My Government Means to Kill Me
A Novel
Rasheed Newson
- NATIONAL
- BESTSELLER
- ·
- A
- NEW
- YORK
- TIMES
- NOTABLE
- BOOK
- ·
- A
- NEW
- YORK
- TIMES
- BOOK
- REVIEW
- EDITOR'S
- CHOICE
- ·
- 2023
- LAMBDA
- LITERARY
- PRIZE
- FOR
- GAY
- FICTION
- FINALISTThe
- debut
- novel
- from
- television
- WRITER/PRODUCER
- OF
- THE
- CHI,
- NARCOS,
- and
- BEL-AIR
- tells
- a
- fierce
- and
- riveting
- queer
- coming-of-age
- story
- following
- the
- personal
- and
- political
- awakening
- of
- a
- young,
- gay,
- Black
- man
- in
- 1980s
- New
- York
- City."Consistently
- engrossing."
- —New
- York
- Times
- Book
- Review“Full
- of
- joy
- and
- righteous
- anger,
- sex
- and
- straight
- talk,
- brilliant
- storytelling
- and
- humor...
- A
- spectacularly
- researched
- Dickensian
- tale
- with
- vibrant
- characters
- and
- dozens
- of
- famous
- cameos,
- it
- is
- precisely
- the
- book
- we’ve
- needed
- for
- a
- long
- time.”
- —Andrew
- Sean
- Greer,
- Pulitzer
- Prize-winning
- author
- of
- LessEarl
- "Trey"
- Singleton
- III
- arrives
- in
- New
- York
- City
- with
- only
- a
- few
- dollars
- in
- his
- pocket.
- Born
- into
- a
- wealthy
- Black
- Indianapolis
- family,
- at
- 17,
- he
- is
- ready
- to
- leave
- his
- overbearing
- parents
- and
- their
- expectations
- behind.In
- the
- city,
- Trey
- meets
- up
- with
- a
- cast
- of
- characters
- that
- changes
- his
- life
- forever.
- He
- volunteers
- at
- a
- renegade
- home
- hospice
- for
- AIDS
- patients,
- and
- after
- being
- put
- to
- the
- test
- by
- gay
- rights
- activists,
- becomes
- a
- member
- of
- the
- AIDS
- Coalition
- to
- Unleash
- Power
- (ACT
- UP).
- Along
- the
- way
- Trey
- attempts
- to
- navigate
- past
- traumas
- and
- searches
- for
- ways
- to
- maintain
- familial
- relationships—all
- while
- seeking
- the
- meaning
- of
- life
- amid
- so
- much
- death.Vibrant,
- humorous,
- and
- fraught
- with
- entanglements,
- Rasheed
- Newson’s
- My
- Government
- Means
- to
- Kill
- Me
- is
- an
- exhilarating,
- fast-paced
- coming-of-age
- story
- that
- lends
- itself
- to
- a
- larger
- discussion
- about
- what
- it
- means
- for
- a
- young
- gay
- Black
- man
- in
- the
- mid-1980s
- to
- come
- to
- terms
- with
- his
- role
- in
- the
- midst
- of
- a
- political
- and
- social reckoning.