When Rory Blaine inherits his grandmother's crumbling London mansion, he's persuaded to create Britain's first retirement home for gay men. The prospective residents, Rory's `boys', are an eclectic bunch, united only by healthy bank balances and a longing to grow old in a sympathetic haven. But their haven soon becomes threatened, both by outside forces and from within. And then, suddenly, there is a women in Rory's life...
Rory's Boys
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A. J. Russell-pattison
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
What follows is an e-mail I sent to all my friends on completing this book. Enough said!
I am not one to gush..No seriously. However if I find something to gush about, gush I must.
I have just finished a book called Rory's Boys by Alan Clark (pub 2011). Amazon sent it to me to review. A good job really as if I had seen the really naff cover on a book shop shelf with its terribly anodyne blurb on the front I would have sniffed and walked by. Marketeers are not what they used to be!
The fiction (for it is such) centres around the establishment of the first gay retirement home in the UK. Oh but what a fiction! Skilfully written with pathos and wit it has, as I am assured they say in theatrical circles, a bit of everything, laughter, tears etc. Added to this the author has a real talent for well placed one liners. The result, I laughed out loud more times than for any other novel in the last ten years and cried an appreciably similar amount of times. The characters are, well really characters. The plot is outlandish but feasible if you are or have known/loved someone who is gay and of a "certain age". It's been a while since anything made me feel proud to be an ageing fairy in a world obsessed with youth but this book did it.
Is it a great literary work? No, thank God, it's much more fun than that. I read it in two sittings. It is however a great first novel and will, given the chance bring much pleasure to many. Why not give it the chance? It's worth it!
Available from Amazon.
No I do not know or sleep with the author or any members of staff connected with the publishers.
I am not one to gush..No seriously. However if I find something to gush about, gush I must.
I have just finished a book called Rory's Boys by Alan Clark (pub 2011). Amazon sent it to me to review. A good job really as if I had seen the really naff cover on a book shop shelf with its terribly anodyne blurb on the front I would have sniffed and walked by. Marketeers are not what they used to be!
The fiction (for it is such) centres around the establishment of the first gay retirement home in the UK. Oh but what a fiction! Skilfully written with pathos and wit it has, as I am assured they say in theatrical circles, a bit of everything, laughter, tears etc. Added to this the author has a real talent for well placed one liners. The result, I laughed out loud more times than for any other novel in the last ten years and cried an appreciably similar amount of times. The characters are, well really characters. The plot is outlandish but feasible if you are or have known/loved someone who is gay and of a "certain age". It's been a while since anything made me feel proud to be an ageing fairy in a world obsessed with youth but this book did it.
Is it a great literary work? No, thank God, it's much more fun than that. I read it in two sittings. It is however a great first novel and will, given the chance bring much pleasure to many. Why not give it the chance? It's worth it!
Available from Amazon.
No I do not know or sleep with the author or any members of staff connected with the publishers.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By T. Russell
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The main idea - of a retirement home for elderly gay men - is ripe with comic possibilities, but few of these possibilities are explored, and the overall result is leaving the reader feeling that the idea was rather wasted. When I read the synopsis, I thought of the wonderful tragi-comedy of Muriel Spark's 'The Bachelors', but this novel is much more shallow. For one thing, the author seems loathe to get the retirement home finished, and the passages dealing with this drag along reluctantly - the frequent flashbacks, however, as we look at the pasts of various characters, bound along with enthusiasm, and demonstrate the writer's narrative skill. The characters are not especially noteworthy, mainly because their interactions are so dull and uninspiring, and the main character is rather irritating, with his constant use of the adjective 'wee' to remind us - for no good reason - of his Scottish birth. What should be a climactic ending comes as no great surprise, and is, if anything, made bathetic by its flat handling. A promising premise wasted - an opportunity lost.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By silly
Format:Paperback
Rory's Boys is a delightful read, I can't help but hear a truly authentic voice in this work of `fiction'.
Each page is loaded with evocative imagery of people and places that immediately feel familiar, or any road beautifully sketched in.
I also feel it teaches you a few key lessons in life especially if you're feeling a bit gay or reflective (or both).
Each page is loaded with evocative imagery of people and places that immediately feel familiar, or any road beautifully sketched in.
I also feel it teaches you a few key lessons in life especially if you're feeling a bit gay or reflective (or both).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Too formulaic
I had high hopes for this book but found it too formulaic in the story and characters. However saying that it's an enjoyable and reasonably quick read.
Published 1 month ago by John Galilee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious - dificult to put down
The writer's style, adding detail made me laugh outloud. The story of a gay 45 year old inheriting his grandmother's mansion through the falsifing of her will by a third party and... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Downsman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Curl up in your favourite comfortable chair
I confess to having put this book down and getting on with other projects when I first received it. This weekend I picked it up again and finished it before the weekend was... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Crafty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining tale
Entertaining tale of the setting up of a residential home for elderly Gay men. Alan Clark's writing is flowing & straight-forward: easy to read. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. K. Cross
5.0 out of 5 stars
FUNNY GUY
I believe this is Alan's first novel - if so I hope it is not his last. His alternately hilarious and moving saga of a middle aged man's quest for fulfilment via establishing the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by timshelboy
5.0 out of 5 stars
A poignant message masked in cracking wit.
A page turner from start to finish. Funny and thought provoking. As we are advancing in our years, it is good that someone recognises the need for this. Read more
Published 18 months ago by alanfan
3.0 out of 5 stars
Farcical Featherweight Glimpse at Gay Life in contemporary London
Described on the cover as "A Metrosexual Great Expectations", this novel fails to deliver from a promising premise: the establishment of a gay retirement home in a stately home... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Kiwifunlad
4.0 out of 5 stars
warm, charming and meaningful
An impressive debut. Alan Clark's first novel is warm, compassionate, funny and charming. It is also amongst the first novels to engage with the issue of ageing in the gay world. Read more
Published 19 months ago by I. I. Rashid
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rory's Boys by Alan Clark
I hardly ever get time to read books, this book made me feel I should read more. Couldn't put it down Charming, funny, poignant - Fell in love with all the characters and saw... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Bob Hillis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yes, this is for me!
When I saw the cover, the first thing that came to mind was... oops gay book, is this for me? Well, I am a modern woman and it did come highly recommended, so what was there to... Read more
Published 19 months ago by karenb
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