Wow! This book was HOT. A steamy and dazzling meditation on art, destruction, and survival in the McCarthy era and beyond, The Future is Color is prime example of queer historical fiction done right: beautifully rendered with an eye bent toward the present. Embedded in this history is a moving story of a gay man as he navigates queer life through the 1940-50s and on.

This novel really gave me a perspective on how queer people might have moved through the violence of this period with police raids, whistleblowers, etc. However, it also shows how they could have thrived within the secrecy of the margins; hookups, falling in and out of love, heartbreak, losing people - living full and vivid lives in all their fear and complexity. Patrick Nathan brings these three-dimensional characters to the page in stunning detail, most notably the protagonist George and Madeleine, the wealthy actress who lures him into her sphere of parties and fast living. This made the novel feel like a true portrayal of queer lives and stories that were silenced by the prejudice of the era.

Nathan's poetic and cinematic prose also glides the reader effortlessly through the narrative. The way he captures the tone and mood of LA noir - in all its sun, heat and dread, black and white on the silver screen - was pitch perfect and really impressive. If you've been looking for more queer historical fiction like I have, this will be for you. Authors like Patrick Nathan are making sure the lit gays are being fed (lol).

Set amidst Hollywood, NYC, and Las Vegas in the 1950s in a post-war, anti-gay and communism era, the Future Was Colour is a fascinatingly gripping queer, historical fiction. We follow George, a young Hungarian immigrant and movie studio writer, and the decadent, desire-hungry, artistic people around him. This story is incredibly layered and an intricate composite that mirrors the decadence of the Great Gatsby and Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with the nuance and complexity of post-war political fears. It builds a crescendo of suspense and fear, concluding brilliantly. Excellently written.

The writing was beautiful. I love the image he paints of these cities and brings them to life with the characters. It was a great book to read and I loved reading about these characters and their stories

With beautiful writing that feels like you’re reading a classic and a striking atmosphere and characters, Patrick Nathan creates an image of LA and New York that’s both heartwarming and heartbreaking. This novel says a lot about the politics of the mid nineteenth century without spelling it out for the reader. If you don’t know anything about Mcarthyism I would suggest researching it a bit before reading this book. The writing style, characters and overall vibe of this book really worked for me. While at times I felt like the message of the story meandered, overall I would definitely recommend this to lovers of literary fiction and writers like Eve Babitz and Patti Smith.