BATTY BWOY

by Max-Arthur Mantle

The coming of age story of Mark Palmer, a black, gay, Jamaican where “Boom bye bye inna batty bwoy head” (meaning, gunshot to gay men) has replaced the island’s motto “Out of many one people.” The son of an overbearing neglectful mother, he is thrust in an environment that requires a thick skin from torments and socio-economic disparities. Suppressing his “gay tendencies” to detract being bashed or murdered, he migrates to America and breaks free from the closet to a world where he is marginalized. As his life spirals from bad choices, he clings to desperate measures and finds hope.

Hardcover

First published April 10, 2015

Reviews

[willowdog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously needs an editor. Story could be interesting, but too much information that doesn't go anywhere. Exposition way too long. Characters introduced to never appear again, some grammatical errors.