insomniac city,
by Bill Hayes

I picked up Insomniac City because one of my favourite podcasts recommended it as a cute romantic read. I was in the mood for something light and initially had no clue that this was, in fact, a memoir about the relationship between the author Bill Hayes and neurologist and writer, Oliver Sacks (the author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat).

I read Sack’s book about some of his bizarre case studies a few years ago and really loved it. At the time, I had absolutely no idea about his personal life and what it was like for him as a queer man in the 80s, so when he walked into the life of Bill Hayes in Insomniac City, I was pleasantly surprised.

The short novel starts with Hayes’ relationship with his former partner, Steve, who passes away one night in their bed. Following Hayes’ healing, he meets Sacks and the two quietly fall in love. The podcast that recommended this book to me could not have been more wrong and more right at the same time; the relationship described between Oliver and Bill is heart-wrenching and beautiful - the stuff of true love and soulmates. But, it wasn’t the cute, light-hearted read I was after.

The memoir is written in an interesting way, with small snippets of conversation and notes from Hayes’ diary, detailing their seemingly mundane exchanges, paired with photographs of New York citizens. This really stark representation of life - so raw and true - made the book hit heavily with me. The conversations laid out like a script and portrait photos made everything feel more powerful than any other memoir I’ve read.