Customer Reviews

The Boy

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Reminiscent of both Steven King and Patrick McCabe in creating an atmosphere of fear and dread, Naeem Murr creates in The Boy a young man/demon who embodies everyone's worst nightmare--the intelligent and psychologically astute predator. Having grown up without the nurturing and love which makes us human, The Boy is being sought by Sean Hennessey, a social worker who was his foster father and may, in fact, be his real father. Both Messianic and consummately evil, The Boy controls the action throughout the novel, planning when, where, and how to wreak his vengeance against the world. Mere murder is not satisfying to him--it must be agonizingly slow and degrading.

Intensely dark and humorless, this is a taut and very fast-paced psychological thriller which draws you in because you think you "understand" this damaged creature. Murr further increases reader involvement by giving deep background information about the victims, too. You know why each victim was chosen and why each was so vulnerable to manipulation by The Boy, and you discover with horror that you, too, could easily be a victim because The Boy "found his form in others, in their memories." This novel is so absorbing that one overlooks the very convenient and well-timed coincidences in order to prolong the fun of reading. The perfect short novel to read all in one sitting!

I just finished this book tonight. A few other reviewers mentioned "over-written" and "pretentious". I agree. It's too bad that the author got so intrusive, because it's a great concept for a story. The psychological inferences were very insightful, sometimes brilliant. His sense of mood and place were wonderfully visual. I'm a push-over for a great metaphor, but too many get in the way of a fluid read. The build to the finale was well-paced, but the end was kind of a let down.

I came across this quite extraordinary novel by Naeem Murr while looking through some books by Iris Murdoch; which is to say, accidentally or, put in a happier light, fortuitously. I was intrigued by its title, the description on the back cover, the fact that The New York Times listed it as a notable book and, especially, its opening lines. In fact, the first chapter promised a novel of an unusual degree of finish and ingenuity. Broadly, the book tells the story of a teenage male prostitute (or rent-boy, to use the deliciously apt descriptor favored by the author) and the devastation he brings to the people around him. Said people are, primarily, Sean, his (foster) father, who spends the book searching for him; Megan, his step-sister; Ronan, Theresa, and Caitlin, caretakers at a home for boys where he lived; and a wonderfully drawn character called the Fatman (a cunning reference to the bomb dropped on Japan during World War II?), with whom the boy is having an affair. The boy may be pure evil, but the tragedy of the story derives from the emptiness of the lives of the people around him. Each one is seeking to fill a need and, so, finds him attractive in their own way (although we are told repeatedly that the boy is beautiful): for Sean the attraction is primarily familial, for Megan it is (for lack of a better term) psychological (she suffers from clinical depression), for Ronan it is sexual, for Theresa it is religious, and for the Fatman it is emotional. But even though the boy is an instrument of nothing but death and ruin, the characters are convinced that, without him, their lives would hardly be worth living: Faulkner once wrote that, forced to choose between grief and nothing, he would choose grief.

The book is not perfect. Although the writing and plotting are extraordinary, some passages are (as the British would say) too clever by half. The male characters emerge as much more fully drawn than the female characters. In particular, the character of Ricky, the 12-year-old rent-boy with a cold sore under his nose and a head too large for his body, and whose greatest fantasy is to convince people that his mother works as a make-up artist (or is it a hair stylist?) for the BBC, is supremely touching. On the other hand, Theresa, Caitlin, and Megan too often emerge as caricatures, and the dialogue between Sean and Caitlin, who develop a relationship of their own, has a cutesy awfulness out of keeping with the rest of the book. The conclusion, while dramatically satisfying (in fact, the lengthy final chapter represents some of the most sustainedly dramatic writing in the novel), is not (quite) intellectually convincing: while the final act that Sean commits is understandable given the circumstances, nothing in the 200-some-odd pages that preceded it led me to expect it could really happen. And yet, the most devastating moment of all comes just before the end. Sean, confronting the boy about something that occurred between him and his half-brother and -sister, says, But they were innocent, to which the boy replies, They were not innocent. I loved them both. In its context, that line is shattering.

I see that this book was published 4 years ago. I have no idea whether Mr. Murr has written anything since, but even if not, he has given the world a novel to reckon with, and that is something for which I, for one, am profoundly grateful.

When I read the first sentence in this book, I automatically had a good feeling about it. Many people had described it as haunting, and it was. The protagonist was calculating and manipulative, yet eerily likable. The double narration through the third person of the author and the journal of one of the characters was very effective adding depth and intensity to the plot. I really enjoyed this book though I wanted more from the ending. It was an easy read and a great original story.

This book is a psychological foray, a dark and gritty look into the face of consummate evil, whose countenance is that of a mere boy. Known by different names to those with whom he comes in contact, little good follows those who form a relationship with him. The boy, who has the face of an angel, has a soul rife with corruption. He is a natural predator who ingratiates himself into the lives of others, then seeks to discover their psychic needs in order to know what buttons to push in order to get others to do what he secretly wants them to do.

Machiavellian in the extreme, no good comes of what the boy wants, as his intention is to inflict the maximum psychic pain that he can on those who would seek to befriend him. Chameleon-like, he is known by different names. To Sean Hennessy, who was once his foster father, the boy was known as Durwood. Now, Sean is desperately looking for the boy, as he believes that the boy will provide answers for the tragedy that enveloped Sean's family.

This is a moody and dark book. There is nothing uplifting about it. Tense and disquieting throughout, at times I found it somewhat repetitive. At other times, it seemed to drag. As a debut novel, it shows that the author has potential, as he is clearly master of the written word, the writing sometimes waxing positively poetic. Yet, there is something disturbing about the author's vision of redemption for one's sins. The book is too dark by far for me. Still, it is certainly a promise of things to come.

This is a book that will move you in ways, funny ways, long after you read it. It will reoccur as you walk in the street and look at the passing people. It is about the secrets we keep within us, the conflicting desires we have for those around us and the longing of each person for home and what happens when this is denied. It is a book about identity, lost and found, and the writing is spare and elegant as the dust motes filtering down the hollowed out cavern of the building where the book starts with a body that is as yet unnamed.

I read a dozen reviews before buying and reading the book. All if them have merit and are truthful about the dark, disturbing novel, THE BOY. Yes, the male characters are more detailed than the females. The novel is well written, beautfully, thought provoking more times than not.

But be prepared for the biggest dissappointment of all -- here's this story about a beguiling boy who beguiles everyone but the reader...a huge miss. I kept wondering why everyone was so taken in by this strange, weirdo. I read on thinking the answer would come but it was simply never justified. The boy was just TOO strange, and anyone with a brain, heart and soul, would have seen him for that. I was left to deduce that these characters just didn't have the smarts to get away...get far, far away from this child.

That said, I still maintain ownership of my copy because outside of that giant flaw ( which affects everything because we're asked to buy into this obsession from the get-go, and we don't) because of the authors wonderful voice, ability to create mood and artful use of words. He is a great new talent, that is most obvious. I only wish I'd fallen in love with the boy like the characters did.

Once every two or three years I read a book so good that I find myself holding my breath. This is a first novel by someone I've been searching the web for more info about ever since I got my breath back. If you want to see just how fine writing can be and be mesmerised by somethings beyond your comprehension, grab this book and start turning pages. Mr. Murr, God bless you! Please write another book even if it hurts!

I first saw "The Boy" in the local library, and it was the cover which caught my attention. It was a picture of a young boy with a haunting look about him that forced me to find and read the book. It is one of the best and most captivating books I have read. The Boy is both good and evil, straight and gay, friend and foe. He has control over all whom enter his spell, even the reader. The Boy's innocence makes his evil side even more evil, he uses others, affected by his trance, to carry out his plans. Naeem's imagery in the sceens with the fat man are almost too believable. I would recomend this book to anyone with a fascination of the phychology of youth or anyone who thinks little boys are just cute and innocent.

Reminiscent of both Steven King and Patrick McCabe in creating an atmosphere of fear and dread, Naeem Murr creates in The Boy a young man/demon who embodies everyone's worst nightmare--the intelligent and psychologically astute predator. Having grown up without the nurturing and love which makes us human, The Boy is being sought by Sean Hennessey, a social worker who was his foster father and may, in fact, be his real father.

Both Messianic and consummately evil, The Boy controls the action throughout the novel, planning when, where, and how to wreak his vengeance against the world. Mere murder is not satisfying to him--it must be agonizingly slow and degrading.

Intensely dark and humorless, this is a taut and very fast-paced psychological thriller which draws you in because you think you "understand" this damaged creature. Murr further increases reader involvement by giving deep background information about the victims, too. You know why each victim was chosen and why each was so vulnerable to manipulation by The Boy, and you discover with horror that you, too, might easily be a victim because The Boy "found his form in others, in their memories."

This novel is so absorbing that one overlooks the very convenient and well-timed coincidences in order to prolong the fun of reading. The perfect short novel to read all in one sitting! Mary Whipple

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