Sticky Kisses

Edmund White

Written with utter, often painful realism, Sticky Kisses is an affecting prtrayal of a family and of a larger family of friends and former lovers. Johnson is a careful observer, with a precise eye trained ruthlessly on Thom nd Abby. Their relationship is one of the most convincing portraits of a brother and sister I've read. The account of their youthful dreams checkmated by death—not only by AIDS—is unsparing and unsentimental. Without resorting to irony or a false sense of redemption, Johnson tempers loss with hope, and hope with humor.

Jim Grimsley

The pages resonate with the familiar landscape with which I grew up, the rich southern backdrop against which so many stories have been told, though none quite like this one. A family's struggle with death, aging, identity, illness, handled with grace and truth by one of the best writers we have. The fact that among its subjects are AIDS, cancer, destiny, the luck of love, the relationships that intertwine a mother and her son and daughter, simply gives you an idea of the seriousness of purpose with which Johnson has written. He is a quiet artist with a clear vision of his world, here beautifully rendered through this story of a brother and sister and their odyssey through the middle years of their lives.

Publishers Weekly

A glittery Christmas holiday season in Georgia provides the fitting backdrop for this moving, poignant portrait of a family's reconciliation, imbued with the transformative grace of forgiveness. After four years of silence, Thom Sandler, a gay man in his 30s recently diagnosed as HIV positive, contacts his sister, Abby, in Philadelphia and urges her to visit him in Atlanta, where he now lives and where they both grew up. Abby is sole caregiver to their mother, Lucille, a bitter widower who alienated Thom when she suggested that the disclosure of Thom's homosexuality somehow contributed to his father's death weeks later. Abby quickly warms to her brother's friends, especially young boyfriend Chip and the flashy, effervescent Connie. She makes romantic headway with handsome stranger Philip DeMunn, keeping the affair secret from her brother. Initially reluctant, Abby eventually adjusts to Thom's world and gains a deeper understanding of her brother's complex struggles with gay life, issues with identity and his potentially life-threatening infection. After a somewhat melodramatic group vacation in Key West, Fla., Lucille appears, lending loving support to her son during a minor bout of illness and making peace with him. Episodes from Thom's past break up the narrative, adding depth and insight to Johnson's very appealing protagonist. Johnson writes with the same winning flair and affecting poignancy that propelled his debut novel, Pagan Babies. Here, he effectively harnesses the sweeping notions of family by presenting his own take on the power of blood ties. (Oct.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Atlanta-based author Johnson (Pagan Babies, 1993; stories: I Am Dangerous, 1996) returns to familiar themes with a southern family brought together, transformed, and in part destroyed by AIDS. Thom and his sister Abby haven't spoken in four years, not since Thom exiled himself after a family incident at the time of their father's death. Thirtysomething, he now lives in Atlanta, the family's hometown. A successful realtor, Thom has recently lost his boyfriend to AIDS and is sustained by a wide circle of friends. It's a bittersweet existence, brunch and Bloody Marys on the one hand, hospital visits and anti-viral cocktails on the other. Older sister Abby, meanwhile, is a schoolteacher who lives at home with Mom in Philadelphia. Single, getting a bit frumpy and more than a bit bitter, she spends too much of her time taking care of out-to-lunch Mom and is well on her way to redefining Catholic spinsterhood for the 21st century. When Thom gets in touch to tell her he's HIV-positive, Abby takes charge. She flies to Atlanta with the intent of bringing Thom back and brokering a family reconciliation. But like a Henry James heroine on her first trip to Florence, Abby comes alive in Atlanta. After she reestablishes her intimacy with Thom, she finds herself a dark and sinister lover, a new wardrobe, a different hair-do, and several new friends. With Thom's old and Abby's new friends, they create a family of their own, and their collective tales, interrupted by gossip and drinks, laughter and occasional tears, sends the novel flying along. But the inevitable can't be avoided, and, after putting it off for months, Mom comes to visit: a scary combination of southern politeness and northern frankness,she pulls the story together. Her presence sends it ricocheting between family memories and the troubled present. The odd reunion, however imperfect and inarticulate it may be, bathes the closing pages in love and sadness. Witty, poignant, and true.