HOUSEMATES by Emma Copley Eisenberg was not at all what I expected--the novel is far more complex and distinctly "queer" than the book's description suggests. The first part of the book, where an older artist watches Bernie and Leah, giving the reader an impression of two lovers that is then revealed to be an assumption, a not-yet-truth, is such a playful exploration of point-of-view and how we "read" what see through our own lens. It's a perfect introduction to "seeing" and perspective as Bernie and Leah embark upon their roadtrip and project.

After the first part, the narrator didn't quite work for me. I wasn't sure what her purpose as the narrator was, even though the parallels between her story with her deceased lover "The Housemate" and the story of Leah and Bernie. It definitely added a layer of identity and acted as layered lens through which she viewed everything. It's worth a second read. Does the narrator of HOUSEMATES "queer" the role of narrator? How many different ways do we have of seeing Leah and of seeing Bernie--and of seeing Leah & Bernie--do we have in these pages?

Overall, HOUSEMATES is a fascinating read, a grounded look at what "living" can mean today. The people living in the house as Bernie moves in are very complex and well written. I especially appreciated the exploration of privilege and activism and the idea of "safety" through the specific housemates.

Very raw and impressive, the entirety of the book felt genuine. I didn’t know about Berenice Abbott and Elizabeth McCausland and their Changing New York series before reading it, but Housemates was firmly planted around 2016. The omnipresent narrator didn’t quite work for me and I’m not sure if it was meant to echo the real people who inspired the story, but it didn’t add enough to be worth it. Parts were overwhelming and it seemed like nearly every possible issue had to be addressed, but the overall story was subtle and I think it’s the type of book that can linger and the more you think about it, the more it grows. I appreciated how large the cast of characters was while still managing to make them seem unique and real. Overall, I enjoyed the experience of reading it.

Housemate by Emma Copley Eisenberg is an intriguing and thought provoking read. It is a beautiful and sensual look at life, love and art. It is a story written about a time in life where Covid, BLM, LGBTQ + and much more were under turbulent strike. the story is about our main characters Leah and Bernie who go on a road trip together to make art and most hidden to find themselves. These are two lovably flawed post grad students that are easy to relate to. Just as well, the side characters are complex and interesting, which is an all time favorite of mine. This boo brings forward a lot representation from different gender identities, races/ethnicities, socioeconomically backgrounds, etc. It is the type of story that more than anything makes you think and wonder about the world we live in today and just how much societies norms affect us. It is a story of heart but also humour which is wonderful and brings light to the book. It was a great balance of fun, funny, adventure, thought, and sensuality.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for an advance copy of Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg.

Adored this novel. It was real and it was raw. It was topical and relevant and these are the types of books that need to be published more frequently.

I found this to be well-written and wonderfully captivating. The author has the ability to make the character's come alive and make their feelings overwhelm the reader. Brilliant paced and told with a sensitive style.

Housemates is a loose, contemporary reimagining of Berenice Abbott and Elizabeth McCausland's artistic partnership for their Changing New York series. But in this case, the series is Changing Pennsylvania and our protagonists are Bernie, the photographer, and Leah, the writer.

We follow Bernie and Leah through the eyes of an older photographer navigating a delayed period of depression some years after the loss of her partner, referred to only as "The Housemate." The narrator's life is a faded echo of the women she observes. Her own history is transposed against their present – a photographer, a writer, a love weighed unevenly.

The story spans the 2016 election to the pandemic years of COVID-19. Movements surge and recede from the foreground: MeToo, Black Lives Matter, Queer rights, Israeli-Palestinian tension. Despite moments of sharp commentary on wealth, race, and gender politics, I found myself curiously adrift, much like the narrator. Leah and Bernie’s world is our world, but there were rooms in Housemates I couldn't enter—always an outsider peering in.

Despite my frustration, there was something about this story that carried me through to the end. Like the narrator, I didn’t want to say farewell to Bernie and Leah just yet. I wanted to stay with them, to be a little closer to the heart of things. Maybe this distancing effect was part of Eisenberg’s commentary on the nature of art and the people that consume it. We can obsess over the details, analyze the artist’s intentions, yet in the end, there will always be something out of our reach. We remain outside, looking in.

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I finished HOUSEMATES a few days ago and haven't been able to stop thinking about it. I don't think I've come across a book quite like this in a long time. It was not at all what I expected, but left such an impression on me. First of all, this is a must read for photographers, or fans of photography. When I realized that the main characters were a spin (I feel like this is the wrong word but I don't know how else to describe this genius melding of fiction and non-fiction) on the famous photographer Berenice Abbott and her relationship with critic Elizabeth McCausland I was utterly delighted. Eisenberg ingeniously brings them into the 21st century (2016 and beyond, specifically and aptly), creating not Changing New York but instead, Changing Philadelphia.

I only know about Abbott's work from art history classes, but I feel like I learned so much about her, and McCausland, through this re-telling. The book is deeply rooted in today, with the usual background noise of elections and pandemics. There is also the melding of art and social justice, body image, and running themes that I loved like Nan Goldin and INTO THE WOODS (two of my favorite things). It's also, quite simply, a road trip book and a love story. It's a beautiful debut novel that I loved being immersed in, and was sad when it was over.. I wish I could have stepped into the pages and saw Bernie's photographs, and also follow Bernie and Leah more to see what else life has in store for them. It's a fascinating way to tell a story, for many different reasons (including an omniscient narrator who is also a character in the book - but can we believe what she is telling us?) and I can't wait to hear what other readers think of it.

I requested HOUSEMATES after seeing its starred review, and woah, this is the real deal. I savored every minute of this novel. I laughed, I (almost) cried. It resonated with me on so many level. It's astonishing work. Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

This is an intriguing read. I was most compelled by Bernie and her journey of becoming a wonderful photographer (and the complicated dynamics that come with your former photography professor becoming disgraced/disavowed by the art community). There are a lot of characters to keep track of, though the author does a fine job of making each character distinctive.

I did get lost in the moments where a narrator gives us glimpses into the future - I wasn’t quite sure how to make sense of the narrator’s connection to the Housemate, Bernie, and Leah. Other than that, I enjoyed the story.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Read about 7% and unfortunately wasn’t feeling it :( Decided to DNF it and move onto one of the other ARCs in my library

“Housemates” by Emma Copley Eisenberg
Genre: LGBTQ/New Adult
Publisher: Random
Pub. Date: May 28, 2024

Mini-Review

Bernie and Leah meet when Bernie answers an ad that begins “Four Swarthmore grads, looking for a fifth housemate” and ends with “Queer preferred (we all are).” I had high expectations for this story, but was somewhat disappointed. Two quirky and Queer female pals embark on a road trip. The roommates, or side characters, are multifaceted, with several representations of various racial/ethnic backgrounds, gender identities. The narrative is passable but suffers from a few poor storytelling decisions. The author's writing style didn't appeal to me, but it may just be me. It may have been better as a short story rather than a novel because as a novel there are too many characters.

Leah and Bernie are two lovably flawed characters who embark on a road trip to make art and find themselves. I related strongly to the theme of being a few years post-grad and feeling the need to do something "more" with your life, but being tied down by various limitations. The side characters (aka housemates) are also complex and interesting, with lots of representation from different gender identities, races/ethnicities, socioeconomical backgrounds, etc. Overall it's a story with a lot of heart, and I enjoyed watching Leah and Bernie figure out how to turn their art into something meaningful for the community!

My only complaint is the writing style, which was told by an omniscient 3rd party narrator? I thought we would learn more about them and how they knew so much about the main characters, but that was left unexplained.

Overall, I liked this. I’ve seen a few other reviews disliking the writing style, which I completely disagree with. I thought the prose was well done and conveyed various tones really well. I also liked the particular details about large format and found all the characters really well drawn, even the people we only meet once along the trip. That said, I did not like the omniscient narrator. I didn’t understand it at all and I don’t think it added anything to the story other than a sense of confusion. Finally, I wish I had known more about the inspiration of the original Abbott and McCausland! Maybe that’s my own ignorance of art and queer history but I think that added an amazing additional dimension.

An okay story weighed down under some very ineffective story telling choices. Leah and Bernie were both interesting characters, well-formed and complex, and I was interested in them and their relationships with the other characters in the story, though I'm not sure I really understood their draw to each other. Unfortunately, that was the only aspect of this novel that I did enjoy -- the writing itself was clunky, the narrative chronology was not totally sensible, and the choice to tell the story through the semi-omniscient (?) POV of an unrelated character was very odd and did not, in my opinion, pay off. Some of these choices could work in a shorter piece, or if the story was overall compelling enough to either overcome or justify them, but the character work alone did not carry it for me.

I tried to love this book, but the writing style wasn't for me. It was hard to keep track of who was saying what, and I found myself often needing to go back a few pages to understand the connections being made. The story also took a while to get going - the first 60 pages felt like they were moving at a snail's pace.

But it wasn't all bad. The author did a great job of using the characters' diverse backgrounds to spark interesting discussions about art, relationships, identity, and mental health. These are big, important topics, and the book tackled them head-on.

The book also did a good job of showing what life in America is really like. It wasn't too negative or too positive - it felt real. So, while the writing style wasn't my favorite, the themes of the book really resonated with me. It's a book that makes you think, and those are always worth reading.

3.5/5

A unique writing style for a thought provoking story although a bit long-winded at times. The characters were interesting enough and I found myself relating to a few of Leah's quirks. I enjoyed being taken on the roadtrip through Pennsylvania and now I want to learn more about 4x5 large format photography!

I loved the main characters of this book! They were so flawed and that made them so much more engaging and relatable than some other stories that I've read. This was such an interesting journey of a book!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this prerelease copy of Housemates

A raw, sensual, story about life, love and art. The imbalance of love, the give and take and leveling out of a relationship.
Written about a time in our country, our world- that has had so much effect on us all. The turbulence of our lives during the beginning of Covid, Trump America, Black Lives Matter , the LGBTQ community, #metoo and how our way of living has changed so much, so fast. The question of the rules of our country and why it doesn’t feel like ours anymore. All done in a unique voice and writing style. Reading this is a reminder and a deep dive into those feelings we’ve dealt with continually.
I felt deeply for Bernie and Leah. They were written so well. So flawed and strong and weak and with so much pain annd love inside them. I definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting something thought provoking. Something real.

My favorite trope and excellent descriptions. Some scenes made me really
Stop and think.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where queer and quirky fic is popular.