Army of Lovers

Lambda Literary Award-winner K. M. Soehnlein's Army of Lovers follows a young gay man swept up in the excitement, fury, and poignancy of the AIDS activist group ACT UP.


After arriving in New York City in 1987, Paul discovers the queer community pulling together to fight the epidemic. His political and social awakening echoes ACT UP's rise, successes, and controversies. It's also a love story, as he leaves his white, HIV-negative boyfriend to pursue a less certain relationship with a passionate artist, who is biracial and HIV positive. At the same time, his own mother is diagnosed with cancer and Paul must contend with the struggle for her survival, too.


Born out of the author's experience in ACT UP and Queer Nation during the late '80s and early '90s, Army of Lovers blends history and fiction into an exploration of memory, community, identity, love, death, and justice.