Pittsburgh Lit: What We’re Reading in April
Book editor Kristofer Collins highlights Virginia Montanez's debut novel and David Rullo's “Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ‘90s Scene.”
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
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“Nothing. Everything.”
Virginia Montanez
Winding Road Stories, $19.99
Some memories are painted in watercolor — a softer, more soothing representation of what had been a harsh reality. Some memories are pencil sketches that fade and smudge with time. And some are etched into diamond-hard surfaces in exact detail that will outlast any lifetime,” writes Virginia Montanez in “Nothing. Everything.,” her debut novel.
Montanez, a frequent PM contributor, is perhaps best known as “PittGirl,” the sobriquet she shared with an early-2000s blog that skewered the local political scene. The irreverence and love for Pittsburgh that informs so much of her writing is embodied here by Ellis Sloan, a recently divorced mother of two young children who is in the process of rebuilding her life. Sloan is funny and perceptive, and, as the above quote suggests, she is also struggling to move forward.
Montanez doesn’t offer any easy answers here. When an old love reappears in Sloan’s life, the author deftly plays against rom-com expectations. Ultimately, Sloan must find her own way out of the darkness. Luckily for her — and us — that path is paved with plenty of warmth and humor.
“Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ‘90s Scene”
David Rullo
History Press, $24.99
Speaking of Pittsburgh history: Dig out your Doc Martens and grab some Manic Panic hair dye because author David Rullo is taking us on a journey to the not-so-distant past in “Gen X Pittsburgh: The Beehive and the ‘90s Scene.” Rullo testifies, “the Beehive brought coffee culture, and with it a healthy dose of art and alternative lifestyles, to the Steel City.”
The Beehive lasted from 1991 to 2019 on the South Side’s East Carson Street and quickly became a center for artists, writers, filmmakers and weirdos. (A second location in Oakland that featured a movie theater, bar and performance space took up residence in the King’s Court building on Forbes Avenue from 1992-2001.)
Rullo speaks for a lot of us who spent many caffeinated hours in both locations when he writes, “I wasn’t aware of the social impact of the Beehive when I found it. I simply knew I discovered a place where I fit in.” Here’s the whole story straight from the owners, employees and habitués of the legendary cafe.
