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Kept Boy
Once the favorite companion of the wealthy, fiftyish Farleigh Nock, Dennis Racine enlists the help of his two best friends, Lonnie Roach and Paulette Ng, as he tries to win back his man. Reprint.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1996
7 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Robert Rodi
210 books123 followersRobert was born in Chicago in the conformist 1950s, grew up in the insurrectionist 1960s, came of age in the hedonist 1970s, and went to work in the elitist 1980s. This roller-coaster ride has left him with a distinct aversion to isms of any kind; it also gave him an ear for hypocrisy, cant, and platitudes that allowed him, in the 1990s, to become a much-lauded social satirist.
After seven acclaimed novels set in the gay milieu, Robert grew restless for new challenges — which he found in activities as wide-ranging as publishing nonfiction, writing comic books, launching a literary-criticism blog, and taking to the stage (as a spoken-word performer, jazz singer, and rock-and-roll front man).
In 2011, excited by the rise of digital e-books, he returned to his first love, publishing new fiction inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock. He also organized the republishing of his seminal gay novels under the banner Robert Rodi Essentials.
Robert still resides in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.
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German version: Robert Rodi wurde 1956 in einem Vorort von Chicago geboren. Im Alter von 22 schloss er sein Philosophie-Studium ab. Schon vorher beschäftigte er sich mit Comedy. Sein erster eigener Roman, "Fag Hag" aus dem Jahr 1991 war ein großer Erfolg. Es folgten mehrere andere komische Romane, zahlreiche Kurzgeschichten und Sketche. Robert lebt mit Partner und Hund in Chicago.
After seven acclaimed novels set in the gay milieu, Robert grew restless for new challenges — which he found in activities as wide-ranging as publishing nonfiction, writing comic books, launching a literary-criticism blog, and taking to the stage (as a spoken-word performer, jazz singer, and rock-and-roll front man).
In 2011, excited by the rise of digital e-books, he returned to his first love, publishing new fiction inspired by the work of Alfred Hitchcock. He also organized the republishing of his seminal gay novels under the banner Robert Rodi Essentials.
Robert still resides in Chicago, in a century-old Queen Anne house with his partner Jeffrey Smith and a constantly shifting number of dogs.
.
German version: Robert Rodi wurde 1956 in einem Vorort von Chicago geboren. Im Alter von 22 schloss er sein Philosophie-Studium ab. Schon vorher beschäftigte er sich mit Comedy. Sein erster eigener Roman, "Fag Hag" aus dem Jahr 1991 war ein großer Erfolg. Es folgten mehrere andere komische Romane, zahlreiche Kurzgeschichten und Sketche. Robert lebt mit Partner und Hund in Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
December 25, 2011
Rating: 3.25* of five
Snarktastic.
Kept Boy Toy of rich old queen is threatened with replacement by the sexy young pool boy. The old queen loves kept boy toy, though, and through a series of silly misadventures, ends up throwing boy toy at pool boy a little too often, and they fall in love with each other.
Rich old queen takes them all on vacation after a particularly silly piece of bad luck, finds them shagging each other rotten, has A Moment with them telling each how very much old queen loved him, and dies.
Leaving kept boy toy Everything! All the money, all the houses, the whole cheese. And what does kept boy toy do with it? Makes everyone he loves as secure as money can make them.
And shags the pool boy rotten. Happy endings, anyone? Recommended.
Snarktastic.
Kept Boy Toy of rich old queen is threatened with replacement by the sexy young pool boy. The old queen loves kept boy toy, though, and through a series of silly misadventures, ends up throwing boy toy at pool boy a little too often, and they fall in love with each other.
Rich old queen takes them all on vacation after a particularly silly piece of bad luck, finds them shagging each other rotten, has A Moment with them telling each how very much old queen loved him, and dies.
Leaving kept boy toy Everything! All the money, all the houses, the whole cheese. And what does kept boy toy do with it? Makes everyone he loves as secure as money can make them.
And shags the pool boy rotten. Happy endings, anyone? Recommended.
December 10, 2014
Another reviewer called this "book candy" and I agree. A light story filled with charm and funny moments in a warm-hearted vein. The ending was a little too tidy and I didn't enjoy the trip to Greece as much as the author seems to have. The best part was Dennis working the copy shop, loved that.
I found 16 errors in the new Kindle version, which I thought to be a few too many.
I found 16 errors in the new Kindle version, which I thought to be a few too many.
January 1, 2010
Despite a bittersweet ending, this is a wonderful book by an author that treats his characters with humour and affection, and makes them totally engaging for the reader. I was sorry when the book ended.
February 3, 2020
Robert Rodi knows how to write distinct, memorable characters. Every single person who graces this story, from the main characters to one-scene minor players, felt like a living, breathing person with a defined personality. Even more impressively, Kept Boy truly felt like an LGBT novel; writing this same novel with straight people wouldn't make any sense at all.
September 13, 2019
This was fun to read but the character development is all over the place and the ending just suuuuucks
January 30, 2020
Unlikable and annoying characters, the story descends into laboured slapstick when it moves to Greece, Robert Rodi's gay 80s stereotypes used to be a guilty pleasure, maybe I've grown out of them...
January 4, 2024
I read this (and several other Robert Rodi books) in the 90s when it first came out and loved it. I was newly queer and was so happy to have things to read that were also queer.
December 22, 2020
You can't go wrong with a Robert Rodi title and this book is no exception. You don't have to be gay to enjoy his work, be open minded like me and you will enjoy this novel.
May 2, 2014
This novel is about the joys and perils of sleeping for your supper. For a major part of the book, Dennis Racine comes off as being a selfish, self-involved, cavalier little toad. He’s handsome, yes, and can be fitfully caring. But his main focus is himself and it shows in passages when other people are talking about their problems.
So it’s with no small amount of glee that you read chapters in which Dennis becomes increasingly terrified when he sees his meal ticket—the aging Farleigh Nock—in danger of being snatched from him by a gorgeous little Adonis, the new pool boy.
Perhaps Dennis’s selfishness to be expected. Snatched from the streets when he’s only 15 and cultivated to be the gigolo to the aging impresario Farleigh Nock, it’s no wonder that he’s never cultivated much in the way of an inner life or an elevated character. He’s lived for the joy of being squired from one expensive restaurant to another, to being dressed in haute couture, wearing expensive jewellery and having lovely little cottages in the Greek isles bought for him—and he’s never had to pay a dime for any of it. How could anyone, reared in this fashion from early youth, possibly avoid being an absolute monster?
However, Mr. Rodi manages, little by little, to win the reader to Dennis’s cause. His efforts to oust the new favorite are both hysterical (he’s never held down a proper job and can’t even operate a modern copy machine) and tinged with a touch of despair. The threat of being usurped and thrown out of the streets, penniless and homeless, is very real and you gradually find yourself rooting for him to win back his place in his lover’s heart. Because Dennis does love Farleigh in his own way and shows it in little moments when the older man suffers the aftereffects of a coronary bypass.
In the end, Kept Boy offers a surprising twist, one that you literally don’t see coming and which I would be truly mean spirited to reveal. However, it would mean nothing without being preceded by skillful dialogue, masterful characters and situations ribald, amusing and poignant, all penned by a really gifted writer of romantic experiences.
So it’s with no small amount of glee that you read chapters in which Dennis becomes increasingly terrified when he sees his meal ticket—the aging Farleigh Nock—in danger of being snatched from him by a gorgeous little Adonis, the new pool boy.
Perhaps Dennis’s selfishness to be expected. Snatched from the streets when he’s only 15 and cultivated to be the gigolo to the aging impresario Farleigh Nock, it’s no wonder that he’s never cultivated much in the way of an inner life or an elevated character. He’s lived for the joy of being squired from one expensive restaurant to another, to being dressed in haute couture, wearing expensive jewellery and having lovely little cottages in the Greek isles bought for him—and he’s never had to pay a dime for any of it. How could anyone, reared in this fashion from early youth, possibly avoid being an absolute monster?
However, Mr. Rodi manages, little by little, to win the reader to Dennis’s cause. His efforts to oust the new favorite are both hysterical (he’s never held down a proper job and can’t even operate a modern copy machine) and tinged with a touch of despair. The threat of being usurped and thrown out of the streets, penniless and homeless, is very real and you gradually find yourself rooting for him to win back his place in his lover’s heart. Because Dennis does love Farleigh in his own way and shows it in little moments when the older man suffers the aftereffects of a coronary bypass.
In the end, Kept Boy offers a surprising twist, one that you literally don’t see coming and which I would be truly mean spirited to reveal. However, it would mean nothing without being preceded by skillful dialogue, masterful characters and situations ribald, amusing and poignant, all penned by a really gifted writer of romantic experiences.
March 24, 2016
Dennis Racine, a 31 y/o "companion" to a very rich Chicago theatrical impresario, Farleigh Nock finds himself in a big bind--his sugar daddy has asked him to "find a job".
Not only is Dennis unemployable, but the aging boy toy discovers that Farleigh's new sexy "boy toy" is no other than their old pool boy, Jasper.
Enlisting the help of his two best friends--the kept man of a gossip columnist, and the kept woman of a sadomasochist member of Congress for Illinois, Dennis hatches a plan for revenge, romance, and re-seduction so daring that it has to work. His career depends on it.
The plan takes the parties to Mykonos and Santorini and to a comedy of errors that is quite enjoyable.
Robert Rodi writes about Chicago and Chicago always is a character of his books. He is also known for stereotypes in the gay world, and "kept boy" is just another (Like Drag Queen, and Fag Hag).
The books are light, fun and a very easy and enjoyable read.
Not only is Dennis unemployable, but the aging boy toy discovers that Farleigh's new sexy "boy toy" is no other than their old pool boy, Jasper.
Enlisting the help of his two best friends--the kept man of a gossip columnist, and the kept woman of a sadomasochist member of Congress for Illinois, Dennis hatches a plan for revenge, romance, and re-seduction so daring that it has to work. His career depends on it.
The plan takes the parties to Mykonos and Santorini and to a comedy of errors that is quite enjoyable.
Robert Rodi writes about Chicago and Chicago always is a character of his books. He is also known for stereotypes in the gay world, and "kept boy" is just another (Like Drag Queen, and Fag Hag).
The books are light, fun and a very easy and enjoyable read.
August 6, 2011
The writing style is breezy and funny, definitely entertaining. The dialogue is also great. This is the second time I have read this book. I wanted pure entertainment, nothing too demanding on the brain cells. This book fits the bill. At times you do wonder how the main character Dennis remembers how to roll out of bed in the morning. He can act insufferably stupid, but at least his character develops as the book moves to the conclusion.
One thing I will admit, to me the secondary characters are more entertaining than the main characters. I love Christos, the diva housekeeper who, when visiting his native Greece, turns into Mr. Macho. I want to read HIS story.
One thing I will admit, to me the secondary characters are more entertaining than the main characters. I love Christos, the diva housekeeper who, when visiting his native Greece, turns into Mr. Macho. I want to read HIS story.
June 16, 2007
I so get what Rodi is trying to do, but at the time when these cheeky books were written there wasn't much discourse about the way in which a particular sect of gayboy lived. I mean there was no Will & Grace or any of that. I think without that context his books always came off a little harsh to me, but now they just seem dated and cliched.
October 13, 2014
The first MM book I ever read, random chance from the library. I like it lots, and have re-read it several times. Because of it, I have also several times started other books by Rodi, but I generally find him too caustic and give up.
July 28, 2007
Not the greatest book I've ever read. Mildly entertaining - no more than that.
April 15, 2008
Silly to the point of absurdity. Poorly developed and unlikeable characters.
January 3, 2016
Empty calorie book candy. Deeeelightful.
June 15, 2015
Entertaining in places, not a lot to it though.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews