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Acqua Calda
As actor Gerald prepares to die from AIDS, he receives a last chance to perform in Sicily and finds himself living in Italy and falling in love with another actor when he thought he would be dying in a hospital.
- GenresFictionLGBTGay Fiction
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 19, 2026
The following reviews were written when this novel first came out:
From Kirkus Review:
'An impressive debut about an older gay actor facing mortality.
'Storywriter McDermott keenly captures Gerald, an actor and self-described “promiscuous romantic,” who looks back wryly and regretfully on a life of intermittent success, lots of sex, and no permanent relationships. Now in his mid-40s, Gerald lives in a plain studio apartment near Times Square, blocking the blare of a jukebox from the bar downstairs with a white-noise machine and trading barbs with an obese female friend. A call from eccentric, self-absorbed theater director Bill Weiss breaks Gerald’s almost stuporous isolation. Weiss wants Gerald to fly to Sicily to appear in a new play. The actor accepts, even as AIDS steadily weakens his health. He joins the company, skillfully limned by McDermott, and they’re off to work on an avant-garde piece that seems poised between innovation and pretense. (Though it’s fictional, McDermott’s narrative becomes a log that theater students could pore over; McDermott, who appeared in Equus opposite Richard Burton, gets at the concrete detail that makes up an actor’s work.) One night after rehearsal, the company goes swimming in a misty, sulfurous pool. During this sensual scene, Gerald feels strong arms embrace him from behind and turns to face a ruggedly handsome Italian actor. Gerald’s latent romanticism stirs, but only briefly, and after a furtive encounter, the two move away from a deeper relationship. Gerald’s health deteriorates further, and he faints on opening night. The stage manager orders him to his quarters to rest, but he refuses, realizing that theater—its people, words, and passion—propels his life. “Tu me colge en adrore,” he prays, quoting a line he speaks in the play: “Take me while I am in ecstasy.”
'A vivid portrait that will make many, gay or straight, feel empathy.'
From Publishers Review:
'The revitalizing power of art drives this novel by a longtime theater actor, who acquits himself well in this debut. Suffering from AIDS, middle-aged actor Gerald Barnett is pulled off his deathbed by a call from his former mentor, the famous avant-garde director William Weiss. Weiss is a world-class eccentric, self-obsessed and prone to braying periodically that his work is a "diSASter." But Gerald knows that "his years acting in Bill's company had been the best of his life," and so despite his poor health, he makes an arduous trip to Sicily for one last glorious production. Despite the hectic pace, Gerald holds up pretty well, and he's further reinvigorated by an unexpected affair with Enzo, one of the local Italian actors. At the same time, the combination of a skin condition and Gerald's own vanity cause him to forgo his medications—a decision that puts him at risk as the show nears its opening night. McDermott ably captures the heady excitement of theater life, and surrounds Gerald with an eclectic, international cast, even if many of the characters are more like cultural types than individuals. Invested with a thoughtful humanity, this novel mostly steers clear of sentimentality.'
It is rare for me to start a review with the older reviews but I can't help feeling divided about this novel. On the one hand I have wanted to read 'Aqua Calda' since reading an extract 'Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction' many years ago and having finally done so I enjoyed but I am not sure how younger readers might view it. It is very time specific in its setting - 1995 - just prior to the introduction of the new drugs which would gradually change AIDS from being a death sentence to something far less final. So it is a combined AIDS novel and a novel about acting - but also peripherally about New York. So much has changed to all those areas as to make the novel almost a historical one - but there is nothing that seems so distant as the immediate past. I respond to the novel because it is my lived past but how others respond I cannot say. My four stars may be a touch generous.
From Kirkus Review:
'An impressive debut about an older gay actor facing mortality.
'Storywriter McDermott keenly captures Gerald, an actor and self-described “promiscuous romantic,” who looks back wryly and regretfully on a life of intermittent success, lots of sex, and no permanent relationships. Now in his mid-40s, Gerald lives in a plain studio apartment near Times Square, blocking the blare of a jukebox from the bar downstairs with a white-noise machine and trading barbs with an obese female friend. A call from eccentric, self-absorbed theater director Bill Weiss breaks Gerald’s almost stuporous isolation. Weiss wants Gerald to fly to Sicily to appear in a new play. The actor accepts, even as AIDS steadily weakens his health. He joins the company, skillfully limned by McDermott, and they’re off to work on an avant-garde piece that seems poised between innovation and pretense. (Though it’s fictional, McDermott’s narrative becomes a log that theater students could pore over; McDermott, who appeared in Equus opposite Richard Burton, gets at the concrete detail that makes up an actor’s work.) One night after rehearsal, the company goes swimming in a misty, sulfurous pool. During this sensual scene, Gerald feels strong arms embrace him from behind and turns to face a ruggedly handsome Italian actor. Gerald’s latent romanticism stirs, but only briefly, and after a furtive encounter, the two move away from a deeper relationship. Gerald’s health deteriorates further, and he faints on opening night. The stage manager orders him to his quarters to rest, but he refuses, realizing that theater—its people, words, and passion—propels his life. “Tu me colge en adrore,” he prays, quoting a line he speaks in the play: “Take me while I am in ecstasy.”
'A vivid portrait that will make many, gay or straight, feel empathy.'
From Publishers Review:
'The revitalizing power of art drives this novel by a longtime theater actor, who acquits himself well in this debut. Suffering from AIDS, middle-aged actor Gerald Barnett is pulled off his deathbed by a call from his former mentor, the famous avant-garde director William Weiss. Weiss is a world-class eccentric, self-obsessed and prone to braying periodically that his work is a "diSASter." But Gerald knows that "his years acting in Bill's company had been the best of his life," and so despite his poor health, he makes an arduous trip to Sicily for one last glorious production. Despite the hectic pace, Gerald holds up pretty well, and he's further reinvigorated by an unexpected affair with Enzo, one of the local Italian actors. At the same time, the combination of a skin condition and Gerald's own vanity cause him to forgo his medications—a decision that puts him at risk as the show nears its opening night. McDermott ably captures the heady excitement of theater life, and surrounds Gerald with an eclectic, international cast, even if many of the characters are more like cultural types than individuals. Invested with a thoughtful humanity, this novel mostly steers clear of sentimentality.'
It is rare for me to start a review with the older reviews but I can't help feeling divided about this novel. On the one hand I have wanted to read 'Aqua Calda' since reading an extract 'Fresh Men: New Voices in Gay Fiction' many years ago and having finally done so I enjoyed but I am not sure how younger readers might view it. It is very time specific in its setting - 1995 - just prior to the introduction of the new drugs which would gradually change AIDS from being a death sentence to something far less final. So it is a combined AIDS novel and a novel about acting - but also peripherally about New York. So much has changed to all those areas as to make the novel almost a historical one - but there is nothing that seems so distant as the immediate past. I respond to the novel because it is my lived past but how others respond I cannot say. My four stars may be a touch generous.
March 15, 2012
Acqua Calda
By Keith McDermott
Reviewed by Alina Oswald
Do you believe in second chances? Well... if you don't, you will after reading Acqua Calda; if you do, you'll learn to appreciate life's offerings even more.
The healing effects of Acqua Calda (Italian for "pleasantly hot water") extend beyond its characters and story to touch readers' lives and offer them a fresh opportunity to reflect upon their own existence and inevitable mortality. Set in the mid-nineties-at a time when protease inhibitors were the new hope for AIDS patients--Acqua Calda offers its protagonist, Gerald-an aging, jobless, dying of AIDS actor-new hope through a journey that takes him across countries and continents, from the crowded Times Square and Gerald's lonely existence in which death is the only sure thing, to the remote Italian location, alive with the young group of actors. Along the way, Gerald rediscovers his passion for acting, the possibility of new love and the strength to hope again in a future no matter how uncertain.
Although it brings into the spotlight our own mortality, Acqua Calda interweaves the reality of living with AIDS and the adventures of theatre life, offering not only a close-up on one aspect of the pandemic but also an informative read for novice and aspiring actors. As readers, we allow the story and its characters to introduce us to the world of theatre and provide us with a detailed image of the behind-the-curtain life.
Keith McDermott's debut novel draws several parallels that help us reevaluate and improve our own existence: the therapeutic effects of "acqua calda" symbolize the effects of the new medications on AIDS patients, while Gerald's journey can identify with each of our real life expeditions in search for our own moment of sublime, of "ecstasy."
As readers, we follow in the characters' steps and experience the therapeutic effects of Acqua Calda. We have a unique chance to learn from its protagonist's experience and better appreciate life's second chances.
Review originally published in A&U Magazine--America's AIDS Magazine.
By Keith McDermott
Reviewed by Alina Oswald
Do you believe in second chances? Well... if you don't, you will after reading Acqua Calda; if you do, you'll learn to appreciate life's offerings even more.
The healing effects of Acqua Calda (Italian for "pleasantly hot water") extend beyond its characters and story to touch readers' lives and offer them a fresh opportunity to reflect upon their own existence and inevitable mortality. Set in the mid-nineties-at a time when protease inhibitors were the new hope for AIDS patients--Acqua Calda offers its protagonist, Gerald-an aging, jobless, dying of AIDS actor-new hope through a journey that takes him across countries and continents, from the crowded Times Square and Gerald's lonely existence in which death is the only sure thing, to the remote Italian location, alive with the young group of actors. Along the way, Gerald rediscovers his passion for acting, the possibility of new love and the strength to hope again in a future no matter how uncertain.
Although it brings into the spotlight our own mortality, Acqua Calda interweaves the reality of living with AIDS and the adventures of theatre life, offering not only a close-up on one aspect of the pandemic but also an informative read for novice and aspiring actors. As readers, we allow the story and its characters to introduce us to the world of theatre and provide us with a detailed image of the behind-the-curtain life.
Keith McDermott's debut novel draws several parallels that help us reevaluate and improve our own existence: the therapeutic effects of "acqua calda" symbolize the effects of the new medications on AIDS patients, while Gerald's journey can identify with each of our real life expeditions in search for our own moment of sublime, of "ecstasy."
As readers, we follow in the characters' steps and experience the therapeutic effects of Acqua Calda. We have a unique chance to learn from its protagonist's experience and better appreciate life's second chances.
Review originally published in A&U Magazine--America's AIDS Magazine.
September 11, 2014
Everyone's in Italy to put on a play, and they give new life to the phrase "theater people." One cares for Gerald, a bit, but no one else. His character needs a foil, and there is none. I came close to finishing it, but the story, what little there is, held no surprises. Who knew that "Handi-Wipes" requires a trademark superscript?
July 18, 2012
Well written book -- I read it for a student'd dissertation on AIDS in literature, and I'm especially impressed by the excellent use of acting, performance, and craft, and its relationship to the ill body. Plus. It's a damn good read.
February 7, 2009
I enjoyed the unique characters.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews