Gotta say, I just LOVE an unlikable and semi-unreliable narrator.

Finished this wildly quick and have been recommending it to everyone. Right up my street; queer, fast paced, funny, a little dark, and intensely honest.

Well written and smart.

I devoured this book. Two sittings. It was intense. Gordon's story of wanting more was so beautifully wrought by Grattan in this tale moored to the liminal year of 2001. Gordon, a dropout on so many levels, gets the chance to see beyond his impoverished Midwest upbringing into the upper echelon of gay society. What he finds there was such a gut wrenching tale of self-realization that I caught myself wincing multiple times throughout the pages.

Gordon is not sympathetic. Gordon makes dumb missteps and bonehead decisions about friends, family, and acquaintances. Gordon is all of us, or at least me, when I was younger—at least in small ways that make his character one that I could ultimately empathize with.

Grattan weaves a tale where the final section feels like a triumphant parade despite being quiet in its revelatory glory. I loved this book, and will certainly be reading Grattan's works for the years to come. Five stars.

The concept of this novel was soo interesting to me. It's a heavy book that leaves you with a lot to digest... a book hangover is inevitable. I thought Gordan was insufferable. I enjoyed the author's writing style.

This was SUCH a compelling read. I love books where gay characters are shown to be complex and complicated, and Gordon is that and more. I truly feel like this will become a queer literature classic.

In Tongues by Thomas Grattan is a refreshing take on the classic post-college journey, following Gordon, a young man from the Midwest who moves to New York City to find his footing. With no grand life plan, Gordon ends up working as a dog walker before landing a job as a personal assistant to an eccentric older gay couple in the art world. His life is filled with humorous, sometimes awkward moments as he navigates work, relationships, and the realities of living in the city.

What sets In Tongues apart is its subtle approach to storytelling; Grattan skips the typical dramatic revelations and forced self-discovery arcs. Instead, the story unfolds naturally, offering an authentic, slice-of-life perspective that feels relatable and down-to-earth. Gordon's experiences feel like genuine snapshots of life, making readers connect with him as he learns and grows at his own pace. With well-drawn characters, unexpected turns, and a deeply earned emotional punch at the end, In Tongues is a gentle yet powerful story about finding one’s way in the world without rushing the process. It’s a perfect read for anyone looking for a heartfelt, thoughtful narrative on life’s little moments and the beauty of unplanned paths.

Despite its cover, “In Tongues” is pretty toothless. A young gay man travels from Minnesota to Manhattan for all the cliche reasons, meets and befriends a lesbian bartender, and winds up walking dogs for a wealthy art-dealing gay couple. There’s lots of sexual tension and commentary on class, some of which is fun to read in the beginning. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go anywhere interesting. As the narrative expands beyond New York, it stagnates. The bulk of the story takes place in 2001, but there is little to indicate that save for the occasional reference to outdated technology and one obvious plot point. The novel lacks a real sense of place. Rather than interrogate the social politics of the early aughts New York art and queer worlds, Grattan opts for a neutered version of the city and a novel that doesn’t contend with much.

The character development here is some of the most uneven I’ve read in recent fiction. The protagonist’s identity kept shifting to fit the demands of the story at a given point. The dialogue was also clunky and stilted, devolving into banal lines like: “I guess I didn’t want to be found.” The novel wanted to be both ironic and sentimental, but it ended up just being bland and forgettable.

Thanks to NetGalley and MCD for the ARC.

I loved this book! Evolved so much beyond the premise and delivered fascinating characters and so many heartfelt moments. Highly recommend.

I loved how this book was able to navigate Gordon's interior life with a sense of immediacy but also perspective, as the book slaloms between life in New York in 9/11 and an older and wiser protagonist looking back on his life in his twenties. Would love to see this adapted for stage or screen.

I absolutely adored Thomas Grattan's debut novel "The Recent East" so I was thrilled to see that he was working on a new book covering completely different ground. I would add "In Tongues" to the recommended list of coming out/bildunsgromans - this is a slice of life novel about the trials and tribulations of a newly single, freshly arrived city slicker who comes to NYC from Minnesota with wide eyes and an empty dance card. Gordon is eager and open minded and takes on a series of gigs that end up with him being a dog walker (hence the cover art) for a wealthy art couple with whom he forms a complicated and somewhat opportunistic relationship. We follow Gordon through his early aughts adventures cycling through different jobs, lovers, friends and possible futures. Grattan's writing is effervescent and wonderful to read. Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this fantastic sophomore novel ahead of publication.

I love a meandering literary fiction read about messy queer people, and this one absolutely delivered.

The story centers around a young gay man who moves to New York City and begins working for – and then becomes increasingly, complicatedly entangle with – a wealthy older gay couple. It’s gorgeously written and some of the emotions represented are so visceral they’re actually difficult to read; in particular, there’s a scene where the narrator recalls a childhood interaction between himself and his father, during a snowy walk, that was so startlingly real I actually had to put the book down for a bit.

Highly, highly recommended to anyone who enjoys this genre and likes stories focused around character more than plot. I will keep a close eye on Grattan's future work.

Engaging coming-of-age tale of a young gay man's recollections of love, grief, sex, and class distinctions in early-aughts New York. This is the first Thomas Grattan novel I've read, and I was immediately taken by the ease of his prose and willingness to craft a main character like Gordon. He's a knotty, insufferable contraption of neediness, sarcasm, defensiveness, and petulance, but I constantly rooted for him to get his shit together, the sooner the better. Nevertheless, in this type of narrative, it's as much about the journey as the destination, and this journey will take him from Minnesota to Manhattan to Switzerland to Germany to Mexico City to Houston to Wisconsin, with many detours of seedy sexual encounters, professional blunders, and familial discord along the way. The latter issue really takes center stage in the last part of the book, where Gordon confronts his estranged, ailing father who's found both religion and inescapable homophobia. Gordon's quest for father figures (and for that matter, maternal figures too, with a carelessly flippant mother) grounds the entire work, particularly with a pair of rich art-collectors that Gordon works for, the professional and personal interwoven so messily. There's also a steamy affair with an aloof Czech painter, and too many other one-night-stands to count. I might have left this wanting a more revelatory conclusion for Gordon's story, ditching the wonky framing device, and having more memorable characters surround his orbit. His touching relationship with lesbian barkeep BFF, Janice, was a clear standout, but most of the time, it felt like she was a trendy accessory and not fully formed. My attention never wavered reading this work though, so for that reason, I'd gladly pursue other works from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for ARC access.

This story was profoundly beautiful, raw, and melancholic. "In Tongues" unfolds as a journey of self-discovery and reckoning, a coming-of-age narrative about understanding oneself and the gradual construction of one's life through actions. I was captivated by the flawed, complex characters and their relationships, which ranged from superficial and cold to deeply meaningful and enduring.

Gordon’s bond with Philip was a heartwarming and surprising element; their time together in Europe as the Twin Towers fell and their stolen moments years later moved me to tears. Their deep platonic intimacy embodied the love, care, and understanding that many of us long for. In many ways, Philip became the father figure Gordon needed—a role his own father had abandoned in favor of religion and homophobia long before.

"In Tongues" is a masterpiece—captivating and emotional with exquisitely crafted prose. I’m left utterly speechless.

In Tongues was a really interesting and engaging read. I appreciated the character exploration and would read more from Grattan.

I didn't think I would like this as much as I did, but something about the main character just reeled me in. He seemed like he had a little more autonomy in his decision making than I would have expected given the circumstances, and that made the life he experienced over the course of the book to be that much more interesting. The nuances within his relationships, too, were engrossing—the push and pull of his relationship with the older couple, the two-sided neediness of his commitment to his friends, even the power explored within his relationship with his family over the course of the book all served to add dimension to a relatively meandering character study.

I think this book would be a good fit for readers of Sarah Winman, Paul Mendez or Nicola Dinan.

Thank you to FSG for the opportunity to read and review!

While enjoying* this read, I swung between feeling it was slow and desultory, and that it was sensitive and insightful. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There’s a lot of ‘and then’ to the narration, often without much sense of underlying matter. Gordon’s slowly emerging identity is fairly conventional, yet at times there are small shafts of insight or real emotion, notably in a late conversation about queerness with his father. There’s humor here too, and a nice line in description.
All in all, an intelligent and absorbing but not exactly galvanizing piece of work. We’ll see where Grattan goes next.

In 2001, fresh off a recent breakup from his boyfriend, Gordon takes the bus from Minnesota, where he grew up, to New York City to begin a new life. For Gordon, New York is equal parts terrifying and enthralling. As he gradually begins to build a community, he gets a job walking the dogs of wealthy New York residents. Two of his clients turn out to be a couple who are art gallery owners, and they incorporate Gordon into their lives and social circle. But Gordon soon comes to see that things are not always what they appear from the outside, and that this stage of life may be more ephemeral than he would have suspected.

This was a touching, and often heartbreaking, coming of age story. The author effectively captures the struggles and joys of this particular period of young adulthood.

Highly recommended.

I adored this book.

Following Gordon, an early 20s gay man navigating the brand new-to-him city of New York in the early 2000s, we see him deal with a breakup, loneliness, new friendships, a complicated relationship with his parents and a job walking dogs for a wealthy, connected Manhattan couple with whom he becomes entangled —and who also likely helps shape the trajectory of his life.

While I can't relate to being a young gay man, I sure could relate to the messy excitement of young adulthood. And there was lots of that in the story. There were a multitude of mistakes, a mix of naivety and ambition and a search for identity, belonging and connection. I loved the themes of art, navigating a life that is so different than your own, growing and evolving, dynamics around class and complicated families.

I even teared up at the end and that hasn't happened in I don't know how long.

Highly recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to @fsgbooks and @netgalley for the advance copy. You can get your hands on this one now.

I love a slice of life novel. We follow Gordon on his journey into adulthood and the connections he makes along the way. As he navigates life long friendships and self sabotage.

The pool in the snow. IYKYK

Beautiful real human interactions.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher!!

In Tongues is the coming of age story of Gordon, a young gay man who is living aimless and ends up in New York. There he meets people who will become his friends for the rest of his life. Gordon gets a job as a dog walker and meets Philip and Nicola, a gay rich couple who own and run an art gallery. Shortly after meeting them he is offered to be their personal assistant, which he accepts and opens the doors to a lifestyle he could only dream of. After some reckless actions including affairs, stealing and throwing parties at his bosses' house, he is fired and left aimless once again. I loved the writing, it was funny and entertaining and deep at times. I particularly enjoyed the chapters placed in Mexico City, how is described as a vibrant city full of culture, which it actually is. I really liked the ending and how Gordon's life turned out.

This was incredibly beautiful, raw, real, and deeply melancholic. We are following Gordon as he relives the wild days of his youth, the time he hopped on a bus after a breakup and ended up in New York alone, heartbroken, and yearning for connection. Gordon's unease, loneliness, and drive to feel seen and be loved are so intense they eclipse anything as paltry as safety or common sense. He's self-absorbed and a bit mean and reckless to a fault, but he's also caring and earnest and eager.

We watch as he meets his best friend, Janice, quits his first job in the city, and gets hired as a dog walker for a wealthy gay couple—opening up doors he didn't even know existed.

What follows is a journey and a reckoning, coming of age and coming to terms with who you are and how your actions build your life, bit by bit.

I loved the flawed, sharp, messy characters and the relationships that ranged from perfunctory and cold to deeply realized and enduring.

His relationship with Philip was such a pleasant and wholesome surprise; their time together in Europe as the Twin Towers fell and their stolen moments a decade later made me weep. What they had was such a deep platonic intimacy, a love and care and understanding we all hope to find. In many ways, Philip replaced Gordon's father, something that Gordon deeply needed - his father having passed away in spirit, if not in body, many years before, and ultimately choosing his religion over his son in a final burst of homophobia.

In Tongues was a tour de force—engrossing and emotional with so many beautiful pockets of prose. I've been struck dumb.


Representation: MC is gay, his roommate and best friend is a lesbian, her girlfriend is a lesbian (mention of their eventual transition briefly on page), he works for a gay couple, gay sex on the page

Trigger/Content Warnings: drug use, sexual harassment, neglect, homophobia, child abuse, corporal punishment, infidelity, fatal car crash, child death, misogyny