A tender story of friendship, getting older, and chosen family told across decades. Bobby Finger's "Four Squares" was a truly touching gem of a novel about Artie Anderson, a gay man in New York in the 90s and the present day. Back then, Artie and his core group of close friends were on top of the world (or at least the West Village). Now, Artie is entering his sixties and is alone. After a minor accident draws him into a new(ish) community, he discovers that life still has a bit more to offer him than he may have initially expected. The parallel narrative structure was reminiscent of Broadway shows like Merrily We Roll Along or The Last Five Years, though each chapter was long enough to feel like a short standalone story. Ultimately this read like an old friend regaling you with tales from their "golden years" and I really loved it.

I was disappointed. Was hoping for another electric novel about gay life. And this is certainly about that community. But electric it isn’t. It’s a sober and sad story about loss and continuity. Fair enough. But it rests on the shoulders of one of literature’s less enthralling central characters. Indeed, Artie, for all his loneliness and insularity, for which he can be forgiven, is simply too bland to carry the role. He’s dull, unconvincing, impossible to see as the love object of charismatic Abe, or the brilliant ghost writer of other people’s lives.
Overall, the novel is readable and affectionate work, but it simply has something of a void at the center.

This book may take a minute to get into but stick with it. It's a beautiful story and the characters are fabulous.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Four Squares by Bobby Finger. Artie is a gay man in NYC, and he is a writer. We learn about his life in 1990, and then 30 years later when he is 60. A lot of his friends are gone by this time, and he is still trying to write his second novel. It’s kind of sad, but he ends up finding a new community at a Gay and Lesbian Senior Center where he starts out volunteering. It is a nice story, and a different than usual look at New York life. #foursquares #bobbyfinger #bookstagram #lovetoread #readallday #takeapagefrommybook #netgalley #advancedreadercopy

I've always love reading these kinds of book, where history, especially queer history is really contrasted with the present. Four Squares was captivating and immersive in both the history and the present- a survivor's tale of another plague. I found the choice of making Artie the narrator of the story very appealing. However, I wish I could have experienced the book entirely from his perspective, rather than the occasional third-person omniscient- largely because, to me, when the author spans back, it would disrupt the flow. I fucking hate Abe- his selfishness is so grating! However, I really really liked this book- it's right up my alley.

A deeply moving look at queer identity while aging, grief, and finding community later in life. Good to see a book about older queer characters.

"Four Squares" chronicles the life of Artie Anderson, alternating between 1992, when Artie is a recently turned 30 year-old gay man working as a copywriter at an ad agency in NYC, to 30 years later in the present, where he now works as a ghostwriter for celebrities.

This character driven (and what characters they are!!!) story about ordinary lives lived simply is poignant, thoughtful and authentic. Sometimes sad and sometimes joyful, just like life tends to be. The author is great at writing characters that you feel for and empathize with.

While this is story about a gay man living life in NYC in the 1990's and 2020's, and I do not fall into this demographic, it was- at its core- a story about friendship, love, loss, aging and the trials and tribulations that come with all of life's little adventures. I was invested in Artie's life, and grew to care about him. I wanted to sit with him and complain about my life over a cup of coffee. I felt we would be friends.

This book also touches on some very serious topics having to do with LGBTQIA+ history; especially in the 80's and 90's, and while serious and important to the story, it didn't make it hard to slog through. I wanted to come out the other side with these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ebook version).

It took me a minute to get into the story, but I ended up enjoying it in the end. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted arc.

I absolutely loved this book - Bobby has an incredibly specific writing voice that I love. It’s at once acerbic and incisive, but also the heart and emotion of his characters is so present.

This book is great at putting the pieces together of the life of the main character, Artie, and showing the blossoming of his “third chapter” while also showing the all-consuming people of his younger years and what happened to them.

I recommend this to people who love NYC, friendship and found family.

i enjoyed Bobby’s book The Old Place and wasn’t sure what to expect for this one. i thought the writing in this book was so beautiful and even better than The Old Place. i enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the message the book sent about never being too old to start over and start loving your life. i did find all of the A characters (adam, artie, abe, annabelle, ali) a little confusing at times, but i think that was more of a problem with my focus than the book. cannot wait to read whatever Bobby writes next!

I was lucky enough to win an e-ARC of FOUR SQUARES by Bobby Finger from a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a safe and happy weekend!

As a long time fan of Bobby Fingers podcast. When his debut , The Old Place, was announced I was over the moon excited and thankfully it did not disappoint! So when Four Squares came along and I was lucky enough to recieve an ARC of is I was doing backflips. Bobby's ability to weave heartbreak and resilience with laugh out loud quips is not surprising in the slightest. Can't wait to re read this once it's officially in the wold and many times after.

This was really good. Definitely character driven (and what characters they are!!!) about ordinary lives lived simply. It's poignant, thoughtful and authentic. Sometimes sad and sometimes joyful, just like life tends to be. After reading a plethora of thrillers, it was lovely spending time with Artie and his Old Fruits.

4.25 stars

4.25 stars

Bobby Finger's sophomore novel FOUR SQUARES is a great novel, just like his debut. In this novel, the reader is introduced to the main character Artie when he turns 30 in the first chapter, and he's working at an ad agency in a job he doesn't like. He is tight with his two friends Adam and Kimberly, and they go out to their favorite bar to celebrate, and he meets an elusive love interest named Abraham. Then the narrative flashes forward 30 years to Artie's 60th birthday, and we find him lonely without any of the friends we were introduced to in the first chapter and in seek of companionship but not knowing how to go about it. He decides to volunteer at a gay and lesbian senior activities center, and Artie soon breaks his foot. That forces him to stop volunteering and be on the receiving end of the services, and he meets some fellow older gay men. Will his cynical heart open up to accept friendship and possibly more?

The author is great at writing characters that you feel for and empathize with. I "got" Artie, even though I'm a heterosexual woman. I always enjoy an older protagonist who is a little stuck and trying to find their way. I appreciated the insider's view of gay culture in the 1990s (and 2020s).

I liked going back in forth in time. The chapters are fairly long, so you get enough time in each year that you can sink into it.

I did feel that narrative could have been a bit more cohesive. It felt like some things (Adam and Kimberly's disappearance as friends, for instance) were dangled for far too long, and then it was a little anticlimactic when the reader finds out what happened. Also, it was difficult for me to differentiate Jim from Ellis in the 2022 timeline.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I loved the message that it's never too late to find your friend group.

Four Squares really worked for me.
The structure of following the life of the main character, Artie, both as he’s turning 30 and 60 was so entertaining. It’s full of heart with loss and the reality of being gay in the 80s, but also humor and quirks. I could have spent more time in both eras if I’m honest. I wanted some of the characters to be fleshed out more. Four Squares was ultimately a hopeful story and I would recommend. Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the ARC through NetGallery.

Three and a half stars

I enjoyed reading this book--Finger excels at writing stories where the occasionally grim subject matter doesn't overwhelm the reader. It's a story about a man who has lost so much and needs to find a way back to the world of the living.

"Four Squares" chronicles the life of Artie Anderson, alternating between 1992, when Artie is a recently turned 30 year-old gay man working as a copywriter at an ad agency in NYC, to 30 years later in the present, where he now works as a ghostwriter for celebrities. Across the years, some things haven't changed for Artie - he still lives in the West Village and continues to love books and literature - but many things have, including the passing of Artie's ex-boyfriend Arthur and the slow withdrawal of friends and people he considers his family, including Vanessa and Halle, the ex-wife and daughter of his former boyfriend. The novel jumps across time periodsx giving insight into Artie's past and present, his relationship with Arthur, and his continued growth in the present when he unexpectedly finds himself at the local LGBTQ center and a welcoming community of seniors.

I was initially drawn to this book given its setting in NYC (where I am now) and personally loved the references and descriptions of the neighborhoods and businesses, and the accurate depiction of what it was like to live and work in the city. Artie was a unique character for me as well, and I enjoyed seeing how the time periods converged - with the past shedding light on the events that continued to linger with him in the present. There's a fair amount of historical detail given to the LGBTQ events in 1990s, including the increase of AIDS, and the physical and emotional toll it took on so many individuals.

The novel was difficult to get through for several reasons though, including a slow and uneven pacing, a writing style that felt fairly simple and too reliant on dialogue (there's a lot of telling, but not a lot of showing), and characters that didn't feel well built or complex. I found it difficult to get invested in the characters and while the overall story was heartwarming, felt a little too predictable and didn't quite have the build-up I was hoping for.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I quite liked this book! It's cute and devastating at the same time. I have to say, however, that the start was a bit convoluted for me. I did start it on a bus, so maybe I just needed to read it somewhere quieter, but there were a ton of characters and I didn't know about the time jump before I started the book. Since this is an ARC, I expected the formatting to be odd, but there were sections of sentences in very large print (they didn't always line up) in a lot of pages. While I didn't know about the time jump, I think it was the perfect way to tell the story of Arthur (and his whole friend group's) whole life without going chronologically. The scenes at the beginning/end of chapters were chosen well, and the time jump always happened at a good moment. Back to characters, another thing that i think could have been explained a bit better was Abe/Halle/Vanessa/Arthur's relationship. I know it's supposed to be revealed as the book goes on, but when Halle and Vanessa showed up I had no idea who they were. I like that Ali got a redemption ARC, and them being the vegan that Kimberly talks about on the phone is a thoughtful touch. However, I still don't really like them. Anyways, I'm so glad that Artie finally found a group of friends in the end (and Carson), that made me really happy.

The book's description called to me because I enjoy reading about older people finding a new gear. Unfortunately, this didn't resonate. The characters weren't that compelling and I struggled to get into the book.

What an excellent read. In "Four Squares," Bobby Finger builds off of the project he started in "The Old Place"- to build empathy. For someone in their twenties, it inspired a lot of reflection on the reality of the AIDs crisis, and how different the experience of LGBTQ folks who are in their 60s and 70s is from those of us who were born in the late 90s.