The Trouble Boy (Paperback)

by Tom Dolby (Author)
Key Phrases: army guy, Tom Dolby, New York, Real World Guy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A Yale-educated gay freelance writer navigates the shark-infested waters of Manhattan hoping to score a screenplay deal and a loyal boyfriend in this hip and sexy if predictable debut novel. The son of an upper-crust clothing designer, young Toby Griffin is plagued with acne and depression, but gets lucky when he's hired to be a nightclub reviewer for a struggling Web site and quickly becomes a "nightlife contender," impressing new friends Jamie, Donovan, Brett, David and Alejandro. Though the social scene is all about hooking up, Toby does manage a dinner date or two, but most end disastrously, including one with an egotistical former Real World cast member and another with a sleazy Polo store clerk. When both the Web site and an exciting proposal to co-write a memoir by transsexual performer Lola Copacabana fizzle out, Toby begins work for hotshot producer Cameron Cole. A premiere party with lots of cocaine and booze sets the stage for a deadly Lizzie Grubmanâ€"style "accident" and a coverup that tests Toby's allegiance to his glitzy cohorts. As the media spotlight shines on Toby, he begins to lose interest in his tour of hot nightspots filled with cool Mr. Wrongs. Will our almost-charming hero ever find someone worthy? There are few surprises here, but Dolby's writing is smooth and his flashy scene-setting spot-on.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"An expertly observed and deeply unsettling debut. Tom Dolby has the sharp urban sensibility of a Candace Bushnell and the unflinching gaze of a Bret Easton Ellis."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758206178
• ISBN-13: 978-0758206176
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Quick fun, but nothing remains, March 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Trouble Boy: A Novel (Hardcover)

The novel is a fast read with moments of fun, but the author seems unable to create a memorable character. Toby neds a lawyer at one point, but worries he can't afford one, even though his parents pay his rent in Manhattan and his mother just sold her company for $200 million. Huh? Many moments like this make the novel seem rushed.

Alos, why does this novel have to be shelved in the gay section? It seemed pretty mainstream to me. I hate this hyper-classification.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Promising Debut Novel, June 1, 2004

By	Michael T. Rognlien (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Trouble Boy: A Novel (Hardcover)

Looking only at the inside flap of the book (come on, we're gay, we do it) it's hard to imagine that a strikingly handsome author of Dolby descent would be able to write a novel about being (or perceiving oneself as being) .. well, average, insecure and confused as to one's place in the world.

Actually READING the book, though, you find that his main character is all of those things. Cute and young enough to possibly make up for not being TOTALLY hot, Toby, the main character, seems to do nothing but screw up opportunities to 'elevate' himself to the A-list in a snotty, screwed-up New York of the new millenium.

The beauty of this book, though, is that like Sex & the City and Less than Zero - two books this one has been likened to - it has nothing to do with New York or snotty A-lister's or even young almost-hot men.. rather, it's a story about a person coming of age in a time where everything seems possible, everything seems desirable. His Toby, however, is not unlike the rest of us: he wants to be successful, he wants to find love, and he wants to maintain his sense of self but has to do so in spite of horrible bosses, frenemies (the one Sex and the City reference that fits - the episode where friends act like enemies) and a bank account hovering just above zero.

The approachability and enjoyability of this novel is not based on the fact that it's glitzy or set in New York or filled with drama and scandal - that has been done, to varying levels of success, by other authors. What made this book so enjoyable was the fact that the main character was real, honest about his vanities and shortcomings, and in the end decided that being a good person and doing the right thing for his friends, family and self, brought him the happiness that everything else had not.

(Side note: for those of you who read and enjoyed Bart Yates' "Leave Myself Behind," the main character in this book reminds me of a grown up "Noah" - and the fact that Mr. Yates endorses the book on the dust cover should persuade you to read the book!)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Trouble Book, February 25, 2005

By	Frank Berkeley (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Trouble Boy: A Novel (Hardcover)

The best part of this book is the inside back dust jacket where there is a really hot picture of the author. (Unfortunately, his website is pretty bare bones with no additional hot pics.) As for the novel, it's good but not great. There's just not much substance to the story. A plus is that the book is free of the continuity mistakes, typos and grammatical errors frequently found in books of this genre, as it was published by a professional house. (The fact that I'm even making this comment relates back to the minimalist substance of the story.) But it is a first novel and we can hope that Tom Dolby will grow and grow. The potential is certainly there.