Jim Grimsley

TRIGGER WARNING FOR SEXUAL ABUSE

This is a story about Nathan, a boy who’s home life is quite less than ideal, and who’s in love with his next door neighbor. This story is also about Roy, who’s struggling with his desires and what others think of him. Those are the basics but there’s so much more to it than that.

Jim Grimsley writes as though you are standing next to the Nathan the entire time, not hovering far above as with some third person writing. You’re not Nathan, but you’re show more right by his side the whole time, hearing his thoughts and wondering his wonders without being him.

This book was quite short, could be read in one sitting which maybe I should have done because toward the middle/end of the book it seemed to take on a sort of different feel than the beginning of the book. There is a point when the boys explore a “haunted house” and this part of the book almost seemed out of place to me for some reason, maybe it was the pacing but this is pretty much my only dislike of this book.

The characters were all written as though you were there with them, so even though you don’t learn a lot about every character throughout hundreds of pages of exposure, you feel as though you know them as though you’ve been with them for hours in person. You know how they walk, how they talk, their tendencies when it comes to talking to their family or peers. This is one thing that I think Jim Grimsley did so well, even though the book is under 200 pages you somehow just know the characters.

———SPOILERS BELOW———

The main character of the story is Nathan, followed very closely by Roy. We get to see these two get to know each other and fall for each other in a very small, religious town. We get the impression early on that Nathan’s father is a shady individual, but it isn’t until a bit later that he’s abusing Nathan in some way. This effects Nathan even when away from his father when it comes to this budding relationship with Roy. This abuse paired with his being a young boy causes him to not really know how to be in a relationship. His father is shown to be a churchgoer who on every day but Sunday is drunk to the point of mental absence. Nathan’s mother is floating in space, a husk of what she most likely once was, due to her husband’s actions toward her son, and his ongoing drinking issues and how it affects their lives. They’ve also been said to move around a lot, so his father’s actions clearly have an effect on the communities they’re involved with as well.

Roy’s family is a good one on the decline due to illness, his family also attends church regularly and he has a girlfriend there. He catches feelings for Nathan quickly but is sometimes erratic due to his fear of being gay. Most likely in this time and place it is completely shunned upon, which shows because Roy is always asking Nathan to not mention their times together, and gets afraid when Nathan shows more knowledge and affection than himself.

We also meet a couple of Roy’s friends and Roy introduces Nathan to their school group. Burke is the more notable character of these two friends because he clearly has some issues of his own. Nathan nor Randy (Roy’s other friend) seem to get along with Burke at all, and for good reason. At one point Burke bullies Nathan, who canning swim, but dangling him
up high above a lake where the boys are swimming, and threatens to drop him. This like this are not uncommon, and as time goes on Burke becomes more and more watchful of Nathan and of his interactions, as subtle as they may be, with Roy.

Through this Nathan and Roy are having sexual interactions, but Roy is the only one that’s really given pleasure. Nathan doesn’t seem to care, though at one point he does wonders if he does mind that Roy doesn’t do the same for him.

Throughout the book the situation with Nathan and his father escalates, to the point where Nathan has to leave home and hide in other areas on the property for days at a time. This goes on for awhile, he goes to school, stays in the woods, goes to school, and Roy eventually allows him to stay in his family’s barn. Throughout this time Nathan and Roy become closer and eventually the two and Roy’s friends decide to go camping.

On this trip, Nathan and Roy begin to be less careful about their interactions and it slowly becomes apparent to Burke that something might be going on between the two of them, and there is a sort of dominance factor into play as well. This is shown by it being mentioned time and time again where Burke will stare at Nathan almost constantly, and the fact that Burke keeps trying to lead the group when Roy appears to be the more knowledgeable of the two.

The group makes their way to a house that Roy knows of that is haunted. They first see a burial ground for slaves, the boys are all too afraid to step onto it except for Nathan, who steps forward seemingly unafraid, I assume this is because he knows what real fear really is. The others stand gaping at him. They move on and explore the actual house. They end up meeting a ghost of sorts, whether this is a legitimate ghost, fear and reaction from being in an old and broken down house, or a ghost of Nathan’s own (his father? Everyone’s disapproval?). This ghost causes everyone to be on edge and finally brings Burke and Roy to fight, they’ve (Burke mostly) has been playing this dominance card for pages upon pages at this point and finally they go at it. They see the ghost again and the boys scatter, Burke and Randy running off one direction, and Roy and Nathan to another. After a moment of being alone, Nathan sees the ghost again. This “thing” that reminds him of his father, standing in the doorway. He’s frightened and uncomfortable and Roy wishes him to turn away from whatever it is, he wants to be with Nathan. Nathan is far too unsettled by the thing watching them from the doorway however, and declines Roy’s advances when Roy surprises him by giving him oral sex. During this scene Burke and Randy walk in on them. Burke is seemingly disgusted and Roy immediately stops and they have an altercation. Burke and Randy run off, and shortly after Roy does as well (Due to extreme fear and embarrassment. Not that he wasn’t happy about being with Nathan.) Leaving Nathan alone.

It’s at this point things escalate even more. Some time passes before a “thing” creeps back into the room with Nathan, except this thing is real as it attack’s him, blindfolds him, and taunts him. It’s revealed that it’s Burke, and what follows is a graphic scene where he proceeds to rape him and beat him to the point of death. Burke leaves him bleeding on the floor and it appears as though Nathan is dead. Roy and Randy find him later, and we are left with Nathan who seems to be dead, we see a scene of what seems to be him being examined by his father, and Roy. We hear his contemplations about each of them. Then we see him backtracking, we relive what happened between him and Burke, and follow Nathan as he walks through the house, through the woods where the boys were camping. We follow him back to the house and eventually find Roy. Nathan and Roy talk and decide to run off together.

———CONCLUSION——-

All in all this book left me shattered. It’s a beautiful representation of how abuse and oppression can effect people, particularly young adults/children. The characters were all extremely realistic in their actions and thoughts and reactions. You felt like you knew them all and you felt for them all and you wanted the best for them. And halfway through the book, you think they’ve got it! And then it drops to such a low that you think it’s all over for them all. One boy dead, one boy a violent rapist and murderer, and one boy finding himself who may never continue due to what happened. The broken family of Nathan even more broken with his death. And just when you think it’s over, you see Nathan’s scene of being in the middle of life and death. Comparing abuse to love, and then making his way back to Nathan, or even just to reality and life itself.

I might be making more of this than it deserves, but it’s just such a good representation of the LGBTQ+ community, and how abuse effects people that I can’t help it. show less

The subject of this book, the interactions of a North Carolina family struggling with poverty, many children, alcoholism, verbal and physical abuse, infidelity, and disability (loss of an arm by the dad and hemophilia of two sons) are not topics that usually interest me. However, this author’s writing is so compelling. It just sings! What a delight it is to read this novel although the story is beyond sad. It’s utterly heartbreaking because it is extremely dark and terrifying in its show more reality.

It took everything I had not to jump into the pages of this book and say to the Mama, “Leave that bastard. I’ll take you to where you can find help and shelter for yourself and your children”. This is not my life, but it upset me so much because this fiction may be real life for someone else just bouncing around the pages of this novel. show less

This book is beautiful and it defies categorization. There is romance in "The Dove in the Belly" of the rough-edged, unfinished, youthful kind. The voices of the characters were the voice of young men I once went to school with and I was immediately taken back in time.

This isn't really a romance, although there are aspects of love and the blossoming of a relationship. This book reads as though it's destined to become a literary classic. It is poetic and smooth and runs the gamut from the show more initial flutterings of that dove in the belly to the brazen first chances that are taken. This story is about two young men who are very different from one another but manage to find a meeting place somewhere between their two worlds. Ben is a football player, well built, and a jock with mouthy, bullish friends. Ronny is slight, creative, a soft-spoken intellectual and gentle and has just been abandoned by his mother ... again.

There is a very slow growth of friendship between these two characters. It is simple at times, complex at others but always engaging. The progression of the characters crept up on me and I found myself wondering what would happen to each of them. I cared about them both in quite different ways.

When Ben reveals to Ronny that his mother has cancer and is receiving devastating treatment, their friendship shifts again. Ronny is able to provide Ben with support without really even understanding what he is doing. I loved the way that Grimsley wrote the interactions between Ben and his family and the way that Ronny seeped into their lives without creating the slightest ripple.

This novel is destined to become a favourite for many readers. I know that it's going to make its way to my shelf and will be picked up more than once. show less

This book is so unlike anything I've read before that after finishing it I really had to wait twenty four hours before writing my review. It tells the story of a teenage boy who seeks to find respite from his abusive family life in a relationship with a boy who lives next door. The book unselfconsciously passes through at least three genres in the process, meaning that the reader can never quite settle. It's not a challenging read, however, for two reasons. First, Jim Grimsley's prose is show more beautifully efficient; for pages on end he doesn't waste a word. Second, the characters, while also sparsely drawn, are human and relatable. As a reader I couldn't help but desperately want the best for the protagonist, Nathan, and hope that Roy could provide his redemption.

I'd highly recommend this unique little book and I'll be chasing up the rest of Jim Grimsley's work. show less