yadda and wishing he would just get going with the story.

[Carol MacInnis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book from a contest on Goodreads.

Peter & Harold were together for 17 years until Harold's death. Now at age 59 Peter is now single and very successful as an advertising executive. After a year, Peter began dating and he did find another 'love' that lasted 9 years until 'Nick' was more interested in his drugs and alcohol. Peter would like nothing more than to find his 'soul mate'.

Will is a part-time bartender/waiter who just arrived in New York from L.A. and is looking for a permanent job in journalism, i.e. magazine editing. Will is almost 30 years old and is currently living with his friend whom he thinks of as a sister, Luz.

Peter's first encounter with Will was while Will was at his dear friend, Jonathan's party at his home and Will was bartending. Sometime later, Peter is hosting a party at his home for his employees at his ad agency and he asks Jonathan for Will's number to contact him to bartender Peter's event. At the party, Peter notices Will as he flowed confidently from person to person and was extremely friendly and amiable. Peter was impressed and somewhat excited with this young man so he asked Will if he would join him on occasion to some of the functions he attends. Peter was happy that Will accepted.

As time goes on, Peter often confided in Jonathan his sadness of being single and not knowing if he will get over the 'love of his life' Harold. He queries whether he's not ready, or accepting or frightened or what. How will Peter ever find a mate that will help to move on with his life and live happily ever after and still not feel that he is betraying Harold.

A poignant story of how one loses that special someone in his life who he shared 17 years of their lives together. Is he able to find space in his heart for a new love.

[Hilcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read original,complete review at Impressions of a Reader

I love books that explore generational differences through intimate relationships and the effects those differences may or may not have on the individuals. Stephen Greco's Now and Yesterday in-depth exploration of aging and the evolution of relationships through queer history from the 70's gay revolution to current times, partly met my personal expectations of this novel.

Through Peter's character, Greco focuses the romance aspect of his novel on struggles faced by survivors of an aging boomer generation of gay men who lost its vast majority to the AIDS epidemic, limiting choices to those looking for a meaningful relationship to a much-reduced group of contemporaries or men from a much younger generation. Additionally, because Peter's portrayal is largely anchored to the past, it affords Greco the opportunity to incorporate 70's post Stonewall queer liberation details and its resulting history through the same character.

Greco's novel touched a few unexpected chords. I love the frankness and truth that comes across through his character's musings on aging, as well as how tightly he weaves in the impact, cost and effect of recent queer history. On the other hand, I found the proffered views about the younger generation of gay men to be somewhat bogged down by retro thinking and a tendency toward generalization in their portrayals. Regardless, Now and Yesterday is unquestionably a beautiful piece of writing infused with nostalgia and multiple layers that deserve a reader's time to properly dissect and process.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this made me feel like I was trapped in that "American Dad" episode featuring Leslie Jordan as an insufferably wealthy, eccentric NYC gay named Beauregard. If you get the reference, hopefully that'll tell you everything you need to know about this novel.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

**Received via Goodreads - Firstreads in exchange for an honest review.**

So far I'm having a difficult time getting drawn into the story. I find myself asking "who IS that?" every time the narrator goes off on a tangent about some character who doesn't seem to be advancing the story line. At 70 pages in I still don't see much of a plot forming though, just a series of tangents and some awkward/stunted dialogue.

*update*
I've finished now, but felt I had to force myself to keep reading, certainly not a page-turner. The ending...wasn't very satisfying, whatever slow plodding plot there was seemed to lose its momentum and the book just stopped.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from a contest though Goodreads .
Now and yesterday written by STEPHEN GRECO
Is a well written book about Peter finally facing that he was afraid to love again after such a great loss and to open his heart up to new beginnings and find love again and to accept that with deep love you have to accept all that life hands you . And will realizing the difference between real feelings and just pleasure . Paul finds that connection with Will even with the age difference both men bring to each other richness of their personal life experience . Like yin and yang are peter and will .
STEPHEN GRECO is Exceptional author !

[Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of this charming book appeared in Chelsea Station Magazine recently. I was especially happy to be asked to review it, since the assignment gave me the opportunity to be introduced to something I might not have found otherwise. http://www.chelseastationmagazine.com...

[Jerry Delaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little longer than needs be, and sometimes the characters seem to declaim rather than converse. I am thinking of passages as the phone call from Jonathan when Peter is in the drugstore.

There was enough interest in the characters to keep me going but it too often felt like the author was rewriting life to make it come out a way that will satisfy him for a change.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting picture of an era. Definitely not for everyone, but I found it to be a fascinating insiders look at a culture that I don't know much about. And also, an interesting look at the psychology of aging.

[Jayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Goodreads First Reads for a copy.

3.5 of 5 stars.

[Lorri Steinbacher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book, but I felt that it took too long to get where it was going.

[Dianne Bowler]

Very nice love story of two men in majorly different times