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I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden
Still suffering the fallout of his partner's death from AIDS a dozen years ago, Adam Atwater tailspins after his fortieth birthday as he copes with his father's terminal illness, a career from which he derives little satisfaction, and an affair with a colleague that leaves him further from his current partner than he ever imagined. As Adam cares for his father, memories of Bobby's illness resurface, along with guilt for the infidelity he incurred as his lover lay dying. Tormented by the past, Adam teeters on the brink of insanity, poised to lose everything he now holds dear.
- GenresNovelsContemporary
268 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2010
51 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Hritz
3 books14 followersJennifer Hritz is the author of Smoke and Glass, The Crossing, and I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden. Winner of the Chris O’Malley Fiction Prize, she holds an M.A. in Literature and Language, as well as a Ph.D. in American Literature. Her short stories have been published in The Los Angeles Review and The Madison Review. She lives in Austin, Texas.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 27, 2013
What an INCREDIBLE book!
I, too, Have Suffered in the Garden introduces you to Adam and Joel, an Austin couple in danger. Adam is chased by rabid ghosts: his former partner’s death from AIDS, his dad’s cancer, his brutal job, his own lies. Joel watches from his art studio, desperately strategizing salvation. The story unfurls, tripping between destruction and forgiveness, driven by the suspense of desire and memory.
With poignancy, grace, and infinitely readable prose, I, too, Have Suffered in the Garden illuminates the legacy of psychological trauma, the ways in which the past can malign the present, and the sustainability of even the most fleeting sense of hope.
This book has bestseller written all over it, but it's definitely not getting the attention it deserves. It will rip your heart out. I read it over a period of three days. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the characters, who feel so real to me. And did I mention that the execution of the novel is flawless?
I highly, HIGHLY recommend GARDEN. Go read it, then you can come back and thank me! ;) Oh, and Jennifer has a new novel coming out in September. Can't wait!
I, too, Have Suffered in the Garden introduces you to Adam and Joel, an Austin couple in danger. Adam is chased by rabid ghosts: his former partner’s death from AIDS, his dad’s cancer, his brutal job, his own lies. Joel watches from his art studio, desperately strategizing salvation. The story unfurls, tripping between destruction and forgiveness, driven by the suspense of desire and memory.
With poignancy, grace, and infinitely readable prose, I, too, Have Suffered in the Garden illuminates the legacy of psychological trauma, the ways in which the past can malign the present, and the sustainability of even the most fleeting sense of hope.
This book has bestseller written all over it, but it's definitely not getting the attention it deserves. It will rip your heart out. I read it over a period of three days. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the characters, who feel so real to me. And did I mention that the execution of the novel is flawless?
I highly, HIGHLY recommend GARDEN. Go read it, then you can come back and thank me! ;) Oh, and Jennifer has a new novel coming out in September. Can't wait!
June 13, 2011
Jennifer Hritz has written a most beautiful book. Fine prose, well edited, and characters that have my heart. It is rare to read a book where the characters come alive. I love it when I do. Hritz takes a difficult path - depicting the life of a gay man, struggling through life. Main character, Adam, does everything possible to make me not care about him. Yet, I cared for him more as I turned each page. I have difficulty expressing how well the author takes on the tenderness in his relationships. Such insight into a male world, where holding back is much easier than exposing oneself.
"I wonder how many cigarettes he has left to smoke in his life. I wonder how many nights. I wonder if he's scared or angry or just so used to holding everything inside like every other man of his generation that he doesn't know himself. I wonder what I'd do if he suddenly decided to open up."
I read on Hritz' Facebook that some readers had difficulty with her lack of punctuation in the dialogue. I was already reading the book when I read that. I hadn't noticed. Lovely book. Most enjoyable read.
"I wonder how many cigarettes he has left to smoke in his life. I wonder how many nights. I wonder if he's scared or angry or just so used to holding everything inside like every other man of his generation that he doesn't know himself. I wonder what I'd do if he suddenly decided to open up."
I read on Hritz' Facebook that some readers had difficulty with her lack of punctuation in the dialogue. I was already reading the book when I read that. I hadn't noticed. Lovely book. Most enjoyable read.
July 25, 2016
I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden is one of the most beautiful, but also most depressing books I've ever read. It was incredibly well written, well edited and touching. Jennifer Hritz is an amazingly talented author.
The narrator, Adam Atwater is drowning. His father was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, which has caused demons from the past to chase him mercilessly. 12 years since his former life partner Bobby, slowly and brutally died of AIDS, the memories still haunts him. This has caused him a severe depression. Because he is the definition of what a broken person can become.
He loses control over his life and starts to self destruct. In the end he has lost everything. It's a painful journey Adam is taking us on, filled with angst. And a huge dose of reality. The narrator makes stupid choices but you can't help but feel sympathy for him as well. They are poetic and .stunning
Hritz is a most underrated author. Her books are deep and complex. While I personally liked The Crossing slightly more, I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden sucked me in just as much and it was almost impossible to put down. I can't wait to read more by her. Her books clearly deserves more credit.
The narrator, Adam Atwater is drowning. His father was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, which has caused demons from the past to chase him mercilessly. 12 years since his former life partner Bobby, slowly and brutally died of AIDS, the memories still haunts him. This has caused him a severe depression. Because he is the definition of what a broken person can become.
He loses control over his life and starts to self destruct. In the end he has lost everything. It's a painful journey Adam is taking us on, filled with angst. And a huge dose of reality. The narrator makes stupid choices but you can't help but feel sympathy for him as well. They are poetic and .stunning
Hritz is a most underrated author. Her books are deep and complex. While I personally liked The Crossing slightly more, I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden sucked me in just as much and it was almost impossible to put down. I can't wait to read more by her. Her books clearly deserves more credit.
January 29, 2026
3.5!
cried at the end of this in a way i didn't expect from a novel where a 40 year old and his bf go to shakespeare's on dirty 6th street in austin, texas. this book felt really human to me, the way the characters behave and are written. joel i love you, you are so sweet and such a good guy :,)
cried at the end of this in a way i didn't expect from a novel where a 40 year old and his bf go to shakespeare's on dirty 6th street in austin, texas. this book felt really human to me, the way the characters behave and are written. joel i love you, you are so sweet and such a good guy :,)
September 29, 2020
Beautiful writing, engaging & very real characters. I loved this book!
March 31, 2011
Drowning is a recurring theme in Austin writer Jennifer Hritz's I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden, and narrator Adam Atwater certainly seems to be going under. By any measure, he has had a rough year. His relationship with Joel, his partner of four years, is faltering, his father's lung cancer has metastasized to his brain, and he was recently passed over for a promotion at work. To top it all off, he is being haunted by visions of his former lover, Bobby, who died of AIDS thirteen years before the start of the story.
I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden is actually the second in what will eventually be a trilogy of novels detailing the lives and loves of Adam and his circle. Hritz's first book, The Crossing, focused on Adam's lover Joel in the years before the two met, and her forthcoming novel The Sing of the Gate will further explore the lives of these men. In addition to these full-length works, Hritz has also written short stories which illuminate the lives of others among her cast of characters. In case all that isn't enough to convince you that Hritz has fully immersed herself, head over to her blog where you will be met by entries narrated by myriad other characters from her fictional world.
The question then, is whether readers will want to spend so much time with Adam and his friends and lovers. For at least the first half of the book, it seemed unlikely. Adam is selfish, and often cruel, as when he mocks Joel's past suicide attempt while carrying on an affair behind his back. During the last hundred pages or so, though, as Adam's life unravels at a more furious pace, he began to gain our sympathy. The scenes showing Adam back home with his family in Kentucky are some of the best in the book. We especially liked his bourbon-sipping and advice-giving twelve-year-old niece Lindsey. By the end of the novel, Adam has come to all the right realizations - that's he's made mistakes, but done some good - but after all the time we as readers have spent watching him hurt people and stubbornly refuse to accept responsibility, the turnaround feels a bit fast.
Throughout, even when her characters are behaving badly and testing a reader's patience, Hritz's prose is clear and confident. Some of the stylistic choices, however, such as the decision to omit quotation marks from sections of dialogue, felt like they slowed the momentum of the narrative rather than serving it in any meaningful way. Despite this, there is no doubt that Hritz is an excellent writer into whose world, both online and bound, it is worth wading.
I, Too, Have Suffered in the Garden is actually the second in what will eventually be a trilogy of novels detailing the lives and loves of Adam and his circle. Hritz's first book, The Crossing, focused on Adam's lover Joel in the years before the two met, and her forthcoming novel The Sing of the Gate will further explore the lives of these men. In addition to these full-length works, Hritz has also written short stories which illuminate the lives of others among her cast of characters. In case all that isn't enough to convince you that Hritz has fully immersed herself, head over to her blog where you will be met by entries narrated by myriad other characters from her fictional world.
The question then, is whether readers will want to spend so much time with Adam and his friends and lovers. For at least the first half of the book, it seemed unlikely. Adam is selfish, and often cruel, as when he mocks Joel's past suicide attempt while carrying on an affair behind his back. During the last hundred pages or so, though, as Adam's life unravels at a more furious pace, he began to gain our sympathy. The scenes showing Adam back home with his family in Kentucky are some of the best in the book. We especially liked his bourbon-sipping and advice-giving twelve-year-old niece Lindsey. By the end of the novel, Adam has come to all the right realizations - that's he's made mistakes, but done some good - but after all the time we as readers have spent watching him hurt people and stubbornly refuse to accept responsibility, the turnaround feels a bit fast.
Throughout, even when her characters are behaving badly and testing a reader's patience, Hritz's prose is clear and confident. Some of the stylistic choices, however, such as the decision to omit quotation marks from sections of dialogue, felt like they slowed the momentum of the narrative rather than serving it in any meaningful way. Despite this, there is no doubt that Hritz is an excellent writer into whose world, both online and bound, it is worth wading.
October 18, 2013
This is not my usual read. A bit too much reality for me. But the writing is so incredibly poetic and lovely that I had to keep reading. The downward spiral of the main character is heart-rending and I was really sad for the whole week I was immersed in this world. I would have liked more breaks from the painful parts, a little humor would have gone a long way in breaking up the fall. I was so glad that Hirtz avoided the easy ending and took the book all the way where it needed to go. A strong ending always trumps other flaws for me.
March 12, 2013
What a beautifully written book! I thought about the characters throughout the day, long after I'd finished the book. While Adam, the main character often infuriated me, he was so relate-able. The book explored regret, the lengths to which some will go to avoid feelings, and forgiveness. I loved Joel's character and look forward to reading more about him in The Crossing.
April 12, 2013
This book is so different and wonderful in the way it presents a gay relationship with complete acceptance. There is very little angst from the outside world and it focuses on their relationship(s). No element sets them up against the world, which is so unique in gay themed writing. Beautifully written, flowing, conversational. She’s written about someone I “know” and it's fascinating!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews