Boulevard [Paperback]

Jim Grimsley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2002

An innocent teenager from small-town Alabama, Newell comes to New Orleans with just a duffel-sack full of possessions and a handful of dollars in his pocket. It's 1978, and the city is a gay mecca - filled with bars, bright lights and men everywhere. Newell soon finds an apartment in the atmospheric old French Quarter and lands himself a waiting job. But he finds his good looks are an obstacle to success; his workmates either want his body, or are jealous of the tips he rakes in with his toned pecs and winning grin. So he is much happier after he quits the bitchy restaurant and finds a job in a porn shop. Newell's good nature, good looks and lack of inhibitions make him a popular assistant there - as does the daring stunt he pulls in a local bar. And he is beginning to make friends; Miss Sophia, New Orleans' ugliest transsexual, takes a shine to him, and so does Jack, the sadistic yet irresistible son of a wealthy family. Yet there is danger lying in wait for Newell, and only he can save himself...Boulevard captures New Orleans at its most seductive. Compelling and beautifully written, it is the work of one of America's finest contemporary novelists.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The transformation of a gauche country boy from Pastel, Ala., into a latter-day Narcissus, circa 1978 (when to be young, pretty and gay was almost heaven), is the subject of Grimsley's new novel (after Comfort and Joy). Newell, a sweet-natured rube who has never bought a newspaper or used an umbrella, finds a room in the French Quarter. His fresh good looks attract the attention of Curtis, the manager of the restaurant where he finds a job as a busboy, but he's fired when he rebuffs his boss's advances. Luckily, he's soon hired at a pornographic book store stocked with glossy, plastic shrink-wrapped magazines relating the photogenic adventures of phallically enlarged young men and with movies that are available for group showings in curtained booths. The magazines awaken Newell to his true sexual nature, but do little to prepare him for the new erotic events in his life. Other characters include Miss Sophie, nee Clarence Eldridge Dodd, New Orleans' ugliest transsexual, who cleans the place, and the owner's nephew, scary Jack, a sadist who eventually preys on Newell after Newell breaks up with Mark Duval, a Tulane grad student obsessed by the Marquis de Sade. Grimsley's attempt to capture the carnival decadence of that time and place is smoothly done through naeve Newell's gradual understanding of the milieu he has entered, but somewhat undermined by the stereotypical portrayal of the Quarter's young male habitues as campy, empty-headed schoolgirls. Some readers may be put off by the fulsome details of Newell's sexual liaisons and his enlightenment, but for others the book will be a dark reminder of the era's excesses. Author tour.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

In his most recent novel (Kirith Kirin, Comfort and Joy), multiple award winner Grimsley portrays a young man from a small town in Alabama looking to redefine himself in a big city. It's 1978, and Newell, recently graduated from high school and both afraid and joyful at finally beginning a long-desired journey, steps off a bus in hot and sticky New Orleans. After losing his first job as a bus boy for not sleeping with the manager, Newell quickly finds work in an adult bookstore. Once he feels secure in his new position, he begins to make friends. His good looks, youth, and friendly and polite demeanor make Newell very popular, especially as he begins to explore the physical side of his sexuality. His first boyfriend, Mark, is a drug user who introduces him to LSD and, even more harmfully, to Jack, a sadist who seduces him, causing him to return to his hometown the next day. Even though Newell leaves New Orleans, he knows he won't be staying in Alabama for long. Once again, Grimsley has created remarkably real characters and a New Orleans setting readers can almost smell. He has a way of touching very raw emotions without overemphasizing one specific detail by using everyday life and everyday events and then hinting at the darker side of human nature. This reviewer hopes that Grimsley continues Newell's adventures. Highly recommended. T.R. Salvadori, Margaret Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, NJ

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby (August 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749005939
• ISBN-13: 978-0749005931
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not Worth Walking Down this "Boulevard", April 29, 2003

By 

Michael S. Waren "schoeder" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boulevard (Hardcover)

I am a big fan of Jim Grimsley's work but was disappointed with his latest novel which reads juvenilely and works more effectively as a character study than an actual novel. I kept thinking as I read this novel that Mr. Grimsley was writing a screenplay or a script for the theatrical stage. What I do like in this work was the liberation of the central character Newell, who comes to New Orleans seeking a life he can only dream about, hence escaping the small town life of Pastel, Alabama. In some respects Newell's life mirrors my own experience when I moved to Chicago. Newell's sexual odyssey is what drives the novel, and the other notable characters as Ms. Sophia (A mentally deranged transvestite who works in the adult bookstore with Newell) Mac (the greasy, loud, bossy manager of the adult bookstore) and Mark (Newell's on-then-off again druggey boyfriend) fill in as bit players developed well enough to the point of passing interest for the reader. The ending of the novel seems a bit rushed and not well thought out as Newell decided to return to small town life, defeated by all the sexual imagery and freedom that surrounded him on a daily basis. There is no build for Newell's decision and hence, no empathy for me as a reader. I can only hope that Mr. Gimsley next literary effort will be as rich as the one I experienced with "Dream Boy" and "Comfort and Joy."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Starts out great but fizzles; not as good as Dream Boy, September 25, 2002

By 

Jared (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boulevard (Hardcover)

Being a huge fan of Dream Boy, I was very excited to hear that Jim Grimsley had written a book about my hometown of New Orleans. However, I was disappointed overall and did not think it was as good as his earlier work.

The story starts out strong in portraying Newell as the naive country boy exploring a new city. The description of locations in New Orleans is dead-on, detailing the Bourbon Pub, Cafe Lafitte, Cafe du Monde, Clover Grille, etc. You can really get into his struggles in trying to hold down a job and get settled. You're hooked by the time he finds the job in the adult store.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the book goes off on this loooong tangent about Miss Sophie, the transgendered janitor of the store where Newell works. Who cares!? Page after page, nothing happens but her getting drunk and wandering the streets aimlessly.

I started to think that I was just reading a collection of short stories: first Newell, then Miss Sophie. By the time the story did come back to Newell, I had lost interest. He turned into a queeny whore who had taken a liking to wear dog collars at work and hooking up with drug addicts.

The story ends with a whimper in a tasteless scenario for Newell. It's like Mr. Grimsley had run out of adventures for Newell to go on so he wraps it up fast.

Hopefully his next novel, like Dream Boy, will be more focused...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Boulevard" Not the Smoothest Ride, October 22, 2004

By 

Elvin Harkins (Lexington, Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boulevard (Hardcover)

While the book starts off fairly promising, it becomes hard to follow with later chapters taking the points of view of other characters that aren't nearly as interesting as Newell. I find myself not remembering many parts of the book shortly after reading it - including the ending.