The Boy
by Naeem Murr
On This Page
Description
Who is the boy? And whose body lies beneath a sheet of blue tarpaulin in the basement of a derelict brewery? The discovery of a chilling diary sends Sean Kennedy, once a foster father to the boy, on a desperate search to unlock the secrets of his tragic past and to learn the truth about the boy's part in the disintegration of Sean's family. The boy's compelling and protean personality (he is Devon to the keepers of the Boys' Home, Alex to the Fatman with whom he lives, Priestly to the young show more rent-boy who reveres him, and Durwood to Sean's daughter) arches over this disturbing novel and is mirrored in the lives of all the people Sean encounters. From these different perspectives we witness the boy's many incarnations, which reflect, aggravate, and distort the desires of those around him, involving these characters irrevocably in his own mysterious intentions. The boy keeps just beyond Sean's reach, then draws him into a final encounter that is both poignant and brutal. This first novel is a penetrating study of innocence and malice ineluctably bound. With his protean sexuality and personality, the boy insinuates himself into the lives of those he encounters. We witness how he feeds their deepest desires, nourishes their greatest needs, and involves them irrevocably in his own intentions. Winner of the Lambda Literary Foundation's Editors' Choice Award for 1998! show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Could have been good, is almost good, but rumbles along with such a loud machinery of drama and suspense that the pathos is inaudible. The weight of conventional narrative ensures it is not "disturbing," "heartbreaking," "chilling," "dark," or "powerful."
Een pleegkind heeft een enorme invloed op zijn tijdelijke familie en op andere mensen die hij in zijn schemerwereld tegenkomt.
Nov 21, 2008Dutch
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Published Reviews
ThingScore 50
Das ist ein diabolisches Spiel mit einer häßlichen Pointe am Ende, ist über weite Strecken auch brillant formuliert - aber alles in allem ziemlich überreizt.
added by Indy133
Author Information
8 Works 371 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Boy
- Original publication date
- 1998
- First words
- In a way it is a perfect place for a body.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 84
- Popularity
- 381,060
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.10)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, German
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 2
- ASINs
- 2
