I’ve been reading Nazemian’s backlist books and knew I had to pick up Exquisite Things. This historical fiction is aching, tender, and heart wrenching all at once. Bring on the tears! Keep reading this book review of Exquisite Things for my full thoughts.
Summary
Shahriar believes he was born in the wrong time. All he’s ever wanted is to love and be loved, but 1895 London doesn’t offer him the freedom to be his true self, and Oscar Wilde’s trial for gross indecency has only reaffirmed that. But one night—and one writer—will grant Shahriar what he’s always wished for: the opportunity to live in a time and place where he can love freely. Rechristened as Shams and then as Bram, he finds what feels like eternal happiness. But can anything truly be eternal?
Oliver doesn’t feel that 1920s Boston gives him a lot of options to be his full self. He knows he could only ever love another boy, but that would break his beloved mother’s heart. Oliver finds freedom and acceptance in the secret queer community at Harvard that his cousin introduces him to. When he meets a mysterious boy with eyes as warm as a flame, his life is irrevocably changed, forever.
Spanning one hundred and thirty years of love and longing, this tale of immortal beloveds searching for their perfect place and time is a vibrant hymn to the beauty of being alive, a celebration of queer love and community, and a reminder that behind every tragic thing that ever existed, there is something exquisite.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Exquisite Things is a beautiful historical fiction about queer love, the ability to find friends and a home, and the power of love. It explores the oppression, the deaths, and the persecution of queer people throughout history. But it also explores the friendships which are formed throughout the danger and the love which blooms in the eye of the hurricane. This historical fiction story blends history with speculative fiction as Bram and Oliver walk throughout history. At the beginning, the time jumps are a little jarring, but if you trust the process this aching story of loss and love unfolds.
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There’s so much to unpack in Exquisite Things. Where there’s persecution, there’s also a fluttering hope. There’s the knowledge that we all want the freedom to choose our destiny. As Bram and Oliver experience these lifetimes, we witness them navigating their identity, the love which surrounds them, and the losses. We want so desperately for the world to be different. For us to be able to love freely, to live the lives of our dreams, and to be able to walk down the street hand in hand. When do we decide that fighting for that future is worth risking ourselves, our lives, our love? How can we ever live in that future if we don’t fight for it? If we don’t live?
Find Exquisite Things on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.