Customer Reviews

War Boy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

War Boy is The Catcher in the Rye of NOW! I'm 17, and I know that if they put this book out in a cheap paperback that teens could afford they would sell a million copies. Radboy is someone my generation can really relate to, especially compared to a preppie like Holden Caulfield back in my grandpa's time when there wasn't even rock and roll.

This was the first hardback book I ever bought, after reading the review in the Post, with quotes that made it sound like my best friend talking to me, instead of a writer talking down to me. But that review didn't cover the most important things about War Boy. It's about figuring out what's right and wrong and how to make your life count for something even when the cards are stacked against you. And it's about believing in yourself and following your own feelings instead of what society expects. Don't be scared off by the drugs and the queer characters, or the radical ideas. They're in there to challenge you to put aside your prejudice and learn from people who aren't like you. This book doesn't TELL you drugs are bad--it SHOWS you. But it also shows you why some people take drugs, and makes you understand, instead of just condemn, them.

I know the author must be at least 30, but he's stayed in touch with the good and bad parts of life as it's lived by somebody half his age. War Boy is very realistic about fears and emotions and desires. Unlike Rule of the Bone, for example, that tries to be all kewl wih a k as Radboy would say, but comes across like some old pothead hippie's idea of what it's like to be a teenager. For instance, in that book the narrator is 15 and thinks about sex ONCE for two pages out of 400. A 15 year old male? Radboy isn't obsessed with sex, but it's treated in a natural and sympathetic way, not ignored. Also, it is tied to love. To understand what a moral book this is, you have to read it. The promotion doesn't give the right impression. But it is never preachy. It is very funny, in fact. You will never forget Radboy. As I said, he is the Holden Caulfield of the 21st century.

I couldn't help but compare reading this book with snorting a huge line of the same chemicals the characters in this addicting novel were so fond of. And if you extend that metaphor out further, you'd eventually realize that each "line" of amphetamine that was heartily devoured in this story could be compared to the reader devouring each line of text in the same addicted manner.

"Radboy" thinks differently than anyone he knows. He has to, to survive. Only 14, and a deaf-mute, he lives moment to moment on the street, never sure where his life is taking him. He fled his abusive father, but not before his father attempts to kill him for falsely testifying against him in the "accidental" death of Radboy's mother. He is rescued and taken in by "Jonnyboy", another street survivor, and sworn "meth" addict...or tweeker. Jonnyboy and Radboy become good and fast friends, mainly because on the street, there aren't many you can trust. Through Jonnyboy, Radboy learns quickly the ways to survive, and is introduced to Jonnyboy's various friends, whom Radboy takes to hanging out with when Jonnyboy disappears for days at a time.

The story is told solely from the perspective of Radboy in a hyperkinetic narrative that free-associates its way to a brutal and nail-biting climax. The narrative device is at first off-putting, but lends itself perfectly to the story once the rhythm is found. We find ourselves following Radboy and his exploits almost as if we ourselves are amped up on speed and anxious for action. In this, his first novel, Kief Hillsbery delivers a fantastic new perspective to the world around us, and wraps it up in a tidy moral story about trust, real family, and friendship. I eagerly await his next book!

The comparison to James Joyce in another reader review isn't overkill, believe it or not. The language of War Boy is dazzling and startling, beautiful and (yes, sometimes) challenging. The characters leap off the pages, fully realized and unforgettable. It doesn't matter if you've never ingested a controlled substance or listened to a note of alternative rock or had the briefest conversation with a sexual minority. You will hope with them, fear with them, laugh with them and root for them. Oprah and the other apostles of tolerance are missing the boat by not promoting this novel: War Boy walks the walk; it doesn't need to talk the talk. Kief Hillsbery deserves far more attention than he's received for his remarkable debut. By turns moving and hilarious, robust and tender, sweet and sinister, it surges everywhere with full-blooded life.

I first picked up this book as an uncorrected proof in a used book store in San Fransisco, mostly because I was intrigued at the thought of a deaf-mute perspective in a novel. Being a great fan of dialogue in books, I was uncertain if a book could actually be told in this manner. I picked up the book once I got home, and got halfway through the first page before putting the book aside, certain because of the writing style that it was just going to be a mindless, pointless book. I finally ran out of other books, though, and went back to it. Once I got past that first page I was hooked. This is the type of book that grips you; it is completly authentic. I don't care if you have never talked like Radboy in your life, had any experiences like him, or whatever. You will relate to him and his friends more than you ever thought possible. This book veers around, from gritty to lyrical, and once you finish it, you won't want to let put it down. I've re-read it at least 3 times since I finished it. Buy this book. You will not be sorry.

I would have given this story 5 stars except for the subject matter (everyone was tweaking on crystal meth). Regardless, this is one heck of a fascinating read. The concept of taking a deaf-mute 14 year old and telling his tale in first person, using run-on sentences, modern slang, and a frenetic pace was simply brilliant. The fact that Radboy is gay was great as well. The plot was sort of odd, but I was much more interested in the highly unusual (good!) writing style, which, I think, places this book in a category all its own. My favorite scene was the bunny that had gotten into the crystal. My second favorite one was where Radboy hooked up with Jason after acknowledging his affection for him.

I have the hardback copy and the cover has a picture of a black boy on it. There were no blacks in this story, so I was sorta confused about that at first. But, that's just me. Read this story for something really different.

Here's a story that will keep you reading from the first page to the last non-stop. The story is told from the perspective of a 14 year old deaf-mute teenager fleeing his abusive father and taking to the road with a gay friend named Jonnyboy, an older mentor who becomes the only person "Radboy" (as Jonnyboy calls him) can trust. They meet three other people, boyfriends Critter and Finn, and Ula, a female with a vengeance of her own. There's lots of drugs, some sex, and violent events to keep you wondering where all this is going to end.

Once you get use to the hyper way this story is written in short sentences, you will get right in the beat of the story. So don't be put off by the first few pages, push on and you will soon be flowing right through to the end. For a first novel, Kief Hillsbery has given us a exciting, very human, hypnotic story. Forget what you were taught in school about proper grammar, this is an enlightening new breed of novel. An engrossing new literary voice has been born. I look forward to Kief's next book.

when i read this book...i thought all right!!! a book finely writen for the young gay punk rocker and sk8ter. finely yes. Radboy remindes me of my self except im hearing and i feel it is a must read for young adults and teens alike. This is garaunteed to become a classic of gay literature within the next 10 years

This is one book I am not sure how to review. Part of me loved it, another part of me disliked it. However, I had trouble putting it down and I found myself completely drawn into most of it. The most amazing aspect of it was the writing style. As a scuba diver and pilot, I often feel privleged and sometimes superior for seeing parts of the world most people do not. The author of this book allowed me into a world I would never be welcome in, nor have the opportunity to even be close to. I feel privledged to have been invited into such a world. The author's use of real, raw street language is fantastic. To obtain a glimpse of a deaf/mute/skateboarder's life was a real treat.

My criticism was the ending and the development of a love affair between two characters (I do not want to go into details, as I do not want to ruin it for someone about to read this book). The ending was a bit too easy and bit too sentimental. The love affair developed too easily and moved too fast. It needed to be more developed, explored and believable. I also think this is one of the rare books where a bit more sex would have helped - the sexual tension was amazing, but not fullfilled.

The fact that several days after finishing this book (at 4:30am), I am still puzzled, amazed, confused, overjoyed, disappointed and thankful for the book, all at the same time, makes it something special. I wish I could tell you to run right out and buy this book or tell you to totally avoid it. I cannot. All I can tell you is that I am thankful I read it, yet I feel it could have been better. However, it brought me into a world I would never have known and it has me thinking - maybe that is enough to urge you to buy it.

This was an addictive read. Check it out at the library.

War Boy shreds for grrls, too! By far the best (post) modern novel I've read, with a true-life, true-as-words-can-make-it account of a great band--Sleater-Kinney--at the height of its greatness. A best book deserves a Ten Best list, so here's mine:

1. Best evidence the He is actually She, and a lot cooler than Sunday School ever lead you to believe:

When Radboy's drunken father holds a knife to his throat, having already killed his mother before the story begins, he feels an angel looking down on him, and suddenly hears in his (deaf) ears a line from a Patti Smith song. "And I thought it was the voice of God I swear," he remembers later. "Telling me to fight back and win."

2. Best reason to hope you die before you get old:

"And face it most old people are just beyond the valley of the f--ktards. I mean they pay their taxes. Salute the flag. Call cops on skateboarders. And worse play golf."

3. Best in-joke that only you and most of the old (but none of the new) Sleater-Kinney fans will appreciate:

"And there's no excuse not even 17."

4. Best in-joke that sends you into hysterics two days later on a crowded, but very quiet, bus:

After ten chapters of frustrated adolescent longing, so realistically depicted you long for release in your own pelvic region, Radboy finally Does It, in a brilliant scene that plays off words from an eco-terrorist tract with lyrics from a Sleater-Kinney song. The perfect S-K song, when you finally remember the title: "The Drama You've Been Craving."

5. Best enduring contribution to the QueerAmerican Heritage Dyketionary:

"...and they weren't even lipstick lesbians or anything glamorous like that but what Jonnyboy called lezzie boredoms..."

6. Best evidence that fashion sense counts for more than getting your facts straight:

"The cashier was this husky look-alike for that Janet Reno lady on the Supreme Court. In a denim skirt. A lezzie boredom if I ever saw one."

7. Best example of subversive alumni association product placement (Matt Groening and Lynda Barry, please take note):

"...this stagehand grrl dressed in slacks and a geoduck clam t-shirt walks by carrying a big stack of lyric sheets."

8. Best reason to Just Say No:

Take-out pizza topped with double pepperoni, mushrooms, cheese...and crystal meth: "Then it's Jonnyboy's turn and he inhales half the topping I swear before Finn finally sets the slice back down and starts vacuuming up the rest."

9. Best reason to (re)read The Great Gatsby after War Boy and ponder The Meaning of it All:

Can it be coincidence that a book about the 1920s and a book about the 1990s both feature (prominent) green lights in their opening chapters and Dutch sailors in their closing chapters, disguised in War Boy as "Dutch sailor's doors?" I think not. (There is no such thing as a Dutch sailor's door.)

10. Best possible explanation the publisher couldn't get permission to reprint the full lyrics to S-K's Call The Doctor songs, which are mentioned by reviewers but missing from the on-sale book:

Six words: All Hands on the Bad One. It's Sleater-Kinney's new recording, released at the same time as War Boy. And it's as popular as they are now, but it's not Call the Doctor. Unh-unh. Do you suppose The Artist Formerly Known As wanted people going back to Purple Rain when he put out Graffiti Bridge? And actually LISTENING to it? Since S-K's new fans were mesmerized by Brit-Pop in 1996, not Call the Doctor, I doubt they'd notice any difference, but why take chances? Right, grrls? Grrls? Excuse me? Oh. Behind the velvet rope. Sorry. I didn't see it. I used to... I understand. Thousands of people. Orderly people. It won't happen again. Of course. The last thing you want is a. . .riot.