We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Narrated by Joel Leslie

What stands out in Cat Sebastian’s latest novel is the incredibly vivid sense of time and place. It’s so immersive, and Ms. Sebastian has obviously researched not only life in the late 1950s in New York City, but also the newspaper business at the time. The era of big newspapers dominating the flow of information to the public is starting to come to an end, with TV and periodicals taking a larger chunk of the market. This story is set in 1959 at the Chronicle, a newspaper struggling to maintain viability and relevance in a rapidly changing world. Within this setting the reader is introduced to two equally vivid characters: Nick Russo, a somewhat gruff, self-taught reporter, and Andy Fleming, son of the Chronicle’s owner/publisher.

The “meet cute” here is marvelous. Nick Russo walks into the storage room full of overstuffed filing cabinets and finds a young man with his tie firmly stuck in a locked file drawer. The young man is Andy Fleming. Nick knows he should resent Andy, who is being handed things professionally simply by virtue of being the boss’s son that Nick has worked overtime trying to earn. But after freeing Andy, instead of resenting him, Nick finds himself oddly charmed. This begins an unlikely friendship, with Nick taking on the unofficial job of mentoring Andy as a reporter by allowing him to tag along on assignments, and by smoothing Andy’s way with his work colleagues by inviting him to have drinks with the other reporters. As weeks turn into months, Andy becomes a capable reporter, and Nick finds other little ways to take care of him, like tracking down Andy’s perpetually lost keys.

We Could Be So Good is very much a character driven story. In a world, and a profession, that isn’t tolerant of queer men, Nick and Andy must figure out how to create a life worth living. But first Nick needs to believe it can actually happen. As a gay man when that could get you arrested and sent to jail, Nick has perfected the art of seeming ordinary and blending into the background. Any encounters with other men are necessarily furtive and often angst-filled, and he’s resigned himself to living a solitary life. Being friends with Andy is a two-edged sword for Nick, who realizes fairly quickly that he’s smitten with his straight best friend. He’s even happy when Andy gets engaged to Nick’s good friend Emily Warburton, even though watching them together is painful. Nick knows that since he and Emily are close, he’ll also be able to stay close to Andy, which is the best he can hope for.

Andy’s outlook about life and how he sees himself is influenced by the choices his parents made as he grew up. His late mother was a well known Pulitzer Prize winning reporter who routinely left Andy with nannies while she went to conflict areas around the world in search of a story. Andy’s father and mother split early on, and Andy has a cordial, if distant, relationship with his dad. This has given Andy the opinion that he’s an easy person to leave. Described as somewhat clumsy, forgetful, but good natured and friendly, Andy would probably be termed ADHD or neurodivergent today. He’s tried a couple of colleges and majors, only to quit each one. He’s now at the Chronicle with the expectations that he is here to learn and eventually take over his father’s job as publisher, something that Andy feels he’s inadequate to do.

Things change suddenly for both men when Emily calls off the wedding. Heartbroken and unable to face his empty apartment, Andy stays with Nick for a few days. Those few days turn into weeks and both men find themselves easily settling into the routine of living together. Andy begins to realize that even though he does like women, he has growing feelings for Nick. While Nick is sure he’s in for a major heartbreak down the road, the two men end up almost unwittingly wooing each other in small gestures and acts. Andy brings flowers home, and Nick makes Andy soup when he’s sick.

I’ve listened to Joel Leslie on at least two dozen books and he’s never failed to deliver a high quality performance. I especially like his voice for Nick in this book; he captures the slightly gruff New York accent perfectly. Andy’s voice is pitched higher and fits his private school education and background. While most of the cast is male, there are several important female roles, including Emily, who is from a wealthy society family and Nick’s Italian Mom. As usual the female voices are all clear and believable, and easily distinguishable from each other. Beyond the character voices, Joel excels in conveying the emotion subcontexts within both the dialog and the narrative passages. We can hear Andy’s anxiety at the possibility of letting people down, or Nick’s fear of being outed, and his belief that he doesn’t deserve to hope for better.

We Could Be So Good takes the challenges of queer love in 1959 NYC, and weaves a lovely, believable, warm hug of a romance within the setting. Andy is sunshine to Nick’s grumpy, and optimism and determination to Nick’s resigned pessimism, and it’s a treat to see the romance grow. When you add in Joel Leslie’s narration, it’s easy to understand why this is already on my Best of 2023 list.

Carrie