Documenting two years in the life of B. J. Rosenthal, Feinberg's witty and moving novel gives a moving portrait of living during the early, terror-filled days of AIDS. In 1980, before the plague, B. J.'s sole mission is to find a boyfriend through the maze of one-night stands and casual encounters. In 1986, with AIDS invading everyone's lives, B. J. must balance his fears of infection with his own personal searches for love and meaning. Using sarcasm and wit to keep his mental sanity, B. J. is finding that even with AIDS tainting every physical contact, life will still go on. "Eighty-sixed" is a remarkable tale of being gay in the 1980s, giving us a slice of queer history that's ultimately very personal.

This novel contrasts the life of BJ Rosenthal, a gay man living in New York City, before and after the advent of the AIDS epidemic. In 1980, his greatest concern is finding a boyfriend and he feels free to indulge his libido in a quest for the perfect man. In 1986, every potential liaison is conducted in the shadow of death as BJ attends the deaths of friends, participates in AIDS marches, and struggles to retain hope in the future. As grim as the subject matter becomes, author David Feinberg never loses his sense of humor. There are brief interludes between each chapter that would make for a fiercely hilarious and moving stage monologue.

Until reading the reviews on this page, I was not aware that David Feinberg himself has now passed away. The world is poorer for the loss of his voice and his sensibility.

This book is just wonderful. It is so funny and so very honest that it walks a fine line between your funny bone and a raw nerve. I remember passing this one along to everybody when it was first published(still have a copy in bookcase, though)and everbody loved it. I met Feinberg in NY after this first came out and he seemed like a real charmer. His second book, Spontaneous Combustion is also recommended. As another reviewer said, his anger really took overat the end, very sad.

I found this book remaindered and, seduced by the breathless reviews on the back, decided to give it a try. It may be bad form to criticize this last book by a writer who succumbed to the very disease around which the subject matter revolves, but I'm afraid that's what one must do to be honest.

It's surprising that someone of such obvious intelligence could write a book that epitomizes Fran Lebowitz's remark that one should not detain a fleeting insight. Most of the essays cry out for the patient pen of a competent copy editor, and there is very little here that hasn't been said with more grace, insight and craft elsewhere. Fans of Feinberg's novels will no doubt want to investigate this, but the self-indulgent prose and pretense to outrageousness will probably get old fast for almost all other readers.

If Silence=Death, then David Feinberg would still be here forcing us to look at what life was/is for those suffering with AIDS. He's the traffic accident you can't help but look at as he forces us to laugh at what is by definintion, not funny. He's the bad joke at a funeral, the one we are all grateful for but would never own. RIP, David... MJ.

Mr. Feinberg's words are spectacular. The reader is certainly transported to another time and place . Sometimes the place isn't where one wants to be, however, one learns how a person copes with living with HIV.

I laughed, cried and worried throughout. I believe this book is good for anyone to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a clue about HIV.

Enjoy!!

While Eighty-sixed was raw and frank, Spontaneous Combustion is more serious because it faces the AIDS epidemic. B.J. is a character much like the author who wrote me before his death. Irreverent, outrageous and in the middle of history.

Funny, intelligent, serious, delightful...For anyone who's ever been through very difficult times and/or has been affected by the AIDS epidemic, this book will both hit home and uplift. I disagree strongly with the review at the top of this page. Yes, the book is disjointed, but in that sense it's an accurate picture of life in the midst of chaos and tragedy. The ultimate effect of the book, though, isn't a big disorganized mess, but rather the possibility for survival and even happiness. I highly recommend this book!