Dear Mustafa

by Steven Damron

A love that rises with the ashes of the fallen towers and stretches across time.

Peter finds his late lover’s AIDS journal on the eve of his New York City gallery debut, a journal filled with letters from Rano to a son named Mustafa. The journal’s revelation of Mustafa paralyzes Peter’s professional and private lives. What other secrets will the journal reveal? The trauma of a near-death experience on 9/11 compels Peter to scour Rano’s journal for the clues he needs to paint again … and to love.

Peter has company. His art dealer, Erica, must convince her brainy ex to salvage Rano’s brilliant Internet research. Brice must resolve his feelings for Peter and Rano, and for his own curtailed creative career. Immigrant-turned-millionaire Linh must reconcile with her family. As the first anniversary approaches, the collector Thomas waits to see how Peter will honor 9/11, and with whom.

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!
It's a captivating story that touches upon so many topics like HIV, racism, war, discrimination, the early internet, art, ...
Very enjoyable read. 100% recommended.

[Kerry | KerryGetsLiterary · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the eve of his art gallery debut in New York City, Peter comes across his late boyfriend's journal, where he chronicled his experience and decline with HIV and later, AIDS. In Rano's journal, Peter discovers secrets Rano never revealed, with the most shocking and notable being that Rano was writing to his son, Mustafa, in Algeria. Since reading this astonishing news, and narrowly escaping the tragic terrorist attacks on 9/11 in New York, Peter has been experiencing art block and has been stuck regarding his creativity and ability to paint. Over the course of a year, we follow Peter attempt to reconcile his past with Rano, unpack and analyze his own guilt and trauma, and explore the possibility of a new love, with the help of a few friends along the way.

Dear Mustafa, set in the midst of the AIDS crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s in the US, as well as the post-9/11 New York, is an authentic and raw expedition of personal journey and discovery, grief, and healing, while touching on themes of racism, war, technology, and art. It very much reminded me of Rebecca Makkai's The Great Believers, but better. What Believers lacked, Dear Mustafa carried.

This book had a lovely balance of the art world and Peter's personal strife. The art was the perfect amount, and the description of the exhibit toward the end sounded like something that would be truly cool to see. The author's writing was compelling and the reader will be able to empathize with Peter and Rano in their different struggles. While I did find some of the dialogue to be a little odd and repetitive, overall the characters were well developed and realistic, with real flaws and the need for growth. The side characters also played pivotal roles in the story and in Peter's journey, while simultaneously dealing with their own personal issues. I want more Linh!

I enjoyed the entire story, but my favorite parts were Rano's letters to his son, Mustafa. They were so personal, honest, raw, and dripping with Rano's love and desire to find Mustafa and meet in person.

The author was a witness to the AIDS epidemic and a New Yorker at the time of 9/11, and it shows. Damron takes care when writing about these delicate topics, and as a fellow New Yorker who also vividly remembers 9/11, I appreciated the careful attentiveness in his work.

Dear Mustafa is a lovely debut that will captivate readers and leave them thinking about the characters long after turning the last page.

Thank you to Reedsy Discovery for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Jill Rey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother started her nursing career in the 80s during the height of the AIDS epidemic in San Fransico. At a time when much was still unknown about the disease, and many heterosexual providers were fearful of coming in contact with such a disease. I grew up hearing the stories of my mom going to the bath houses on Castro Street, testing men, being the shoulder they cried on when tests came back not in their favor, and holding their hand as they absorbed it all. Maybe it was this that drew me to “Dear Mustafa,” which too took place in San Fransisco, as Peter remained the surviving partner after AIDS took his only true relationship from him. Or maybe it was the gorgeous cover that draws you in to the incredible story housed within.

I wasn’t prepared for how much this book would shake me. Woven amidst the backdrop of the creation of Peter’s art, the artistic block he’s finding himself in, and his first New York gallery show, are the brutal realities of AIDS. From the ashes of sadness, betrayal from the secrets Rano kept in his journal, and the life altering events of losing your partner, and then nearly your life a decade later on 9/11, emerges this beautifully enchanting story that captivates the reader. “Dear Mustafa” stuns readers with the strikingly layered, nuanced, and engrossing way in which these stories intertwine.

A decade after the loss of his partner, Rano, Peter uncovers the journal Rano kept. Amidst his art studio, Rano’s journal sends reverberating quakes through Peter’s present-day life. Oscillating between Peter and the absence of Rano from his life to Rano’s journal for the son he’s never met, Mustafa, the intricacies and delicacies of life play across the page. Author Steven Damron does such a phenomenal job weaving the complexities of life within the cast of characters and supporting characters that encompass this significantly powerful read.

Damron incorporates two momentous events in American history, the AIDS epidemic and 9/11, and pens such an impressively moving story around them, leaving readers emotionally changed in ways they couldn’t have anticipated. “Dear Mustafa” stands in a league of its own, against the backdrop of powerfully changing times, this is the story of one man, and the ways in which his life was changed forever.

[Francis Potter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides nuanced and fascinating characters, amazing storytelling, and a compelling series of thought-provoking topics, the book deals with time and location in interesting ways. To those of us living in San Francisco or New York during and around the 1990s, the precision of the narrative has even deeper meaning. Damron names the cafes and subway lines that evoke powerful memories. He frames his story around two public catastrophes – the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and the fall of the twin towers in 2001 – then calls our attention to the slower-burning catastrophe that tied them together: the epidemic that ravaged our lives and stole our friends. Yet this is far more than just a “book about AIDS”. As for social issues, it deals with global homophobia, the struggles of immigrants, the dissonance of sudden wealth, the legacy of the Vietnam conflict, racism, drug addition, sex, and the struggles of artists. On art particularly, “Dear Mustafa” educates us on the challenges and highlights of related professions. Despite all their struggles, the characters exhibit a graceful dignity alongside their despair, and leave us rooting for them until the last page.

[Erin J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Damron’s Dear Mustafa is a deeply moving debut that beautifully explores grief, love, and healing against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and post-9/11 New York. With vivid characters, heartfelt storytelling, and the poignant letters from Rano to his son Mustafa, Damron crafts a story that lingers long after the last page. A compelling and thoughtful read that will resonate with LGBTQ fiction readers and beyond.

[Alison Ehara-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written, profound story that weaves together so many issues and so much humanity. It touched me deeply. I love the way Steve together the stories of a variety of characters around the profound love between two gay men during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

May it be read by many!!!

Excellent book!

[Mx Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of things that makes Dear Mustafa such an important book to read is that these stories need to be told. There are not enough books with characters who are afflicted with HIV or AIDS. Grief is raw on the page which can be so helpful to those going through the process so they realize that they are not alone. There is a light at the end of the book and that is just as important as the whole mourning process. Steven Damron grabs us by hand and drags us through love, loss, and breathing again in Dear Mustafa. I’m so glad that I got to read this book.

Thank you to the Author for putting this book in #KindleUnlimited otherwise I could not have afford to read it. Thanks again!