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Jim Grimsley

Author of Dream Boy

22+ Works 2,370 Members 55 Reviews 12 Favorited

About the Author

Jim Grimsley's first novel, Winter Birds (1994), has been called a harrowing portrayal of family violence. It garnered the North Carolina native the 1995 Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Grimsley, who admits he writes autobiographical fiction, has show more also written Dream Boy (1995), and My Drowning (1997). He is also a playwright and has contributed short stories to anthologies such as Men on Men 6: Best New Gay Fiction (1996). Grimsley's plays have been produced nationwide, including at Atlanta's 7 Stages Theatre, where he has been a writer-in-residence for ten years. Jim Grimsley has been awarded the Bryan Prize for Drama by the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the George Oppenheimer Award for Best New American Playwright of 1988. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Jim Grimsley, Jiim Grimsley

Image credit: Emory University

Series

Works by Jim Grimsley

Dream Boy (1995) 754 copies
Comfort & Joy (1999) 316 copies
Winter Birds: A Novel (1992) 302 copies
Kirith Kirin (2000) 226 copies
Boulevard (2002) 168 copies
My Drowning (1997) 147 copies
The Ordinary (2004) 143 copies
The Last Green Tree (2006) 78 copies
The Dove in the Belly (2022) — Author — 42 copies
Forgiveness (2007) 17 copies

Associated Works

Bending the Landscape: Science Fiction (1998) — Contributor — 221 copies
Men on Men 2000: Best New Gay Fiction for the Millennium (2000) — Contributor — 151 copies
Best American Gay Fiction 1996 (1996) — Contributor — 115 copies
Flesh and the Word 4: Gay Erotic Confessionals (1997) — Contributor — 110 copies
Science Fiction: The Best of 2001 (2002) — Contributor — 95 copies
Best American Gay Fiction 3 (1998) — Foreword — 86 copies
Atlanta Noir (2017) — Contributor — 58 copies
New Stories from the South 2001: The Year's Best (2001) — Contributor — 46 copies
A Portrait of Southern Writers: Photographs (2000) — Contributor — 13 copies
Godenzonen : verhalen over mannen (1999) — Contributor — 6 copies

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Reviews

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 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.
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robfwalter | 15 other reviews | Jul 31, 2023 |
3 3/4 stars

Now this is a romance well worth reading. It took a bit to get into the style of the author, but once I did, the story flowed wonderfully and I began to get into Ford and Dan as a couple.

I think a quote from the book will sum up my thoughts on this book

Yet, they slept peacefully, side by side, and the body of one became adjusted to the rhythm of the other, and the breathing of one slowed the breathing of the other, and they dream in tandem and shared fragments of each other's dreams, and they grew more like each other day by day, not in personality but in the fissures of the brain, because, seeing the same things every day, day after day, they laid down crevices in themselves that were the same shape, that were the same events written into memory, and this was enough ... (pg.s 207-208)


It's a slow romance, full of doubts and discomfort on both sides. Ford isn't sure of his footing in this new world, does not even like to have the word "gay" used to describe him, yet, he knows deep down that he's the happiest he's ever been with Dan. In the face of his parents' doubts and anger at his going against the family tradition of marrying when told to, he finds he has to center himself and work his way to a point that he can face them and say "this is my life".

Dan, too, has his problems. He's a hemophiliac and it HIV positive, a combination which, at first, causes Ford some qualms. A childhood of poverty and hardship has left Dan with hard ideas about how much money he spends and he's fiercely independent. Yet, when the time comes, Ford proves to be just what Dan needs, to be able to help him with his illness and take care of him when Dan is too impaired to deal with things on his own.

Lovely romance.

Theme song for this book: More Than Words by Extreme.
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fuzzipueo | 4 other reviews | Apr 24, 2022 |
Beautifully written chronicle of abuse. Strange and dreamlike but also horrifying.
 
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jennybeast | 4 other reviews | Apr 14, 2022 |
This is surprisingly good book. I was expecting something a bit fluffier, and instead found a very well written story. The plot is simple, a gate has formed between two worlds, one running on technology, the other on magic. And the world of technology sees the open spaces, and the backwards ways of the world of magic.

Jedda is a linguist, providing her services to merchants who trade across the gate. When she is asked to be the linguist with a delegation to see Malin, a mysterious leader of this world.

The plot of the book seems simple, but its incredibly nuanced. Between Jedda getting a taste of this world that is usually hidden from her people, to the culture of this world. This book is second in a serious, but you can read it without the first book. However, things aren't explained. Why something works isn't given, but enough detail is given so that a reader can pick up on whats happening.

The other thing is that this book is beautifully written. It has a fairy tale feel to it, while being grounded in a reality. The mystical is there, but as a background.

Highly recommended.
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TheDivineOomba | 8 other reviews | Sep 22, 2020 |

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Works
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Rating
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