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Title: Where the Boys Are by William J. Mann ISBN: 0-7582-0326-8 Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: May, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.51 (45 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: What a letdown!
Comment: I loved "The Men From the Boys" so I was looking forward to any new book by William J. Mann. I was thrilled when I discovered that on top of everything the new book ("Where the boys are") was going to be a sequel to the one I loved ("The Men..."). What a disappointment! "Where the Boys Are" seems to be written by somebody else.
Some of the characters have the same names (Jeff, Lloyd, the ghost of Javitz, and very vague references to Eduardo, Tommy, etc.) but that's about the only thing the two books have in common!
(Mis)Using a narrative technique taken from Faulkner's "As I lay dying", we get to see the events from inside three character-narrators (Jeff, Lloyd & Henry) but instead of introspection and personal points of view, we get shallowness and confusion -especially since it changes from one to the other every few pages, before the reader can get a feel for the character. Since there is no introspection, it doesn't make a difference who is narrating, only confusion as to who the "I" on that page refers to!
In addition, each of these three character-narrators gets into an irritating 'dialogue' (?!) with the reader, teasing her or him on what they will share or not share with her/him, etc.
Paradoxically, this approach of getting inside the characters -to get to know them better- leaves the reader with the impression that there is nothing there making the characters far less likeable than in the previous book.
Rating: 2
Summary: A completely adequate read
Comment: This book is adequately entertaining overall, but there were many things about it that caused me to give it only 2 stars. It's incredibly predictable with few surprises, and the same thing happens to every character; EVERY character in the book A) has sex with a stranger, acquaintance, or friend, and B) breaks down and cries at least twice. One wonders if the author thought to himself, "Hmmm, who hasn't Jeff slept with yet?" in order to keep this overlong book going. And the constant mentions of Javitz from the first book are very heavy-handed, with characters who have never even met Javitz constantly asking Jeff and Lloyd to "tell me more about Javitz." Happy endings galore for the three main characters, of course. And the mystery surrounding Jeff's new boy toy was so obvious virtually right from the get go that I found myself wondering if I was really that smart or was the author that sadly predictable? Despite my negativity, it was an adequate read, but I've read much better.
Rating: 5
Summary: Best book I've read all year!
Comment: William J. Mann is a great writer and this novel is proof of that. If you only read one book this year, make it this one. You won't be disappointed.
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Title: The Men from the Boys by William J. Mann ISBN: 0452278562 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Last Summer by Michael Thomas Ford ISBN: 0758204051 Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: Daytime Drama by Dave Benbow ISBN: 0758203861 Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: Man About Town by Mark Merlis ISBN: 0007156111 Publisher: Fourth Estate Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Gay Blades by Ben Tyler ISBN: 075820017X Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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