"I dimly suspect I just found my favorite novel of the year, and it's only February—is that a good thing or a bad one?

The scope of the novel is microscopic: an art dealer in his late thirties takes a business trip to Berlin after having a falling out with his boyfriend. He learns things about himself. The end. But, like THE HUMMINGBIRD and SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU, two other novels I'm stupidly fond of, the characters in this book became alive to me. Berlin, too, appeared in vivid color, seen with the glittering partial clarity of a tourist's eyes. At the center of the book is an art installation that looks at Ostalgie, the nostalgia for life before the Wall came down, and Schnall takes his time discussing the difference between nostalgia and history, drawing parallels between Berlin's difficult past and Samuel's difficult existing relationship. At one point Samuel's mother busts out this line: "Nostalgia is memory with a really good director."

I MAKE ENVY ON YOUR DISCO is wonderfully happy, wonderfully sad, and wonderfully contained. My 2025 reading list suddenly has a lot to live up to."