Not quite the writing style I expected. ( )

I LOVED this book because it was so heartfelt. The end made me cry. It is about an Irish boy coming out in the early 1990's with all the homophobia and bigotry that entails.

Neil Byrne, soon-to-be-graduate from a Catholic high school seems to have it all: rugby star, good grades, and a nice group of friends. But he also harbors a dark secret he feels he can share with no one, he is gay in 1992 Dublin, Ireland. His feelings of fear, isolation, and self-loathing are palpable as he struggles with his sexuality and how to come out to his friends and family. He is surrounded by the virulent homophobia of a less enlightened time exacerbated by Ireland being a very Catholic country. In the midst of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, there are no real resources save for a gay bar or two in Dublin. As he grows more distant from his friends who are all coupling up (he calls them the “rhyming couplets”), he begins to visit a gay bar in town, the only way for gays to connect. He is at odds with his father about his future university plans, he wants liberal arts, his dad wants engineering, and he cannot even imagine telling him he’s gay. He slowly makes friends with other gay boys and men and has his first relationship. The book touches on AIDS, gay bashing, and societal attitudes towards homosexuality. Published under a pseudonym by an Irish school teacher in 1993, an introduction by James Klise celebrating the twenty year anniversary edition juxtaposes how much more difficult being gay and coming out was in the pre-Internet era. A glossary of Irish slang will help readers unfamiliar with it. ( )

I forgot to write a review when I originally finished this book, so it's a bit tricky trying to do it afterwards. Anyway, it's the summer of school-leaving exams for the protagonist, and he also starts his coming out process, telling friends, going out to clubs, having his first relationships, and it all doesn't go smoothly. ( )

I got a copy of this off NetGalley, and it was really interesting. It was written in 1993, which is when the book is set, and seeing how the treatment and attitude towards gay teens has and hasn't changed was quite fascinating. ( )

I really enjoyed this gay coming-of-age novel set in 1990s Dublin, Ireland. I really connected with this story even though I'm not male, Irish, and it's 25 years after the setting of this book. There is a nice forward that explains a little bit about the times to help young readers get a sense of the importance of this story. I love the writing style. The stream-of-consciousness style from the narrator really does a great job of communicating the inner turmoil of someone who is hiding their identity from their friends and family. The fear and loneliness that comes along with being closeted is the major theme of this book. Acceptance comes from some unlikely sources, but the inner turmoil really shows how someone can look fairly "normal" on the outside, like they are functioning and content, but on the inside they can be drowning.

I can really imagine this novel as a movie. Preferably starring a young Taron Egerton (and Richard Madden - hey, maybe they should have made this film instead of Rocketman ;-) .)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg recently gave an interview with Rachel Maddow where they discussed being closeted and being out. There was a really interesting quote where it was said (paraphrased) that straight people see "coming out" as an action - a beginning, but that in reality, being closeted is an "active state of being." It isn't an absense of something, rather it is active. As in, heterosexuals only find you interesting after you come out, but there is a whole world of emotion happening inside you while closeted. It isn't like a void or a state of limbo before coming out. This book clearly illustrates that state in an incredibly believable and relatable way. ( )