Customer Reviews

Blue Boy

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

By all appearances, Kiran Sharma is a good little boy. The 12 year old son of hardworking, religious immigrant parents who immigrated to the US from India, Kiran is an "A" student in most subjects, is quiet and respectful, attends religious services, and is a favorite among many of his teachers. He is also a loner, the only Indian student in his school, likes to play with dolls, has been known to experiment with his mother's makeup, and - when he stumbles on naked teenagers making out in a park - finds he is far more attracted to the young man than the girl. Not really sure what all that means, and nobody to confide in, Kiran feels isolated and different from his classmates and even the children of others of his faith. But a revelation about one of the Hindu gods, Krishna, who was also rather flamboyant, into music and acting out, and - with blue skin - obviously very different from everyone else, gives young Kiran hope, and he decides to emulate Krishna as much as possible, in his own life as well as portraying him in an upcoming class talent show.

"Blue Boy" is a sweet, captivating original story of a boy trying to make the best of a life his classmates tease him about, and to take strength from his beliefs and his parents' apprehensions about him. Alternately touching, sad and humorous, this is a coming-of-age novel of discovery and self-acceptance that anyone who has ever felt different can take to heart, and root for young Kiran as he strives to be the person he knows he can be. I give the book four finger-cymbal-clanging stars out of five.

First, in the interest of honesty, I must say straight out that Rakesh Satyal is my editor. If I hadn't liked Blue Boy I simply would not review it; but since I did like it, I don't see any harm in saying so, and why.

Blue Boy is what is often called a "coming of age" story, about a boy's recognition and acceptance of his homosexuality. But this book, like the best of these, is so much more than that. Everyone who knows Satyal or works with him uses the same word to describe him: "brilliant." And this characterization is what distinguishes Blue Boy from so many similar stories. Satyal's voice is witty, sharp, somewhat cruel--the marks of a, dare I say it?--very masculine style.

Satyal has achieved what he set out to do, as explained in his Q&A at the end of the book: write a "humorous" and "playful" account of growing up Indian (Punjabi)-American in Middle America (Cincinnati). The scenes in which Kiran, the protagonist, discovers the escalating pleasures of pornographic magazines, are hilarious, speaking to everyone, of any gender or sexual orientation, who has gone through this essential rite of passage. And the payoff, a puncturing of a lyrical, misty embrace of sensuality, with an honest, coarse and pithy sentence, is, well, brilliant.

The hardest thing for a humorist to bring off is depicting serious emotion without spoiling the mood or sinking into sentimentality. Satyal manages this in an episode that truly made this reader laugh through her tears: the story of Kiran's dolls, Strawberry Shortcake and her sidekick, Blueberry Muffin. Anyone who's ever played with dolls knows there is a hierarchy. It's the acolyte, Blueberry, who meets a terrible fate, the incident made achingly poignant as Kiran acknowledges the sacrifice of the less valued one.

While the author's focus on his Indian heritage and his "differences" from the American children give the book a unique flavor, it's important to stress, as other reviewers have said, that the story's appeal is universal. A middle-aged, white-bread, New York woman, I was drawn in and captivated from the beginning, made just uncomfortable enough by the acerbic humor, the critical but affectionate look at Punjabi culture and the meticulously observed descriptions of people's physical appearance to know I was reading the work of a master.

Blue Boy is, in some ways, a typical story of a young boy struggling to figure out who he is. He fits nowhere. He is of Indian parentage- adrift in Ohio. He is Hindu- again, in Ohio. His public school classmates are white and no more and no less cruel than children of 12 or 13 can be (which is certainly cruel enough for someone who is- and who perceives himself as- different). He does not fit in at home, where he spends time dancing, playing with dolls and using his mother's makeup. He does not easily fit in with the other Hindu children whom he sees weekly, either; he is outspoken, and it only points up his isolation.
Kiran is bright, artistic, a bit smug, and very lonely. When the child begins to see himself as turning blue, he rationalizes a new identity for himself.
The novel is quick reading, and both funny and agonizing. Kiran observes teens engaging in impersonal sex in the park, and this only serves to compound his uncertainty about himself. The resolution is a bit pat, but the struggle is very real as the boy works to come to terms with who he is.
The novel provides an unusual perspective on the Hindu religion as a child sees it, and insight into the life of a boy who is alone in the midst of people.

I don't think I've ever been compelled to review a book on Amazon before, but this was such a good story I feel the need to share. I downloaded it free for Kindle a couple of weeks ago and I'm very glad that I did!

Blue Boy takes place over the span of a few months in the life of 12 year old Kiran Sharma, a 1st generation Indian boy living in Ohio who is growing up quickly and coming to terms with why he is so different from his classmates, who shun him. Kiran is a very bright, perceptive, funny character and once I was a few pages in I didn't want to stop reading. Kiran is stuck in that place between being a child and being a grown-up that I think everyone remembers as being complicated, and even painful at times. Kiran's desire for his parents' approval is sweet and sad. His only friend is his language teacher. He understands that he is different from his classmates, not only because of his skin but other, less tangible, reasons that he only starts to understand towards the middle/end of the book. This quote really struck me and sums up his loneliness perfectly: "There are so many unique qualities about me that I can't be put into one category. It reminds me of Venn diagrams, which Mrs. Nevins taught us about-those intersecting circles that represent different groups; when they overlap, the area that they both contain is something that they have in common. What happens when you are represented by so many circles that the area you take up is so minuscule no one else could possibly fit into it?"

At times the childish thought process was, for me, laugh out loud funny (or at least giggle), as when Kiran makes a list of qualities that define the Hindu god Krishna, whom he believes he is the 10th incarnation of (1.) Blue skin; 2.) Show-off; 3.) Flutist; 4.) Butter eater; 5.) Girlfriend). He then uses this as a checklist to being more like Krishna, going so far as to sneakily buy a tub of Country Crock and eat it plain. Imagine his surprise when his skin actually began to turn blue!

I would recommend this book highly- if you also got it when it was free and haven't read it yet, do so!

(Disclosure: My family knows Rakesh Satyal's family; but I'm 10 years older than him and have seen him once in the last two decades)

BLUE BOY covered all-too-familiar ground for me. Like protagonist Kiran Sharma, I was an Indian boy raised in the Midwest. Like Kiran, I observed firsthand, often painfully, the dynamics and context of Indo-American culture: the clinging to Indian-ness, religious customs, education, and exclusively Indian friends; the double whammy of racist white kids and mean fellow Indian ones; the hyper-challenge of fitting in, whether in friendships, family, or country of residence. Unlike Kiran, I was stereotypically boy enough to like baseball, rock music (okay, Whitney Houston too), and mean kids (for self-preservation, if nothing else). And I never wore makeup or did ballet. As far as I recall.

That's why BLUE BOY worked so well for me. On one hand it captured beautifully the angst I felt--but denied at the time--about being simultaneously Indian, American, all of the above, and none of the above. On the other, it gave me fresh perspective, through the eyes of remarkably observant, self-aware, and witty Kiran. In this way BLUE BOY opened a double-window for me: into my own experience and that of a boy distinct from me in key ways. As personal as Kiran's journey into the netherworld of junior-high talent shows, doomed sleepovers, city-park-sex voyeurism, and boorish Indian adults and kids is, it's precisely that personal depth which makes it so universal. Some may argue that the book's episodic nature (i.e., it's only loosely driven by a central plot--Kiran's attempts to determine whether he's truly an avatar of Krishna) makes it less compelling; I would counter that BLUE BOY coheres wonderfully around something we all share: our adolescent sojourn, internal and external, to find ourselves and exactly where we fit in. In Kiran's case, the journey, and its highly refreshing destination, is one you'll want to accompany him on.

This book about growing up different, oh so different, is a pure delight. Every word, every sentence, paragraph, and page more savory than the last. Caught up in the growing tidal wave, Rufus Wainwright in the background, "a minor fall, a major lift," you cannot find better. Hallelujah.

Oh, and a Kindle freebie!!!

Blue Boy is a great debut novel, and author Rakesh Satyal is remarkably talented, but there were a few things about the main character that really made me take pause. First, although Kiran is a very intelligent 12-year old boy, Satyal makes him the wisest, smartest boy in the world. No twelve-year old would refer to a teenage girl as having a "wizened" look (does anyone even use that word anymore?). In attempting to make observations about life, the author oversteps the boundaries of his character. Also, Kiran does something malicious near the book's end that he never really feels sorry for, which is quite incompatible with his personality. Still, this is a great book to read, and Satyal's next novel should be even better as long as he keeps his characters consisent. BTW, I loved Kiran's parents, who were portrayed very lovingly and with a keen eye.

There are without a doubt many funny scenes in the book, as the central character keeps thrusting himself into situations that you just know are going to go all kinds of wrong. But, after a while, his continually choosing the exact wrong choices becomes too contrived. Likewise, the actions and reactions of his family, classmates, friends, and other adults in the book all become too predictable. In the end, the major failure of this book is that neither the larger Hindu culture nor the individual characters are painted with enough realism to make any of them engaging. I had to struggle to finish this book, and was left thinking that--even for a free book--it just wasn't worth it.

This is a wild, heartwarming, coming-of-age book that made me laugh out loud a few times. Definitely worth a read.

Rakesh Satyal's 'Blue Boy' proves the unspoken truth that children are usually crueler than adults, especially to each other. In 1992, 12-year-old Kiran Sharam stealthfully applies his mother's make-up in his parents' bathroom in their suburban home in Cincinnati. Friendless and harangued by just about everyone, from white kids to the older teen members of his small Hindu church, the boy has one determined goal among his obsessions with ballet and fashion: to be the most fabulous performer at his school talent show. No amount of previous failure slows his determination.

Caught by his mother during one of his stealth makeovers, an abruptly blurted excuse results in a goal. He decides to convince himself that he is the blue-faced god Krishna reincarnated. Kiran secretly indulges in delusions of grandeur while designing costumes for the talent show. His sketches draw the eye of one teacher, but his hopes of having his simple artwork displayed in a school showcase are dismissed by a resentful art teacher who cites religious imagery as problematic.

Satyal's Kiran has a near X-ray vision when detecting the bitter resentments of adults and older teens, and the venom beneath their formalities. His flair for portraying the assimilationist and traditional Indian culture clashes of a suburban Ohio family, and the accumulating vengeance of a preteen gay boy bent on fabulous success or vainglorious destruction, make 'Blue Boy' an emotional thriller contained in a small vessel.

(excerpted from my 'Bay Area Reporter' review, published August 6, 2009)