⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars
🗓 Publish date: May 21, 2024
🌈 Representation: gay men, Chinese immigrants to America

CW/TW:
Homophobia, Racism, Infidelity, Grief, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Fire, Animal death, Pandemic


Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang is a raw story that glosses over nothing. It follows a diverse cast of characters from life in China and immigration to America. In particular, the story follows a few gay men and those close to them.

The narrative style seamlessly jumps between characters and time periods, revealing a tangled, messy web of life and relationships. There are also threads of magical realism with the characters haunted both by ghosts and by memories.

This book is cerebral with beautiful prose; not a book to get lost in, but a book that drags out the dirt from under the rug to show you the harsh realities and hidden gems in broad daylight.

I didn't quite get invested in the characters until the last 25% of the book, but I did enjoy the journey getting there. The lives depicted are fairly simple, but they also feel bigger than the pages can contain.

I definitely recommend giving this one a try, especially for those interested in literary fiction, unlikeable yet complex characters, and learning more about Chinese immigrant life.

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this title. All thoughts expressed are entirely my own.

First things first, Tang's writing is exceptionally moving and raw. The feelings of every character are fully on display to the point that there's a rawness to the story that I had to walk away from a couple of times. It's not a happy story, not even a hopeful one, but it has a humanity in its realness that I can appreciate despite not enjoying it.
The story is pretty much a warning that a life lived in fear and in hiding leads to nothing but memories and sadness, which is a powerful message but a very depressing read. So while I can admire the work, I can't say I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the powerful read!

Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang is a deeply moving and exquisitely crafted epic that delves into the hidden lives of gay men in rural China and the women who stand by their side. This novel offers a rare and poignant exploration of love, sacrifice, and resilience, set against the backdrop of both rural Fuzhou and New York City's Chinatown.

The narrative centers on Old Second and Bao Mei, a couple whose unconventional relationship and shared past in the Workers' Cinema set the stage for a powerful story. Tang masterfully intertwines their past and present, revealing how their lives in rural Fuzhou and their migration to New York have been shaped by love, secrecy, and cultural upheaval.

Old Second’s and Bao Mei’s experiences at the Workers’ Cinema are both heartbreaking and tender. The cinema, a place where gay men found fleeting moments of intimacy amidst classic war films, serves as a poignant symbol of hidden desires and the quest for connection. Tang’s portrayal of these men’s secret lives is handled with profound empathy and insight, capturing the intense longing and fear that defined their existence.

Bao Mei’s role as the ticket seller adds another layer of complexity to the narrative. Her interactions with the closeted men, and her own romance with the projectionist, highlight the intricate dynamics of love and secrecy. Tang paints Bao Mei as a figure of quiet strength and compassion, making her a compelling and memorable character. Her journey from the cinema’s box office to her life in New York is depicted with great sensitivity, emphasizing the sacrifices she has made and the resilience she embodies.

The novel’s dual setting is another standout aspect. Tang’s vivid descriptions of rural Fuzhou and the bustling streets of Chinatown create a rich, immersive atmosphere. The contrast between the two settings underscores the characters’ struggle to reconcile their past with their present, adding depth to their emotional journeys. Tang’s attention to detail in depicting these locales brings the story to life, making the reader feel intimately connected to both worlds.

Tang’s writing is both lyrical and evocative, capturing the subtleties of emotion and the complexities of the characters’ inner lives. The prose flows effortlessly, balancing moments of quiet reflection with scenes of intense drama. Tang’s ability to convey the deep bonds between the characters, as well as their individual struggles, makes for a profoundly affecting read.

The novel also addresses broader themes of identity, migration, and cultural displacement. Through Old Second and Bao Mei’s story, Tang explores the challenges of forging a new life in a foreign land while grappling with the ghosts of the past. The depiction of their immigrant experience is nuanced and authentic, highlighting both the opportunities and the hardships they face in New York.

The emotional weight of the novel is amplified by the haunting events that unfold following the revelation of Old Second’s passion for his male lover. These events propel the characters toward an uncertain future, adding a layer of suspense and poignancy to the narrative. Tang’s handling of these moments is masterful, eliciting deep empathy and reflection.

In conclusion, Cinema Love is a staggering and tender epic that offers a profound exploration of love, identity, and resilience. Jiaming Tang has crafted a beautifully written and emotionally rich narrative that stays with the reader long after the final page. This novel is a testament to the enduring power of love and the human spirit, making it a must-read for anyone seeking a deeply moving and thought-provoking literary experience. A true masterpiece.

Really engaging story, i always love books that highlight representation and identities I haven’t read about before. I was captivated from the beginning thru the end.

In post-socialist China, gay men gather surreptitiously in a run-down cinema for companionship, sex, and love–until a tragic event scatters them. In 1980s Chinatown, some of those men, and the women who married them, are building new lives, struggling against crushing poverty as they wrestle with the traumas of the past. And decades later, these stories will intertwine.

CINEMA LOVE drew me in with its portraits of the lives of these gay men–and the women in their lives (sisters, wives, and friends). Though the story builds slowly, the prose is beautiful–capturing the ugly and spirit-defacing details of the characters’ lives, but also the humanity and connection and love. Andy Jiaming Tang has an incredible ability to bring these women and gay men richly alive. He captures the flattening effects of homophobia and poverty and hate–and ugliness in the characters’ inner and outer lives–while rendering the characters’ inner lives with depth and richness, and allowing fully for their humanity, complexity, and ultimately, growth.

Although I was almost tempted to stop reading early on, I kept on and was glad I did. The stories begin to intertwine, my fascination begins to build, and the characters’ inner lives and choices build into a moving story of the many facets of survival, love, and compassion.

Tang’s writing is incredible, especially for a debut novel. this is objectively an excellent book and it’s hard to fault, but my personal enjoyment of it just wasn’t that high. I think I expected a different story than what was actually here - the first half of the book basically entirely focuses on ‘the wives’ when I wanted to see more of the men and what was going on behind the scenes there. will definitely keep the author on my radar!

I loved this book. The story centers around Old Second, Bao Mei and Yan Hua. They have all immigrated to NY from China and we see their struggles as they acclimate to this new life, which most of the time is very challenging.

But the main focus is how they were all connected in the past via a cinema in China where gay men cruised looking for love.

You can’t help but feel a connection to these characters (and others we meet along the way) due to this author’s writing. It is a complex story that was executed beautifully.

I enjoyed this one! There were times when I had a hard time following the story, there’s time jumps and it switches POV occasionally without chapter titles with names, so on audio sometimes it could get a little tough to keep up if you can’t be completely focused.

Aside from that though, the story was really interesting, and the characters were well developed. There’s many different types of love described in this book, different kinds of relationships, and it shows how people can grow and change with time.

This was such a beautiful and tender depiction of love . The writing was incredible .

Thank you for the eArc .

An incredibly moving and captivating debut about Chinese American immigrants trying to make a life in New York and the community of gay men who frequent a cinema to find queer love outside of their marriages. Great on audio and a fantastic read. I look forward to more from this author and am OBSESSED with the book's cover! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing and e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

a story that spans decades about gay men in rural china during the 80's experiencing lust and love in an old cinema, and in the later years until the 2020's with the woman who marry them. there is a lot packed into this story as you delve into the lives of multiple characters. some of them likeable, some of them not, but you can't help but understand them considering the betrayals they felt, the shame they experienced, and the yearning for more than what they had in life that sunk deep into their bones. you followed them throughout many phases in their lives, exposed to the high's and the lows. these characters learn to navigate varying degrees of loss, grief, friendship, and companionship.

i have to say that for a debut novel, the writing was vivid and just as cinematic as the plot. these characters were brought to life in the most colorful and bold ways. really enjoyed this one!

The writing in Cinema Love is both simple and beautiful, taking you through intertwined stories. It does move slowly, but it fully pays off with a lovely ending.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! It was heartfelt and eye opening. My first book based on this culture and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

THE best book I've read all year. I rarely buy books for myself or attend author events, and I'm frothing at the mouth to attend tonight's launch. So tender, a masterful exploration of ghosts, guilt, and shame. I felt transported to book's dual settings, and the rotating POVs never felt uniform or too much. As a judgmental person, I couldn't believe how subtly I was guided to question whether the people I perceived to be the villains of the story were bad, forgivable, or just not my business. I will read anything this author writes and feel so lucky to have received a DRC.

IG and Goodreads review TK

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story of love, loss, betrayal, and growth; Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang is not a story one will soon forget.

Cinema Love is written in the voice of several narrators, including Old Second: a gay man who frequented the Workers’ Cinema: a cruising spot for the queer men in Mawei, Fuzhou, Bao Mei, who worked the ticket booth at the theater, and Yan Hua, who is married to another patron of the Workers’ Cinema.

Each character is written with care and respect to their differing and sometimes contradictory views, I genuinely appreciate the nuance with which this story was penned. We have characters who are imperfect, some of whom make unforgivable choices, but we watch them grow anyway- despite everything.

Not only is this a story about queerness, it’s also a story about immigrants, and Cinema Love provides a holistic view of these two experiences.

All in all, this was a banger of a debut novel, and I for one can’t wait to see what Jiaming Tang does next.

This book. Wow. Big thanks to Dutton for providing an advanced copy of this beautiful tale. A solid debut IMO. Time jumps and multiple POV's are not everyone's cup of tea but I did enjoy this book a lot. I thought the story wove together a lot of different themes and made me ask questions about what each of these characters are facing. Overall, an enjoyable, yet contemplative read.

I can't believe this is a debut! Tang truly has written a triumph of queer lit in Cinema Love. This book was heart-wrenching and tender, and full of incredible love. I am eagerly anticipating any future works by Tang!

A beautiful heartbreaking story of love, betrayal, and so much more. Old Second and Bao Hai are married and living in New York, on the margin, struggling to keep their heads up in the pandemic but it's their back story, and the story of their meeting at a cinema in China that pulls this forward and back. It might sound like a soap opera - Old Second loved Shun-Er, who was married to Yan Hua. Yan Hua emigrates to NY as well. Her friend May's husband Kevin- oh no spoilers! It's not a soap opera at all. This moves around in time (a lot) and you might find it difficult at times to keep everyone straight but then I suspect that you, like me, will have totally succumbed to the story, the characters, the writing and it will all be clear. Yan Hua has a deep shameful secret that makes her key to so much of what happens to these people-and to others. And Tang has found so many small things (Yang Hua's social media, Old Second's work at a restaurant, Bao Hai's brother the ghost) that illuminate this absolutely wonderful novel. It's much more than I expected-and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Highly recommend.

Cinema Love is a beautiful snapshot of someone skipping stones over a lake, whereas we start with one character who leads to another whose impact leads to another and so on. Every character felt real and brave in their own form of tenacity, whether that was through the lens of love or merely surviving. We delve into the Chinese communities a few of the protagonists grew up in, understanding how risky their choices were and how some of them simply wanted love in return--- whether that was romantic, platonic, familial, or other.

Tang has a wonderful way of depicting scenes, evoking emotions and feelings that felt true and unique to characters that I was highlighting passages almost constantly.

The ending stuck the landing of a well-developed story. In a moving way, in an unguarded way, such that it's impossible to walk away from this thinking this is just another love story. The secret love, the confident love, the lasting love, the jaded love, the unfulfilled love, the understanding love, every facet of each is handled with such tenderness and respect through the eyes of our characters---even the ones you may not be drawn to---that it casts a shadow that extends beyond the final page.

In rural Fuzhou, China, the Workers' Cinema is more than just a movie theater - it's also where local queer men can gather in safety and find love. Over the course of several decades, CINEMA LOVE charts the course of Old Second, Bao Mei, and Yan Hua and their tangled relationships to queerness, cultural identity, and each other.

"Because now I realize how lonely it is not to talk about the people you love."
"It's lonelier to talk about the people who don't love you back."

This book was complicated, messy, and thought provoking - a triumphant debut. Each of the many interconnected characters is nuanced and interesting. There is no clear black-and-white here - this story lives in the many shades of gray. There is hurt and there is triumph and there is love. Some of the love is romantic, some of it is platonic, and not all of it is reciprocated or healthy or lasting. This isn't a romance, but love is certainly at the center of this story.

Tang's writing is gorgeous and powerful - there were so many lines that I highlighted to come back to later. Three separate timelines - post-socialist China, 1980s Chinatown, and present-day NYC - are woven together. Although it doesn't always move linearly, the way they knit together in the end is very satisfying.

This book is about queer identity, but Tang also provides interesting commentary on immigration, assimilation, and cultural identity. There are so many different things you could unpack here - I think this would be an excellent choice to discuss with a book club.

I suspect I'll be thinking about this one for a while - highly recommend.