‘A work of genius’ Philip Hoare

‘One of the best things I’ve read in many many years’ Hilton Als

‘Beautifully provocative ... the most compelling exploration of life, death, love and resistance that I’ve read for a very long time’ Eimear McBride

A story of loss and grief, sex and love, and a refusal to give up your dreams.

Johnny Grant faces intense life decisions. Seeking answers, he looks back on his relationship with Jerry Field. When they met almost thirty years ago, Johnny was 19 and Jerry 45. They fell in love and made a life on their own terms in Jerry's apartment: 1, Nova Scotia House. Johnny is still there today – but Jerry is no longer, nor is the world they knew.

As Johnny's mind travels between then and now, he begins to recall stories from Jerry's youth: experiments in life, radical philosophies, the many possibilities of love, sex, and friendship before the AIDS crisis that devastated the queer community. Slowly, he realizes what he must do next – and tries to restore ways of being that could be lost forever.

Nova Scotia House takes us to the heart of a relationship, a community, and an era. It is as much a love story as it is a grief; it records the enduring pain of the AIDS pandemic and honors the joys and creativity of queer life. Intimate, visionary, and deeply original, it marks the debut of a vibrant new voice in contemporary literature and an author with a liberating new story to tell.