- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Fourth Estate; First edition (19 Mar 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1857028236
- ISBN-13: 978-1857028232
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 13.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,822,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Like Margaret Atwood, Murr traffics in images so capably that the novel's space becomes a kind of magnetic field, alluring, almost confining . . . Like the abandoned buildings that are its backdrop, The Boy makes it hard for readers to walk away unhaunted."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
A stunning literary debut, in which a man’s desperate search for his former foster-son, a boy of extraordinary physical beauty and seductive power, forces a confrontation with the erotic pull of violence and the nature of evil.
The discovery of a chilling diary, written by his dead daughter, impels Sean Hennessy on a desperate quest to find the boy he and his wife fostered until double tragedy struck. His search takes him first to an orphanage in South London, and hence into the dark world of male prostitution, where the elusive boy dances just out of reach. As this intense and beautifully written narrative tugs towards its climax, the reader witnesses the boy’s mysterious seductive power over those with whom he comes into contact: the orphanage’s governor and his pious middle-aged wife; the orphans; the boy’s eccentric and manipulated lover, Sean’s own children – and Sean himself, whose impulse towards the boy is a complicated and painful blend of love, loss and terrible guilt.
The effect of this gripping and provocative novel lingers long in the mind.
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First Sentence
IN A WAY it is a perfect place for a body. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IN A WAY it is a perfect place for a body. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
Format:Hardcover
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
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
Format:Paperback
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 agonizing, 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. Mary Whipple
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