george_salis's review
5.0
"We are elements of the world's consciousness of itself, and thus we are necessary: replaceable and irreplaceable at once."
"The future's an absence, a dark space up ahead like the socket of a pulled tooth."
I first came across Doty's work about a decade ago, when he visited my university for a reading. In preparation for that, I read his collection of poetry Fire to Fire and his childhood memoir Firebird, both of which I loved. The latter is about realizing one's identity and growing up as a gay man. It's as poetic as it is heartbreaking. The same can be said of Heaven's Coast, which I finally got around to reading after all this time. It's about Doty's partner, Wally, the love of his life who died from AIDS. Not only is it also poetic and heartbreaking, but it ventures into feelings and experiences that are practically inexpressible yet Doty does an impressive and admirable job of trying to express them, from grief to wonder and many other emotions in between ("Leave room, doubt says, for the unknowable, for it will never quite be your share to see. The one thing we can say with great certainty about human perception is that it is partial. And perhaps that is why we are, of necessity, creatures of doubt."). It is also an eye-opening picture of the AIDS epidemic, which was ignored quite a bit then, and ignored even more now. The gay men who were alive during that period, who survived that period, had to watch as all their friends died one by one, or even in droves, so the memoir is worth even more for drawing attention to this tragic history. I highly recommended it.
"The day before he died all the life in him seemed to move into his face and eyes, just burning there, and he was staring at me and our dogs and everything with such intensity, taking us all in. [...] And while I felt absolutely stuck in the world where he wasn't, I also felt this terrific sort of secret sense of intimacy with him, so connected. I felt like I had a seat on both sides of the veil, you know--part of me with him, looking back at this world which seemed so radiant and lovely and peculiar, and a part of me squarely here and miserable in a place without him, bereft and totally helpless."
"The future's an absence, a dark space up ahead like the socket of a pulled tooth."
I first came across Doty's work about a decade ago, when he visited my university for a reading. In preparation for that, I read his collection of poetry Fire to Fire and his childhood memoir Firebird, both of which I loved. The latter is about realizing one's identity and growing up as a gay man. It's as poetic as it is heartbreaking. The same can be said of Heaven's Coast, which I finally got around to reading after all this time. It's about Doty's partner, Wally, the love of his life who died from AIDS. Not only is it also poetic and heartbreaking, but it ventures into feelings and experiences that are practically inexpressible yet Doty does an impressive and admirable job of trying to express them, from grief to wonder and many other emotions in between ("Leave room, doubt says, for the unknowable, for it will never quite be your share to see. The one thing we can say with great certainty about human perception is that it is partial. And perhaps that is why we are, of necessity, creatures of doubt."). It is also an eye-opening picture of the AIDS epidemic, which was ignored quite a bit then, and ignored even more now. The gay men who were alive during that period, who survived that period, had to watch as all their friends died one by one, or even in droves, so the memoir is worth even more for drawing attention to this tragic history. I highly recommended it.
"The day before he died all the life in him seemed to move into his face and eyes, just burning there, and he was staring at me and our dogs and everything with such intensity, taking us all in. [...] And while I felt absolutely stuck in the world where he wasn't, I also felt this terrific sort of secret sense of intimacy with him, so connected. I felt like I had a seat on both sides of the veil, you know--part of me with him, looking back at this world which seemed so radiant and lovely and peculiar, and a part of me squarely here and miserable in a place without him, bereft and totally helpless."
woolfardis's review against another edition
1.0
There is nothing wrong with the book, or memoir, but it is all me. I went in to it not knowing what it was or who it was written by, and there is no fault there but my own. I can say nothing more.
limebear's review against another edition
5.0
The best, and most moving, book I have read in a long time.
sarahcastic's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written. Soul-shatteringly sad. Still recovering from this one.
misosoupcup's review
doty is for sure a talented writer and poet, but i don't believe that heaven's coast is the correct place for me to start with his work. i eventually want to pick this up again, but not for a very long time
pepper1133's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my absolute favorite books of all time! I read it in a theological studies seminar back in my undergrad days, and if you need any indication that LMU is more of a liberal Catholic school, you can consider that I was reading this beautiful book, about a gay man whose lover is dying of AIDS, as part of the course curriculum.
hyzenthlay76's review against another edition
4.0
How lucky we are, that Mark Doty has chosen to share that most private of emotions, grief, and speak of the transformative power of loss with his unendingly gleaming voice. Some of the most comforting observations on death I have ever seen.
lalunasecreta's review against another edition
4.0
A meditation on love, loss, and death. Doty's writing style is poignant and powerful, picturesque, and very descriptive.