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Dream Boy
ALA Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual Book Award.
In his electrifying novel, adolescent gay love, violence, and the spirituality of old-time religion are combined through the alchemy of Grimsley's vision into a powerfully suspenseful story of escape and redemption.
195 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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6876 people want to read
About the author
Jim Grimsley
47 books393 followersJim Grimsley published a new novel in May of 2022, The Dove in the Belly, out from Levine Querido. The book is a look at the past when queer people lived more hidden lives than now. Grimsley was born in rural eastern North Carolina. He has published short stories and essays in various quarterlies, including DoubleTake, New Orleans Review, Carolina Quarterly, New Virginia Review, the LA Times, and the New York Times Book Review. Jim’s first novel Winter Birds, was published in the United States by Algonquin Books in the fall of 1994. Winter Birds won the Sue Kaufman Prize for best first novel from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. He has published other novels, including Dream Boy, Kirith Kirin, and My Drowning. His books are available in Hebrew, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese. He has also published a collection of plays and most recently a memoir, How I Shed My Skin. His body of work as a prose writer and playwright was awarded the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2005. For twenty years he taught writing at Emory University in Atlanta.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 480 reviews
December 3, 2023
BURKE YOU ABSOLUTE VILE, DISGUSTING DOG PILE OF SHIT!! PEOPLE LIKE YOU DESERVE TO CHOKE
Dear Roy,
I liked you. Until I didn’t. Fuck you. I don’t trust you. You weren’t that much better than Burke. You’re scared and feel humiliated. Nathan deserves better than your sorry ass.
Dear Nathan,
I’m sorry. I’m sorry the world is unfair. I’m sorry for how they treated you. I’m sorry your family isn’t enough. I’m sorry you can’t see why you’re better off without Roy. I’m sorry you don’t see how you deserve better. I wish you had walked out of that attic without going back to him, but you’re young, so I get it. I hope you get the happiness you deserve.
Dear Jim,
You had no business making me sob like that towards the end. My heart will never forgive you.
This isn’t a romance. This isn’t a complete love story either. It’s a story of Nathan, and then Nathan with Roy, and then Nathan as he navigates love, experience, abuse, neglect, and frantic emotions. It’s about Nathan as he takes us to a small but agonizing journey of different feelings. It’s about Roy as he gives Nathan something to look forward to; a save haven to run away to from his dad; a boy he sees potential with.
This story isn’t as heartbreaking as it sounds. It’s only the ending that was really heartbreaking because of what happened.
Trigger warning for on-page rape.
"You can't be away from everybody" Roy seems briefly troubled by the idea.
"Everybody but you, Nathan amends.
Dear Roy,
I liked you. Until I didn’t. Fuck you. I don’t trust you. You weren’t that much better than Burke. You’re scared and feel humiliated. Nathan deserves better than your sorry ass.
Dear Nathan,
I’m sorry. I’m sorry the world is unfair. I’m sorry for how they treated you. I’m sorry your family isn’t enough. I’m sorry you can’t see why you’re better off without Roy. I’m sorry you don’t see how you deserve better. I wish you had walked out of that attic without going back to him, but you’re young, so I get it. I hope you get the happiness you deserve.
Dear Jim,
You had no business making me sob like that towards the end. My heart will never forgive you.
This isn’t a romance. This isn’t a complete love story either. It’s a story of Nathan, and then Nathan with Roy, and then Nathan as he navigates love, experience, abuse, neglect, and frantic emotions. It’s about Nathan as he takes us to a small but agonizing journey of different feelings. It’s about Roy as he gives Nathan something to look forward to; a save haven to run away to from his dad; a boy he sees potential with.
This story isn’t as heartbreaking as it sounds. It’s only the ending that was really heartbreaking because of what happened.
Trigger warning for on-page rape.
"You can't be away from everybody" Roy seems briefly troubled by the idea.
"Everybody but you, Nathan amends.
July 7, 2013
Some books don't deserve ratings. Not because they're just that bad, but because a number cannot encapsulate everything found within their bindings. Dream Boy, for me, is one of those books - what I liked about it is also what prevented me from loving it fully.
First published over ten years ago at a succinct 195 pages, Dream Boy revolves around Nathan, a sophomore in high school who falls into a complex relationship with Roy, a senior. Nathan comes from a troubled home. His alcoholic father exemplifies sanctimony while his mother wisps around like a leaf. Roy gives him warmth, but at a cost - he doesn't want Nathan to tell anyone about their relationship.
Dream Boy is about young adults, but might not be for young adults. Grimsley's writing is concise and almost clinical, yet strongly sensual and violent. His brevity brings Nathan's insecurities and abuse to life. On the surface this book may appear to be about a relationship between two boys, but it has a dark undercurrent and themes that can capture one's mind long after reading.
But the blunt nature of this book left me wanting more. There's a difference between an author deciding to leave aspects of his work ambiguous and failing to explore certain characters, motifs, etc. The motives behind why characters would hurt one another or how some of their emotions escalated so quickly could have been further fleshed out.
I would recommend this to readers searching for an unusual gay love story with beautiful yet jagged writing. Save this one for later if you're searching for a happy ending - while it has nothing in common with sunshine or prancing unicorns, I promise that it'll make you think.
*review cross-posted on my blog, the quiet voice.
First published over ten years ago at a succinct 195 pages, Dream Boy revolves around Nathan, a sophomore in high school who falls into a complex relationship with Roy, a senior. Nathan comes from a troubled home. His alcoholic father exemplifies sanctimony while his mother wisps around like a leaf. Roy gives him warmth, but at a cost - he doesn't want Nathan to tell anyone about their relationship.
Dream Boy is about young adults, but might not be for young adults. Grimsley's writing is concise and almost clinical, yet strongly sensual and violent. His brevity brings Nathan's insecurities and abuse to life. On the surface this book may appear to be about a relationship between two boys, but it has a dark undercurrent and themes that can capture one's mind long after reading.
But the blunt nature of this book left me wanting more. There's a difference between an author deciding to leave aspects of his work ambiguous and failing to explore certain characters, motifs, etc. The motives behind why characters would hurt one another or how some of their emotions escalated so quickly could have been further fleshed out.
I would recommend this to readers searching for an unusual gay love story with beautiful yet jagged writing. Save this one for later if you're searching for a happy ending - while it has nothing in common with sunshine or prancing unicorns, I promise that it'll make you think.
*review cross-posted on my blog, the quiet voice.
November 12, 2023
Powerful silent imagery.....
Grimsley uses the third person present to tell us this story. So even though we are getting Nathan's point of view, a distance is still created between us and him and him and his world. This distance mirrors the same distance that Nathan needs to be able to survive what he has been through. So with this writing tool, Grimsley puts us in the picture by making us feel the distance, the silence, the invisibility, the loneliness, the wariness. The distrust Nathan feels is even transmitted in our view of Roy. We know Roy through Nathan, and like Nathan, I wanted the relationship, Roy, to be something good, but like Nathan, I could not fully trust that he would not hurt him either.
Again, Grimsley uses his words to create the surreal feel of the last third of the book. This surreal feeling left me unsure what to think, what to believe. He leaves the ending open to different interpretations. My preferred take is the one I'm going to try and take with me.
It's not the kind of story which makes you happy, because it touches ugly things, this notwithstanding I found it excellently crafted. I admire how Grimsley gave a silent voice to Nathan, which I heard loud and clear. All in such a short amount of pages.
BR with Ije here & here and Ira offline
Grimsley uses the third person present to tell us this story. So even though we are getting Nathan's point of view, a distance is still created between us and him and him and his world. This distance mirrors the same distance that Nathan needs to be able to survive what he has been through. So with this writing tool, Grimsley puts us in the picture by making us feel the distance, the silence, the invisibility, the loneliness, the wariness. The distrust Nathan feels is even transmitted in our view of Roy. We know Roy through Nathan, and like Nathan, I wanted the relationship, Roy, to be something good, but like Nathan, I could not fully trust that he would not hurt him either.
Again, Grimsley uses his words to create the surreal feel of the last third of the book. This surreal feeling left me unsure what to think, what to believe. He leaves the ending open to different interpretations. My preferred take is the one I'm going to try and take with me.
It's not the kind of story which makes you happy, because it touches ugly things, this notwithstanding I found it excellently crafted. I admire how Grimsley gave a silent voice to Nathan, which I heard loud and clear. All in such a short amount of pages.
BR with Ije here & here and Ira offline
September 13, 2017
Jim Grimsley's wonderful book is conceived of facts and dreams.
Its facts are disturbing and painful - Nathan's abusive father, Burke's violent acts, the brutality of the very environment surrounding Nathan and Roy - conjure up a setting where even the cracking of a floorboard or a light under a door could indicate the onset of violence and abuse.
But there are also dreams in Nathan's small world: his encounters with Roy (despite Roy's demand that they remain a secret) are infused with tenderness and a sense of wonderment and so are the frequent descriptions of the area surrounding their houses where the lake and the cemetery become places lost in time.
The way Nathan silently compares the loving gestures shared with Roy with the heinous acts his father forces upon him - and how he desperately tries to hide away his terrifying knowledge - is simply heartbreaking.
The novel focuses on small events: a shared drive, a lunch at school, a walk in the woods, but all these occurrences take on the quality of a Southern Gothic fairytale. The atmosphere is suspended, the prose sparse and soft like the carpet of leaves stepped on by Nathan and Roy in their nocturnal wanderings.
I've read the whole novel almost holding my breath as if a sudden noise or a crack in my focus could break the fragile spell cast upon the main two characters. The ending, ambiguous but also full of hope, left me speechless.
Dream Boy is a powerful and amazing novel.
Its facts are disturbing and painful - Nathan's abusive father, Burke's violent acts, the brutality of the very environment surrounding Nathan and Roy - conjure up a setting where even the cracking of a floorboard or a light under a door could indicate the onset of violence and abuse.
But there are also dreams in Nathan's small world: his encounters with Roy (despite Roy's demand that they remain a secret) are infused with tenderness and a sense of wonderment and so are the frequent descriptions of the area surrounding their houses where the lake and the cemetery become places lost in time.
The way Nathan silently compares the loving gestures shared with Roy with the heinous acts his father forces upon him - and how he desperately tries to hide away his terrifying knowledge - is simply heartbreaking.
The novel focuses on small events: a shared drive, a lunch at school, a walk in the woods, but all these occurrences take on the quality of a Southern Gothic fairytale. The atmosphere is suspended, the prose sparse and soft like the carpet of leaves stepped on by Nathan and Roy in their nocturnal wanderings.
I've read the whole novel almost holding my breath as if a sudden noise or a crack in my focus could break the fragile spell cast upon the main two characters. The ending, ambiguous but also full of hope, left me speechless.
Dream Boy is a powerful and amazing novel.
January 21, 2015
Such a beautiful, deeply emotional, poignant and touching piece of prose!.. Jim Grimsley's writing. is magical.
No more words, let the book talk to you.
*** Smith nailed it.
No more words, let the book talk to you.
*** Smith nailed it.
April 6, 2024
Update: read this again on a lazy Saturday afternoon for the sixth time maybe in 10 or more years. Still has the same deep effect on my mind. I feel like Nathan entering the place he knows he will never leave... A place he has been before. A haunted place. A beautiful place. Beauty that has a the highest price...
This was my third or fourth read of this magnificent book by Jim Grimsley. This is the book I return to when I want to be inspired to write better.
This was my first reaction to Dream boy, in 2010, when I first read it:
Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley. I read it in an hour and a half. The apartment could have been engulfed in fire. I couldn't care less. I only wanted his words. Only needed to turn the pages.
It has been a very very long and lonely time since I've come across such a kindred soul. His writing is in tune with a song I've been humming secretly all my life. If I could write a novel like that, I would die at peace with myself.
I finished the book.
Shut it close.
Wept into my hands for five minutes.
_______________
last night, I couldn't sleep and read Nathan and Roy's story again. I savored every word. It always leaves me aching. This is a Southern voice at its best. This is as powerful as Faulkner, and I won't take that statement back.
Nathan is a character I can't and will never forget. The kind of character you think of in the last years of your life, and miss, and wish you'd known in real life.
READ THIS BOOK.
This was my third or fourth read of this magnificent book by Jim Grimsley. This is the book I return to when I want to be inspired to write better.
This was my first reaction to Dream boy, in 2010, when I first read it:
Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley. I read it in an hour and a half. The apartment could have been engulfed in fire. I couldn't care less. I only wanted his words. Only needed to turn the pages.
It has been a very very long and lonely time since I've come across such a kindred soul. His writing is in tune with a song I've been humming secretly all my life. If I could write a novel like that, I would die at peace with myself.
I finished the book.
Shut it close.
Wept into my hands for five minutes.
_______________
last night, I couldn't sleep and read Nathan and Roy's story again. I savored every word. It always leaves me aching. This is a Southern voice at its best. This is as powerful as Faulkner, and I won't take that statement back.
Nathan is a character I can't and will never forget. The kind of character you think of in the last years of your life, and miss, and wish you'd known in real life.
READ THIS BOOK.
October 10, 2017
This destroyed me.
December 1, 2024
✰ 3.5 stars ✰
“Nathan has stayed frozen in that position ever since. But these are memories. He can escape them. What he cannot escape is the sensation of wind inside him.”
Damn you, Jim Grimsley, damn you.
There is power in never really addressing or depicting just exactly what it is that haunts someone. To instill fear in both the reader and the protagonist of a crime or sin so tangible that it evokes in you such a horrible and haunted feeling, that at any minute, the peace you worked so hard to build up can be ripped away from you, simply because the actions of one uncontrollable, if not volatile person cannot be fathomed or recognized. 😣 Till you have to put up all your shackles to protect you to prevent it from happening again. When you know what was so indecent and sinful that it just hurts to think that there is the chance that it could happen again, without even expressing what it was...
The trepidation and anxiousness of fear was so tangible that my heart hurt. It literally hurt, because I felt that if I even let my guard down of not knowing what turn the author would take, it would be the same as Nathan feeling safe. How the author instills that apprehension and suspense was grounding - '... the night Dad tripped over the cord and Nathan fled. Time stopped. The room has become a haunted place.' 💔😢💔💔 It was present in the knowing looks and stolen furtive glances that proved much more sinister than Nathan could have prepared himself for - predatory that I just felt so much for his helplessness and his unwillingness to be such a helpless victim. A target for anyone to prey upon... Why was it captured so vividly? So despairingly??
“And Nathan sees, in a fleeting way, the irony that what pleases him with Roy terrifies him with his father.”
Published in 1995, Dream Boy is a short book, but it does not waste time in making sure it leaves an impression. From the yearning of first love with Roy, sixteen-year-old Nathan has the longing of having someone he can relate to. An escape from the confines of his drunken father's religious preaches, and his mother's listless chances of freedom. 'He closes the door and locks it. Nothing more will escape.' 🥺 Escaping and exploring the unbridled desires that springs up between both Roy and Nathan paves the way for them to escape the religious sanctimonious sermons that their parents adhere to. It is as forbidden as it is precious to them both - uncertain of what repercussions could be wielded if they yield to temptation of more. 😥
��� And when it is breached further, the questions that arise in Roy - handsome high school senior who claims to have a girlfriend, but hugs Nathan so fiercely, like if he let go, he would lose him - of when Nathan knows more about touching and feeling that he could ever process? 'Who is Nathan, why is Roy with him? Nathan can almost hear the words. Who is Nathan?' 😟 What doubts and fears arise in them both of speaking aloud that which can not be named, while silently understanding just why exactly he allows Nathan to sleep in his barn, because Nathan is just too terrified to sleep alone and unprotected in his bedroom again.
I cannot find it in my heart to forgive or even overlook Nathan's mother's participation in his father's unlawful and sinful behavior. Nor can I fathom what twisted psychosis can preach ways to repent, when they see no wrong in their actions; it is morbid and depraved and it disgusts me to no end.... Just because she was helping him get by to avoid confrontation, to me that is insignificant as a means of protection. To me, she was just as guilty and complicit in how he hurt Nathan, despite her efforts. 😒 I felt cold and angry with her; angry at her willingness to stay silent to keep the peace, frustrated with her lack of conviction, hurt that she did try - yes, she did - but, it just was not enough. Choosing to avoid it is just as much as denying that it is even happening... 🙅🏻♀️
“Life becomes a cool gentleness, a process of listening, a caressing presence. In the world that exists only through Roy.”
In the end, things only worsen for them both. A camping trip gone awry - no, awry is too small a word to describe the magnitude of the severity of it. But, it is their one chance to be free. To be rid of rejection of a community that will never accept them, religious morals that weighed them down, to break free to believe in a love that they knew was theirs. 🙏🏻 'It is perfect to think of Roy and nothing else, to dwell on Roy’s image and think nothing at all.' His reprieve - his comfort, his solace. Even when his words stung of avoidance and confusion, buried beneath both was this fierce longing just to be.
To feel safe and content with the warmth of affection they were able to provide to one another. The quiet beauty of first love and of regret; the unbreakable and unthinkable combined to prove each other's worth to each other. 'A little fear seizes him and he reaches for Roy again, in his mind at least. Roy who feels, even now, like protection.' 🥺 It made my heart ache with a bittersweet sadness of being so afraid to be feared that they could not even express the want openly... It was sweet, almost innocent-like in wonderment. The final act - it was a chance for Roy to redeem himself for his unspoken actions, and an integral awakening for both of them - Roy, just as much as Nathan, that made their decision all the more necessary. And one I felt was truly worth it. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
“Nathan has stayed frozen in that position ever since. But these are memories. He can escape them. What he cannot escape is the sensation of wind inside him.”
Damn you, Jim Grimsley, damn you.
There is power in never really addressing or depicting just exactly what it is that haunts someone. To instill fear in both the reader and the protagonist of a crime or sin so tangible that it evokes in you such a horrible and haunted feeling, that at any minute, the peace you worked so hard to build up can be ripped away from you, simply because the actions of one uncontrollable, if not volatile person cannot be fathomed or recognized. 😣 Till you have to put up all your shackles to protect you to prevent it from happening again. When you know what was so indecent and sinful that it just hurts to think that there is the chance that it could happen again, without even expressing what it was...
The trepidation and anxiousness of fear was so tangible that my heart hurt. It literally hurt, because I felt that if I even let my guard down of not knowing what turn the author would take, it would be the same as Nathan feeling safe. How the author instills that apprehension and suspense was grounding - '... the night Dad tripped over the cord and Nathan fled. Time stopped. The room has become a haunted place.' 💔😢💔💔 It was present in the knowing looks and stolen furtive glances that proved much more sinister than Nathan could have prepared himself for - predatory that I just felt so much for his helplessness and his unwillingness to be such a helpless victim. A target for anyone to prey upon... Why was it captured so vividly? So despairingly??
“And Nathan sees, in a fleeting way, the irony that what pleases him with Roy terrifies him with his father.”
Published in 1995, Dream Boy is a short book, but it does not waste time in making sure it leaves an impression. From the yearning of first love with Roy, sixteen-year-old Nathan has the longing of having someone he can relate to. An escape from the confines of his drunken father's religious preaches, and his mother's listless chances of freedom. 'He closes the door and locks it. Nothing more will escape.' 🥺 Escaping and exploring the unbridled desires that springs up between both Roy and Nathan paves the way for them to escape the religious sanctimonious sermons that their parents adhere to. It is as forbidden as it is precious to them both - uncertain of what repercussions could be wielded if they yield to temptation of more. 😥
��� And when it is breached further, the questions that arise in Roy - handsome high school senior who claims to have a girlfriend, but hugs Nathan so fiercely, like if he let go, he would lose him - of when Nathan knows more about touching and feeling that he could ever process? 'Who is Nathan, why is Roy with him? Nathan can almost hear the words. Who is Nathan?' 😟 What doubts and fears arise in them both of speaking aloud that which can not be named, while silently understanding just why exactly he allows Nathan to sleep in his barn, because Nathan is just too terrified to sleep alone and unprotected in his bedroom again.
I cannot find it in my heart to forgive or even overlook Nathan's mother's participation in his father's unlawful and sinful behavior. Nor can I fathom what twisted psychosis can preach ways to repent, when they see no wrong in their actions; it is morbid and depraved and it disgusts me to no end.... Just because she was helping him get by to avoid confrontation, to me that is insignificant as a means of protection. To me, she was just as guilty and complicit in how he hurt Nathan, despite her efforts. 😒 I felt cold and angry with her; angry at her willingness to stay silent to keep the peace, frustrated with her lack of conviction, hurt that she did try - yes, she did - but, it just was not enough. Choosing to avoid it is just as much as denying that it is even happening... 🙅🏻♀️
“Life becomes a cool gentleness, a process of listening, a caressing presence. In the world that exists only through Roy.”
In the end, things only worsen for them both. A camping trip gone awry - no, awry is too small a word to describe the magnitude of the severity of it. But, it is their one chance to be free. To be rid of rejection of a community that will never accept them, religious morals that weighed them down, to break free to believe in a love that they knew was theirs. 🙏🏻 'It is perfect to think of Roy and nothing else, to dwell on Roy’s image and think nothing at all.' His reprieve - his comfort, his solace. Even when his words stung of avoidance and confusion, buried beneath both was this fierce longing just to be.
To feel safe and content with the warmth of affection they were able to provide to one another. The quiet beauty of first love and of regret; the unbreakable and unthinkable combined to prove each other's worth to each other. 'A little fear seizes him and he reaches for Roy again, in his mind at least. Roy who feels, even now, like protection.' 🥺 It made my heart ache with a bittersweet sadness of being so afraid to be feared that they could not even express the want openly... It was sweet, almost innocent-like in wonderment. The final act - it was a chance for Roy to redeem himself for his unspoken actions, and an integral awakening for both of them - Roy, just as much as Nathan, that made their decision all the more necessary. And one I felt was truly worth it. ❤️🩹❤️🩹
February 16, 2010
Dream Boy is a good beginnng for a novel. It's a decent outline. But aside from an intriguing writing style, this book fails if only because there is no ending.
Actually, I felt extremely cheated and angry that the author would do such a thing. First he manipulates us ruthlessly and plays on our emotions and for what? To give us a book with no ending? Either suggested ending is an unbelieveably trite.
The author should be ashamed of himself. Worn out plot, brutal enough to make reading difficult and then absolutely no pay off.
And what about all of the missing material and answers to questions raised by the book? What was Burke all about? Why did the father turn from normal to brutal at some point in the boy's life? What drove Roy? Was Nathan gay because his father abused him? And who is this this narrator?
An utter waste of time. Much more accomplished gay fiction out there whether you are looking for a coming out story or a story full of brutal challenges for young people.
Don't reward this author's barbarism at putting his readers through such trauma for nothing.
Actually, I felt extremely cheated and angry that the author would do such a thing. First he manipulates us ruthlessly and plays on our emotions and for what? To give us a book with no ending? Either suggested ending is an unbelieveably trite.
The author should be ashamed of himself. Worn out plot, brutal enough to make reading difficult and then absolutely no pay off.
And what about all of the missing material and answers to questions raised by the book? What was Burke all about? Why did the father turn from normal to brutal at some point in the boy's life? What drove Roy? Was Nathan gay because his father abused him? And who is this this narrator?
An utter waste of time. Much more accomplished gay fiction out there whether you are looking for a coming out story or a story full of brutal challenges for young people.
Don't reward this author's barbarism at putting his readers through such trauma for nothing.
September 1, 2011
Wow, I don't know what to make of this. I heard about it on NPR; the commentator, a gay man, said he wished he had had this book when he was a teenager, because it would have told him he was not alone. That seemed a good reason to read it.
Dream Boy follows Nathan, a bright, delicate 15-year-old-boy, as he falls into a dreamlike courtship with Roy, an older, popular boy at Nathan's new school. Though the sex never feels prurient, the novel is unrelentingly sexual. I started to wonder if there was a single moment of Nathan's life when he wasn't obsessing about sex - and then I realized that Nathan is a fifteen-year-old boy, so the answer might well be NO.
What makes the novel so powerful (and it is powerful) is the haunting sense of doom that hangs over every moment: sex is dangerous to Nathan in ways that I can hardly imagine, and his situation made me want to hurry up and finish the book before everything came crashing down. The relationship between the two boys is poignant, confused, touchingly inarticulate, and haunted by the emotional and physical peril implicit in their bond. The final denouement, which takes place in a haunted house, is both eerie and disturbingly concrete; my conscious mind was going "Wait, what happened there?" while some inner part of me was saying, "I think I get it." But I'm still not sure I do.
This is a very short novel, almost a novella; but it's complex, lyrical, disturbing. Worth reading.
Dream Boy follows Nathan, a bright, delicate 15-year-old-boy, as he falls into a dreamlike courtship with Roy, an older, popular boy at Nathan's new school. Though the sex never feels prurient, the novel is unrelentingly sexual. I started to wonder if there was a single moment of Nathan's life when he wasn't obsessing about sex - and then I realized that Nathan is a fifteen-year-old boy, so the answer might well be NO.
What makes the novel so powerful (and it is powerful) is the haunting sense of doom that hangs over every moment: sex is dangerous to Nathan in ways that I can hardly imagine, and his situation made me want to hurry up and finish the book before everything came crashing down. The relationship between the two boys is poignant, confused, touchingly inarticulate, and haunted by the emotional and physical peril implicit in their bond. The final denouement, which takes place in a haunted house, is both eerie and disturbingly concrete; my conscious mind was going "Wait, what happened there?" while some inner part of me was saying, "I think I get it." But I'm still not sure I do.
This is a very short novel, almost a novella; but it's complex, lyrical, disturbing. Worth reading.
June 21, 2018
There's so much tenderness to this story, but also violence, and the third person present tense really made sense to me by the end, as perhaps it was the only logical choice for Grimsley to make. This is the kind of book I hope to write someday. Told with such brevity but maintaining a thematic power that really hits home with the final sentences of the novel. Incredibly well done.
"By now the pond and cemetery are familiar landmarks, and Nathan knows by certain signs--the particular twist of a branch, the bend of the creek that runs through the woods here--that they are following the path to the Indian mound. Roy's long strides set an easy pace and his silence engulfs Nathan so that both move with attention to quiet. The country thereabouts is haunted with memories of the courtship between the boys, and near the creekbed they look at each other. 'Don't say anything about that,' Roy warns, but he is laughing when he says it" (110).
"By now the pond and cemetery are familiar landmarks, and Nathan knows by certain signs--the particular twist of a branch, the bend of the creek that runs through the woods here--that they are following the path to the Indian mound. Roy's long strides set an easy pace and his silence engulfs Nathan so that both move with attention to quiet. The country thereabouts is haunted with memories of the courtship between the boys, and near the creekbed they look at each other. 'Don't say anything about that,' Roy warns, but he is laughing when he says it" (110).
April 21, 2022
Beautiful, lyrical writing; first love in a rural Southern town in the 60s; family drama that's not too overwhelming if somewhat stereotypical and icky; and a complete non-sensical ending that felt like the author lit up a doobie and couldn't figure out how to end it and went way too metaphorical.
The first time I read this in my late teens, I was bowled away by the setting, the quality of the writing and the emotional pull of these two young boys desperate for love and approval, finally finding it in each other. Enough so that I could overlook that ending and make excuses for it.
Now? That ending, everything from , can burn in the fires of Mt. Doom. Because that's a bunch of malarkey that stinks worse than Satan's ball sack.
But the writing sure is pretty.
The first time I read this in my late teens, I was bowled away by the setting, the quality of the writing and the emotional pull of these two young boys desperate for love and approval, finally finding it in each other. Enough so that I could overlook that ending and make excuses for it.
Now? That ending, everything from , can burn in the fires of Mt. Doom. Because that's a bunch of malarkey that stinks worse than Satan's ball sack.
But the writing sure is pretty.
November 9, 2014
Such a brilliant gay fiction book.
This was my first gay romance book or gay fiction book, whichever you prefer to call it. I fell in love with it the second I started reading it. It didn't take me very long to read it, because I couldn't put it down, but partly because it was very short, too. It was a very quick read. And I also read it on my 15th birthday, which isn't really relevant... but anyway.
Jim Grimsley did an amazing job with Nathan. He was a shy boy, but he had something inside. It was broken but it had the innocence of childhood. Even when he took the lead I could see the childishness in him. It was raw and beautiful to me and the detail in the book was exquisite. We don't get a lot of gory details, but we can see everything and we know what's going on.
My main issue with this book was how Roy treated Nathan. It's not exactly a romance, so I guess it's why I was able to enjoy it as much as I did. There was a romance of sorts in the book, but it's more of a gay fiction book or a YA gay fiction book than an m/m romance, which is what I usually read. Still, I did think it was amazing and the writing really brought me in.
This was my first gay romance book or gay fiction book, whichever you prefer to call it. I fell in love with it the second I started reading it. It didn't take me very long to read it, because I couldn't put it down, but partly because it was very short, too. It was a very quick read. And I also read it on my 15th birthday, which isn't really relevant... but anyway.
Jim Grimsley did an amazing job with Nathan. He was a shy boy, but he had something inside. It was broken but it had the innocence of childhood. Even when he took the lead I could see the childishness in him. It was raw and beautiful to me and the detail in the book was exquisite. We don't get a lot of gory details, but we can see everything and we know what's going on.
My main issue with this book was how Roy treated Nathan. It's not exactly a romance, so I guess it's why I was able to enjoy it as much as I did. There was a romance of sorts in the book, but it's more of a gay fiction book or a YA gay fiction book than an m/m romance, which is what I usually read. Still, I did think it was amazing and the writing really brought me in.
September 2, 2015
Many thanks to Sofia for buddy reading this with me. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to read it on my own.
This is a melancholy story, poignant, beautifully written but very disturbing. Even the teen gay romance within its pages could not redeem it from the darkness and the violence within it. Everything shimmered with the fragility of first love but shattered into pieces with the violence.
And then the open endedness of the story did not allow for resolution and peace. Although I suppose we can read into the ending what we will.
I did look at some of the reviews about this book and I had to wonder.
Am I the only person to acknowledge that this is a story about an abused child? I was outraged by the adults in this book - the abuser father, the mother who by her silence collaborated in this abuse and all those people who didn't see or perhaps couldn't have seen the abused teenager in their midst.
I just couldn't get over the abuse. It isn't portrayed in any detail but it is implied in the actions and words of the characters. It hovers over the story like some malevolent spirit and that is the impression this story left on me.The abuse overshadowed the teen romance for me and it overshadowed it because I was outraged!
I didn't like this story even though I gave it three stars. It left me disturbed and with far too many questions.
But funnily enough I enjoyed the writing. It was both poignant and beautiful but with the underlying theme of darkness, violence and abuse. Right from the beginning I knew something was going to happen but for me the darkness when it came was not just from one person. It was present in many of the characters.
For me Nathan is the hero in this story. The younger boy caught between the grip of his first love for another boy and the oppressive grip of his abuser of a father. On the face of it this seems like a love story between two teenagers but I felt that Roy ,the love interest, was rather controlling and that his first overtures towards Nathan were bordering on 'grooming'. I know that the hiddeness of the relationship was probably about the fact that it was a gay relationship but the power differential and the way in which Roy had control left me feeling uncomfortable.
But not as uncomfortable as the abusing dad!
There were clear signs of child abuse. The fact that Nathan seemed to be sexually advanced and was sleeping with his clothes on (in case he had to run) indicated to me that he was abused by his father. So Nathan was caught between two men - his father and Roy, although his father was clearly the abuser.
His mother seemed to be powerless but still sympathetic towards her son but she did nothing. She turned a blind eye to the abuse of her son. I wanted to shake her!
What I want is justice!!
And then maybe I would be happy with two teenagers who would be free from abuse and manipulation to explore their love. That's my ending.
Rant over.
I gave it three stars. The writing is excellent, well worth five stars or more, but I just didn't enjoy the story so I couldn't give it more stars. The story is very atmospheric. The writing takes you to rural America where 'religion and ritual' supposedly hold sway in the open but in reality is superficial because secrets and darkness hold sway behind closed doors.
And so for me this is a story with a dream like surface. It is the kind of writing that reminds me of shimmering summer heat but underneath is the stuff of nightmares, utter darkness, desperation and horror.
The religion to me was part of the veneer of respectability and everyone knows full well how child abusers can remain hidden in the guise of respectability not just in church but in any responsible or prominent position in society.
So for me there were incredibly dark undertones. I am not sure whether this is what the story is trying to convey or whether I am reading this through a 21st century lens of historic child abuse allegations and child protection procedures. For people who work with children these can make us hyper vigilant which isn't a bad thing but can colour how we see things.
And so this is how I have seen the story. Through the eyes of a professional who works with children and is trained to be alert to abusers and to the abused whether children or adults. My dream for this story is that the mother would wake up and take steps to protect her son. That the Father would be arrested and thrown in jail or perhaps have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea (just as Jesus suggested for those who abuse children Mark 9:42) and that the bullying and violent teenager be apprehended and also dealt with by the law.
I didn't like the ending because it left me feeling unsatisfied. What happened? I guess as a reader I am left to draw my own conclusion. I dislike open ended stories. I like at least a hint of the ending otherwise to me it feels a little like a cop out and I didn't get that ending here. We are left to dream the ending for ourselves.
For me it seems as if Nathan was very much alive at the end or maybe he wasn't but whatever happened he gave Roy the chance to leave his small town where horror happens behind closed doors. And Nathan whether alive or dead also managed to escape and move to freedom. Whether alive or dead both boys were able to escape to freedom.
And for that I am grateful.
But I definitely will not be watching the film!
This is a melancholy story, poignant, beautifully written but very disturbing. Even the teen gay romance within its pages could not redeem it from the darkness and the violence within it. Everything shimmered with the fragility of first love but shattered into pieces with the violence.
And then the open endedness of the story did not allow for resolution and peace. Although I suppose we can read into the ending what we will.
I did look at some of the reviews about this book and I had to wonder.
Am I the only person to acknowledge that this is a story about an abused child? I was outraged by the adults in this book - the abuser father, the mother who by her silence collaborated in this abuse and all those people who didn't see or perhaps couldn't have seen the abused teenager in their midst.
I just couldn't get over the abuse. It isn't portrayed in any detail but it is implied in the actions and words of the characters. It hovers over the story like some malevolent spirit and that is the impression this story left on me.The abuse overshadowed the teen romance for me and it overshadowed it because I was outraged!
I didn't like this story even though I gave it three stars. It left me disturbed and with far too many questions.
But funnily enough I enjoyed the writing. It was both poignant and beautiful but with the underlying theme of darkness, violence and abuse. Right from the beginning I knew something was going to happen but for me the darkness when it came was not just from one person. It was present in many of the characters.
For me Nathan is the hero in this story. The younger boy caught between the grip of his first love for another boy and the oppressive grip of his abuser of a father. On the face of it this seems like a love story between two teenagers but I felt that Roy ,the love interest, was rather controlling and that his first overtures towards Nathan were bordering on 'grooming'. I know that the hiddeness of the relationship was probably about the fact that it was a gay relationship but the power differential and the way in which Roy had control left me feeling uncomfortable.
But not as uncomfortable as the abusing dad!
There were clear signs of child abuse. The fact that Nathan seemed to be sexually advanced and was sleeping with his clothes on (in case he had to run) indicated to me that he was abused by his father. So Nathan was caught between two men - his father and Roy, although his father was clearly the abuser.
His mother seemed to be powerless but still sympathetic towards her son but she did nothing. She turned a blind eye to the abuse of her son. I wanted to shake her!
What I want is justice!!
And then maybe I would be happy with two teenagers who would be free from abuse and manipulation to explore their love. That's my ending.
Rant over.
I gave it three stars. The writing is excellent, well worth five stars or more, but I just didn't enjoy the story so I couldn't give it more stars. The story is very atmospheric. The writing takes you to rural America where 'religion and ritual' supposedly hold sway in the open but in reality is superficial because secrets and darkness hold sway behind closed doors.
And so for me this is a story with a dream like surface. It is the kind of writing that reminds me of shimmering summer heat but underneath is the stuff of nightmares, utter darkness, desperation and horror.
The religion to me was part of the veneer of respectability and everyone knows full well how child abusers can remain hidden in the guise of respectability not just in church but in any responsible or prominent position in society.
So for me there were incredibly dark undertones. I am not sure whether this is what the story is trying to convey or whether I am reading this through a 21st century lens of historic child abuse allegations and child protection procedures. For people who work with children these can make us hyper vigilant which isn't a bad thing but can colour how we see things.
And so this is how I have seen the story. Through the eyes of a professional who works with children and is trained to be alert to abusers and to the abused whether children or adults. My dream for this story is that the mother would wake up and take steps to protect her son. That the Father would be arrested and thrown in jail or perhaps have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea (just as Jesus suggested for those who abuse children Mark 9:42) and that the bullying and violent teenager be apprehended and also dealt with by the law.
I didn't like the ending because it left me feeling unsatisfied. What happened? I guess as a reader I am left to draw my own conclusion. I dislike open ended stories. I like at least a hint of the ending otherwise to me it feels a little like a cop out and I didn't get that ending here. We are left to dream the ending for ourselves.
For me it seems as if Nathan was very much alive at the end or maybe he wasn't but whatever happened he gave Roy the chance to leave his small town where horror happens behind closed doors. And Nathan whether alive or dead also managed to escape and move to freedom. Whether alive or dead both boys were able to escape to freedom.
And for that I am grateful.
But I definitely will not be watching the film!
February 28, 2012
Dream Boy is a tender love story that is also sensual and violent. It is the story of two high school boys who fall in love. Roy and Nathan are neighbors and the attraction is immediate and profound. They are secretive and tentative about their relationship but it is intense and astonishing in its power.
Roy and Nathan attend the same high school where Roy is a senior and Nathan is a sophomore. Nathan has just moved to the area. His family moves often because his father can't keep a job and drinks a lot. Nathan has a horrible home life with secrets and shame that cause him to isolate himself from others. Meeting Roy brings him out of his shell and connects him with others.
The writing in this book is beautiful. It sings, massages, touches the heart, and is soulful. The author is not afraid of addressing the boys' relationship in all its aspects and does not focus solely on the sexuality. The boys' friendship, need for each other and Nathan's sense of safety when he is with Roy are important parts of the narrative.
I have rarely read a book that touched me so close to my core. The novel addresses the conflicts that both boys feel between their religion and their desires. Both families are regular church attendees in rather fundamentalist congregations.
Nathan lives in constant fear of his father. His mother is like an invisible apparition in his life, turning her head the other way as if everything in the house is alright when in actuality it is like a prison camp. Nathan can only feel safe when he is away from the house. Finding Roy is a safe harbor for him and Roy senses that there is some deep and dark secret that Nathan carries but he does not press him for it.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves literature. It is a rare find and a deeply full experience. It is one of the best books I have read this year and deserves wide recognition. I wish more authors could write with the poetry and stark awareness of emotions as Jim Grimsley. He has written two other novels and has won awards as both a playwright and novelist. I plan on looking up his other works. I feel privileged to have read this book which I first became aware of during an interview with the author on NPR.
Roy and Nathan attend the same high school where Roy is a senior and Nathan is a sophomore. Nathan has just moved to the area. His family moves often because his father can't keep a job and drinks a lot. Nathan has a horrible home life with secrets and shame that cause him to isolate himself from others. Meeting Roy brings him out of his shell and connects him with others.
The writing in this book is beautiful. It sings, massages, touches the heart, and is soulful. The author is not afraid of addressing the boys' relationship in all its aspects and does not focus solely on the sexuality. The boys' friendship, need for each other and Nathan's sense of safety when he is with Roy are important parts of the narrative.
I have rarely read a book that touched me so close to my core. The novel addresses the conflicts that both boys feel between their religion and their desires. Both families are regular church attendees in rather fundamentalist congregations.
Nathan lives in constant fear of his father. His mother is like an invisible apparition in his life, turning her head the other way as if everything in the house is alright when in actuality it is like a prison camp. Nathan can only feel safe when he is away from the house. Finding Roy is a safe harbor for him and Roy senses that there is some deep and dark secret that Nathan carries but he does not press him for it.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves literature. It is a rare find and a deeply full experience. It is one of the best books I have read this year and deserves wide recognition. I wish more authors could write with the poetry and stark awareness of emotions as Jim Grimsley. He has written two other novels and has won awards as both a playwright and novelist. I plan on looking up his other works. I feel privileged to have read this book which I first became aware of during an interview with the author on NPR.
January 20, 2013
I am still under impression of this book. Since the moment I read the last page I have thought about it all the time. You will find a lot of reviews on this book here, both negative and positive. And I agree with both. As for me, I liked this book. Really liked. And you shouldn't believe reviewers that the book is worth of reading or it isn't. Just read it yourself and decide.
The book impressed me but I am sure not going to read it again. I guess I will remember it very well all my life.
P.s.: I am sorry for my English; I am not a native speaker. I hope my review is clear enough to understand my thoughts. :-)
The book impressed me but I am sure not going to read it again. I guess I will remember it very well all my life.
P.s.: I am sorry for my English; I am not a native speaker. I hope my review is clear enough to understand my thoughts. :-)
January 7, 2020
I have mixed feelings on this one, at the start it appealed to me. The story is told from Nathan’s perspective, he just moved to a new town and meets his neighbor Roy. I believe it’s around 1950’s and the story does a nice job of recapturing the time, setting and mindset during that period. Nathan and Roy are a bit different but become good friends instantly, it’s not really explained how but the meet and they become super close. Nathan’s struggles with a difficult family life throughout the story. The book also put en emphasis on the boys religious upbringing and how that influences each of the boys. The writing, in an attempt to create mood was strange and at times confusing. The last 25% of the book IMO just went on a tangent. In an attempt to create an eerie vibe it was long and confusing. The very end of this book left me completely baffled and not in a good way - one that makes you think or question. This one left me thinking that made no sense and WTF?
July 28, 2014
A quiet determined voice blew me away..narrating this painful..emotionally moving story.
November 8, 2019
Very captivating book. Really could not put it down. I'm not a great fan of the ending, but it is key to setting this book apart from others.
Read
January 18, 2022A short book which made me think about things and left me feeling conflicted.
It's beautifully written and drew me right in. In all honesty, my biggest issue is one scene in the last quarter (if you read the book, you know which one), which I honestly believe should have done without the sexual abuse. The... other awful events would have been enough. I'm going to also say that this book is also clearly a product of its times and even place (small town in the Bible Belt), and I would like to think that things have changed in the almost 30 years since its publication (we have TONS of happy queer stories out now for one).
What I did really like was the ambiguous ending, or I should rather say the author offers two alternatives, a realistic but extremely painful and harrowing one, and one which, in the context, we can call a happy ending. I think most people will definitely pick the happy one.
Big, big CW for: rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, violence and religious manipulation?
It's beautifully written and drew me right in. In all honesty, my biggest issue is one scene in the last quarter (if you read the book, you know which one), which I honestly believe should have done without the sexual abuse. The... other awful events would have been enough. I'm going to also say that this book is also clearly a product of its times and even place (small town in the Bible Belt), and I would like to think that things have changed in the almost 30 years since its publication (we have TONS of happy queer stories out now for one).
What I did really like was the ambiguous ending, or I should rather say the author offers two alternatives, a realistic but extremely painful and harrowing one, and one which, in the context, we can call a happy ending. I think most people will definitely pick the happy one.
Big, big CW for: rape, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, violence and religious manipulation?
March 22, 2022
A beautiful, haunting narrative. Sad and hopeful at the same time.
At one point, after closely following the characters, the narrative jumps forward a few months — and that abrupt jump could have been communicated better to the readers.
Beautiful and brutal. Ugly and beautiful. It is a mess of contradictions, this book. Why did they leave the other towns? That story is only hinted at.
At one point, after closely following the characters, the narrative jumps forward a few months — and that abrupt jump could have been communicated better to the readers.
Beautiful and brutal. Ugly and beautiful. It is a mess of contradictions, this book. Why did they leave the other towns? That story is only hinted at.
June 16, 2015
Dream Boy is haunting, in a "I have to re-read it or else it'll drive me crazy" way. But I'm pretty sure that rereading will not give me answers.
It's also haunting because of the subject matter, the constant foreboding feeling and scenes that always stay on this side of gratifying and keep you pushing through the story.
/I'm not even sure if I liked it. The ending flipped my rating upside down. Because I suck at understanding surrealism and symbolism. I have so many ideas on this ending, but if I tried to articulate them, I would be about as comprehensible and clear as the ending itself. I'm giving this book 4 stars because I assume Jim Grimsley's ideas are smarter than mine. I assume that he actually had an idea for an ending, but obfuscated it really well in symbolism and ambiguity. These are 4 stars worth of benefit of the doubt./
I've glimpsed references to interviews with Jim Grimsley where he says the ending of Dream Boy is up for interpretation, but I call bullshit on open ending. I demand answers.
This book is prime discussion material. If anyone wants to bounce ideas about it, here's a willing participant!
Here's an article that gave me a bit of perspective on Dream Boy:
It's also haunting because of the subject matter, the constant foreboding feeling and scenes that always stay on this side of gratifying and keep you pushing through the story.
/I'm not even sure if I liked it. The ending flipped my rating upside down. Because I suck at understanding surrealism and symbolism. I have so many ideas on this ending, but if I tried to articulate them, I would be about as comprehensible and clear as the ending itself. I'm giving this book 4 stars because I assume Jim Grimsley's ideas are smarter than mine. I assume that he actually had an idea for an ending, but obfuscated it really well in symbolism and ambiguity. These are 4 stars worth of benefit of the doubt./
I've glimpsed references to interviews with Jim Grimsley where he says the ending of Dream Boy is up for interpretation, but I call bullshit on open ending. I demand answers.
This book is prime discussion material. If anyone wants to bounce ideas about it, here's a willing participant!
Here's an article that gave me a bit of perspective on Dream Boy:
April 26, 2008
It is one of the most achingly beautiful book I have ever read in awhile. It is a story of two high school boys who discover love for one another in the rural South. Mr. Grimsley writes with soul of a poet that when he describes the attraction between the two boys, it is so palpable, I can feel it seeps through the pages and fill the empty space around me. Then it moves into this haunting scenes, slowly reaches the tense climax. The ending is poignant yet triumphant. I feel like I have been living in a dream and I feel sorry that I have to wake up.
February 3, 2024
A shy boy moves into a farm house right across from the all-american blue collared man of his dreams (and mine), can you guess what happens? YEP, the two boys QUICKLY start a sexual relationship, kissing and groping all across the farm.....and go to great lengths to hide it because Roy of course has a girlfriend. It is the typical 'secret gay love story,' HOWEVER... the ending was not at ALL what I was expecting, like at ALL. It went from cute and gay to... physiological thriller in a matter of pages, a bit jarring but entertaining none the least.
Now, the bond between Roy and Nathan felt only sexual, never an inkling of any emotional attachment. I wish thier love story was more fleshed out because then the book would have been SO fucking good. The writing is mediocre, but never cringy which I appreciated. Also the part about the dad felt forced... This book tried to ride the line between love story and physiological thriller and it should have picked one or the other. I'm still rating it 4 stars because a southern gothic gay farm love story is EXACTLY what I wanted.
Now, the bond between Roy and Nathan felt only sexual, never an inkling of any emotional attachment. I wish thier love story was more fleshed out because then the book would have been SO fucking good. The writing is mediocre, but never cringy which I appreciated. Also the part about the dad felt forced... This book tried to ride the line between love story and physiological thriller and it should have picked one or the other. I'm still rating it 4 stars because a southern gothic gay farm love story is EXACTLY what I wanted.
January 26, 2018
There is something that renders me in awe, sometimes: there will be, occasionally, a book I will stumble upon, that will hit me with such strength that will threaten to shake everything that makes me.
This book is one of those cases.
I didn't really expect it to affect me so much; I guess I never imagined it would matter that much, it was supposed to be just another book I had been meaning to read for some time and only now I was getting myself to do it.
I wish I had the words to explain in full detail every shade of emotion that I got to experience with this book. It's not the first I read of its kind, but it was definitely unique. I can confidently say I'll be adding this to my mental list of favorites.
It was a very heavy read, there was so much tension everywhere, at all times... It was definitely something special. It was brilliant. It was beautiful even in its harshness; and what made it even harder for me to stomach, so to speak, was that- even though it takes place during the 70's-, some of the themes are horribly relevant even today.
I- I don't know how to explain properly what this book really means. I guess you will have to read it to make sense of its greatness. Please, do.
EDIT: I read some comments complaining about the ending being confusing. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, but for me it was pretty clear. After all, what the author did with the narrative voice there isn't unheard of. I can think about at least ONE other book that uses the same narrative technique, with a similar (or is it the same?) outcome.
This book is one of those cases.
I didn't really expect it to affect me so much; I guess I never imagined it would matter that much, it was supposed to be just another book I had been meaning to read for some time and only now I was getting myself to do it.
I wish I had the words to explain in full detail every shade of emotion that I got to experience with this book. It's not the first I read of its kind, but it was definitely unique. I can confidently say I'll be adding this to my mental list of favorites.
It was a very heavy read, there was so much tension everywhere, at all times... It was definitely something special. It was brilliant. It was beautiful even in its harshness; and what made it even harder for me to stomach, so to speak, was that- even though it takes place during the 70's-, some of the themes are horribly relevant even today.
I- I don't know how to explain properly what this book really means. I guess you will have to read it to make sense of its greatness. Please, do.
EDIT: I read some comments complaining about the ending being confusing. I'm not going to spoil it for anyone, but for me it was pretty clear. After all, what the author did with the narrative voice there isn't unheard of. I can think about at least ONE other book that uses the same narrative technique, with a similar (or is it the same?) outcome.
May 20, 2010
Just finished it and am trying to determine what I think. As an atheist bordering the agnostic I am not one for Bible-reading and hymn-singing and so forth. So I cannot read the ending in a religious context. But what remains then? If I say it is about love between Nathan and Roy, then I get the ending (even though it can be seen as over the top, too faitytale-ish or whatever). I get it nonetheless.
I am highly disturbed by the whole plot because the writing gets to you. It seems to be clinical, curt, does not let you out of its grip and does not use overtly poetic images. It hammers the plot into you. With. Precise. Sentences. That's why I couldn't stop reading.
I also 'loved' that Nathan's parents were just Mom and Dad. That made them distant, cold. I don't now why but if they had been Mr. and Mrs as the narrator talked about them, they would have had more substance. As it was they had not. They were symbols of failure and abuse.
See how I'm struggling to phrase what I want to say while all the while feeling the need to say something?
Maybe this is one of those 'controversial' books one has to read for oneself. Because maybe each picks out something personal which won't let them go. For me it is Nathan's desperation and tenderness. And Roy's fear and how they struggle to find themselves in each other. But still I am not sure that the ending is a happy one.
I have to think about it some more and leave thus vague.
I am highly disturbed by the whole plot because the writing gets to you. It seems to be clinical, curt, does not let you out of its grip and does not use overtly poetic images. It hammers the plot into you. With. Precise. Sentences. That's why I couldn't stop reading.
I also 'loved' that Nathan's parents were just Mom and Dad. That made them distant, cold. I don't now why but if they had been Mr. and Mrs as the narrator talked about them, they would have had more substance. As it was they had not. They were symbols of failure and abuse.
See how I'm struggling to phrase what I want to say while all the while feeling the need to say something?
Maybe this is one of those 'controversial' books one has to read for oneself. Because maybe each picks out something personal which won't let them go. For me it is Nathan's desperation and tenderness. And Roy's fear and how they struggle to find themselves in each other. But still I am not sure that the ending is a happy one.
I have to think about it some more and leave thus vague.
September 15, 2015
It was a page turner!
Creepy and sad once I have realised what is going on, growing resentful towards the 'mother' and murderous towards the father, but even though the feeling of doom was inevitable, I kept on hoping. And maybe, because I wanted a HEA for these two boys so much, I completely refused to believe in a bad ending. To me, a horrible part of it was a dream and when he woke up, Nathan has found his happiness.
Brilliant writing!
Once again, thank you, Sofia, for holding my hand and going through this with me
***4.3 stars***
Creepy and sad once I have realised what is going on, growing resentful towards the 'mother' and murderous towards the father, but even though the feeling of doom was inevitable, I kept on hoping. And maybe, because I wanted a HEA for these two boys so much, I completely refused to believe in a bad ending. To me, a horrible part of it was a dream and when he woke up, Nathan has found his happiness.
Brilliant writing!
Once again, thank you, Sofia, for holding my hand and going through this with me
***4.3 stars***
March 11, 2018
A classic of the coming of age genre, rich in poetic descriptions and longing.
December 17, 2024
Um wow. Tears. I’ve been sitting on this queer classic for quite a while and I’ve forgotten how much I love Jim Grimsley’s writing. Dream Boy is a haunting southern gothic that had me clenching my teeth and so anxious the entire time. The writing is truly stunning and felt like walking through a haunted house. But also OUCH. God. I can see why people wouldn’t like the ending but like it’s a southern gothic. I think it fits.
May 5, 2021
This is my first time leaving a review (please be gentle!)
I reread the ending multiple times and read nearly all the reviews on the ending, googled the hell out of “did nathan really die?” “dream boy ending explained” and read what happens at the end of the movie adaptation.
There was one review that I read that resonated with me and cemented my “optimistic” interpretation of the novel’s end. HEAR ME OUT. This is my version: Nathan does not die at all. The encounter with Burke was some sort of nightmare or a figment of his imagination. The fact that he got caught with Roy meant that it may be the end of the world... for him and Roy. This encounter scares Roy away and Nathan thinks that’s the last he’ll see of him.
This bit can be akin to Donnie Darko-ish (i.e. the world will end in X days but turns out Donnie’s world - the girl, dies). That’s why he imagined the brutal rape and murder. Really self-deprecating himself. (Of all the times I made a disappointed my family or partner I wanted to not exist anymore).
Anyways, to Nathan, Roy is his world, his escape from his reality. His *dream* boy. After Roy, Burke and Randy leave the mansion, Nathan stays behind in the house and sleeps there for a while. Nathan has a knack for sleeping in odd places (graveyard, under some trees or bush, stinky barn). He is escaping his reality once again. He retreats to his dreams/imagination, thinks of Roy and Randy discovering his corpse. Seeing his dad in a different light by placing the sheet over his head etc. A piece of imagery that resolves Nathan’s internal monologue that he is dead to his father - or rather, his father is dead to him.
Maybe Roy, Randy and Burke went back to the mansion to look for Nathan but the story also tells us that Nathan is good at hiding from others. He doesn’t want to be seen. And thus, the boys leave, panicked, and alerts authorities and the adults. The old blood that Nathan sees is like shedding old skin. He has changed, or he wants things to change. He kills off the old Nathan and becomes reborn into the Nathan that knows what he wants and take control of his life. (AKA does not want to hide or be hidden anymore).
Roy goes to church with Evelyn to seek solace, prays for Nathan to be found; cries. The mothers are keeping a lookout for Nathan if he were to ever pass by the houses.
Nathan wants Roy and gravitates towards him, to his church. He comes out of hiding and literally, maybe, comes out in front of strangers. And Roy wants Nathan too. He is finally able to embrace Nathan in front of others (the whole time in the book in the first part Roy is always like “you can’t tell anyone”, “you can’t do it with anyone else” secrets, secrets etc).
They finally both choose each other and they want to start life anew. Together. The fresh blood at the end could be metaphorical for “an open wound”, he is being truly open, bare, secrets are spilling out. His most vulnerable state. Running away together could mean that they are leaving their secretive past behind. This is spiritual for them. They have transcended and blossomed together. The gold gingko tree they sit under is symbolic, it means endurance, longevity. As a couple they will endure everything that comes their way.
I could go on and on. I guess I might be assuming too much but this is my take on the ending. Really cementing the elements littered in the beginning of the novel and applying it to the end.
EDIT: Symbolism, symbolism, symbolism! The cleaning of the doll’s foot - Christian foot washing (humility, service, cleansing). The missing chair leg then used as a club - stand up for yourself (what do you do if your chair is missing a leg?). The haunted house - the past, the ghostly memories.
I reread the ending multiple times and read nearly all the reviews on the ending, googled the hell out of “did nathan really die?” “dream boy ending explained” and read what happens at the end of the movie adaptation.
There was one review that I read that resonated with me and cemented my “optimistic” interpretation of the novel’s end. HEAR ME OUT. This is my version: Nathan does not die at all. The encounter with Burke was some sort of nightmare or a figment of his imagination. The fact that he got caught with Roy meant that it may be the end of the world... for him and Roy. This encounter scares Roy away and Nathan thinks that’s the last he’ll see of him.
This bit can be akin to Donnie Darko-ish (i.e. the world will end in X days but turns out Donnie’s world - the girl, dies). That’s why he imagined the brutal rape and murder. Really self-deprecating himself. (Of all the times I made a disappointed my family or partner I wanted to not exist anymore).
Anyways, to Nathan, Roy is his world, his escape from his reality. His *dream* boy. After Roy, Burke and Randy leave the mansion, Nathan stays behind in the house and sleeps there for a while. Nathan has a knack for sleeping in odd places (graveyard, under some trees or bush, stinky barn). He is escaping his reality once again. He retreats to his dreams/imagination, thinks of Roy and Randy discovering his corpse. Seeing his dad in a different light by placing the sheet over his head etc. A piece of imagery that resolves Nathan’s internal monologue that he is dead to his father - or rather, his father is dead to him.
Maybe Roy, Randy and Burke went back to the mansion to look for Nathan but the story also tells us that Nathan is good at hiding from others. He doesn’t want to be seen. And thus, the boys leave, panicked, and alerts authorities and the adults. The old blood that Nathan sees is like shedding old skin. He has changed, or he wants things to change. He kills off the old Nathan and becomes reborn into the Nathan that knows what he wants and take control of his life. (AKA does not want to hide or be hidden anymore).
Roy goes to church with Evelyn to seek solace, prays for Nathan to be found; cries. The mothers are keeping a lookout for Nathan if he were to ever pass by the houses.
Nathan wants Roy and gravitates towards him, to his church. He comes out of hiding and literally, maybe, comes out in front of strangers. And Roy wants Nathan too. He is finally able to embrace Nathan in front of others (the whole time in the book in the first part Roy is always like “you can’t tell anyone”, “you can’t do it with anyone else” secrets, secrets etc).
They finally both choose each other and they want to start life anew. Together. The fresh blood at the end could be metaphorical for “an open wound”, he is being truly open, bare, secrets are spilling out. His most vulnerable state. Running away together could mean that they are leaving their secretive past behind. This is spiritual for them. They have transcended and blossomed together. The gold gingko tree they sit under is symbolic, it means endurance, longevity. As a couple they will endure everything that comes their way.
I could go on and on. I guess I might be assuming too much but this is my take on the ending. Really cementing the elements littered in the beginning of the novel and applying it to the end.
EDIT: Symbolism, symbolism, symbolism! The cleaning of the doll’s foot - Christian foot washing (humility, service, cleansing). The missing chair leg then used as a club - stand up for yourself (what do you do if your chair is missing a leg?). The haunted house - the past, the ghostly memories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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