Housemates, Emma Copley Eisenberg
Housemates, Emma Copley Eisenberg
List: $20.00 | Sale: $14.00
Club: $10.00

Housemates

Author: Emma Copley Eisenberg

Narrator: Marin Ireland

Unabridged: 9 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/28/2024


Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST • Two young housemates embark on a road trip to discover themselves in this “exceptional, keenly observed meditation on art and love” (People) in a fractured America, by the award-winning author of The Third Rainbow Girl

“Tender, nuanced, and hilarious.”—Oprah Daily
15 LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride—Time

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: People, The Boston Globe, NBC, Them, Autostraddle, Electric Lit, Kirkus Reviews

Four housemates, looking for a fifth, the ad read. Queer preferred (we all are).

This is how Bernie, a film photographer, meets Leah, a writer, and from opposite sides of a thin bedroom wall in West Philadelphia, the two become closer than they ever could have imagined. When Leah volunteers to accompany Bernie on a road trip to settle a complicated inheritance, what ensues is an unexpected journey into the heart of America as the duo try to make sense of the times they are living in—falling in love with each other and rediscovering the power of making art along the way.

With humor, warmth, and beautifully observed characters, and told through two generations of queer artists reflecting on the question of how a person should be, Housemates is a glorious celebration of creativity, body liberation, chosen family—and of finding your place in an uncertain world.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emma on January 06, 2024

I wrote this book! I hope you enjoy......more

Goodreads review by emma on March 08, 2025

help, i've fallen victim to my own high expectations and i can't get up. i should have loved this: a book set in my favorite city (hi philly, hi name drop of a shop down the street from my apartment) about my favorite trope (road trips) published by my favorite imprint (hogarth) in my favorite niche......more

Goodreads review by Abe on June 18, 2024

I wanted to love this so, so bad. Queer love story unpacking the "heart of America" is a blinking sign with my name on it. I eat that up for breakfast. Instead I was let down on every single one of the pages. Bad writing, I didn't feel immersed or like the story was tactile, instead it was bad poetry......more

Goodreads review by Celine on February 25, 2025

How do you talk about a book like Housemates, once you’ve finished it? This is a road trip novel, following two young artists, Leah and Bernie. They meet as housemates, and then leave their town with the intention of documenting what they see, and how it makes them feel. What I found as I flipped th......more

Goodreads review by Quirine on September 19, 2024

I was looking forward to this read SO much but it kind of disappointed me. I chose to read it as satire of the sort of leftist, queer, activist, artistic bubble people can live in but I’m not fully sure it was meant that way. But it was a little on the nose sometimes so I think it was? (Also - I def......more


Quotes

“Tender, introspective, and at times delightfully funny, this is the perfect book to bring on a road trip.”Time (15 LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride)

“[An] exceptional, keenly observed meditation on art and love.”People

“A contemporary, queerer take on the American dream.”—Marie Claire

“Tender, nuanced, and hilarious.”—Oprah Daily

“[A] wise and beautiful and gorgeously gay exploration of America, art, and the rugged vast country that is love itself.”—Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different

“A beautiful novel about art, community, and connection.”—Rachel Khong, New York Times bestselling author of Real Americans

“Emotionally rich and quietly thought-provoking, this is simply a stunning debut.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Sumptuous . . . Once Eisenberg revs the engine, she reaches luminous heights. Readers will count themselves lucky to go along for the ride.”Publishers Weekly

“A debut novel that’s part The Price of Salt and part Just Kids, in which two friends journey across America in pursuit of art and love.”—Electric Literature

“Eisenberg’s fiction debut feels like a swim in a heated pool after a long journey.”Los Angeles Times

“A genuine book about art, love, friendship, chosen family, and America in this moment.”Harper’s Bazaar

“Gorgeous . . . A novel as full as life itself, about art-making and love and friendship and making a way in the world, complicated, funny, questioning, moral.”—Elizabeth McCracken, author of The Hero of This Book

“The brilliant, queer, abundant, art-drunk, soulful, sexy American road-trip novel we’ve needed for so long.”—Stacey D’Erasmo, author of The Complicities

“A perfect novel about making art, making a life, and how to do those things at the same time, with other people.”—Hilary Leichter, “A Year in Reading” at The Millions

“Ripe and undeniably rich . . . Emma Copley Eisenberg is a brilliant writer, and Housemates is superb.” —Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things

“Warm and inviting . . . Eisenberg captures the complexity of both people and places with precision and generosity.”—Sara Nović, New York Times bestselling author of True Biz

“A novel of young queer artists making love, poems, photographs and haunted houses.”—Sarah Schulman, author of Let the Record Show

“Radiant and invigoratingly truthful, Housemates invites us to think about the community and country that are possible when we love.”—Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning