Laddish Lit for the Teen Set
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According to Burgess, he wrote this, his third YA (young adult) book because, "I do believe that we have let young men down very badly in terms of the kinds of books written for them. This book is my go at trying to bring young male sexual culture into writing." I'm not sure I really buy the premise that teenage boys are lacking in representations of their "sexual culture," it may just be that they are located in film (from Porky's to American Pie to Superbad) rather than books. I'm pretty sure that one could make the reverse statement about teenage girls and film -- but whatever the case, one thing I have noticed as a casual reader of teen lit is that over the last ten years,YA authors and publishers have been increasingly heading for edgier and more controversial terrain.
This story definitely fits that mold, as it revolves around the sex lives of three 17-year-old boys in England and doesn't pull any punches when it comes to graphic language or description (albeit in British slang that American parents may not find as objectionable). It's not exactly breaking news that teenage boys are obsessed with sex, and what Burgess does here is try to give expression to that. While it does succeed in fits and starts, the story is more notable for how boring it generally is, and how soap-operaish the plotlines are, than it is for breaking any kind of new ground. The first 1/4 to 1/3 of the book is especially tedious as Burgess labors to set up Dino (incredibly handsome and dating the school babe), Ben (apparently hapless with the girls, but secretly having crazy sex with a 20-something drama teacher), and Jon (the loudmouth with a crush on a slightly chubby girl). After this tedious setup, the book finally gets going as Dino encounters increasing frustration in his attempt to lose his virginity, Ben encounters increasing distress as his secret sex life, and Jon encounters increasing distress as his attraction to the chubby girl.
Unfortunately there's just not that much that's interesting. Gee, guys have anxieties about sex too? Shocking! Guys talk and joke about sex all the time in great detail? Shocking! I guess it's nice that the main characters express a range of attitudes, from Dino's extreme horndog duplicity to Ben's implausibly maturity, to Jon's aching obsession with how others will perceive his relationship with chubby Debbie. Similarly, the women evoke a range of sexuality, from pretty Jackie's on-again, off-again desire to "do it" with Dino, to Debbie's good-natured good-time attitude, to the teacher's sick emotional and physical manipulation, to a fourth girl's utilitarian attitude. But too many of the characters sounds too much alike, and like many YA books, they are generally a touch too self-aware to be realistic.
Ultimately, the book just isn't interesting or good enough to warrant the controversy it seems to have sparked (at least in England). Perhaps the most telling verdict is that it was the basis for an ABC teen series that lasted all of one year.
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Several viewpoints keep the interest
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As a female reader, this book was fascinating to me as a 'snapshot' of teenage boys' thinking processes. I laughed and screwed up my face as the boys talked about their girlfriends to each other in an extremely derogatory way, and yet all of them were terrified of the girls finding out they had behaved like this! All the boys have problems of their own - each is keeping a secret that he can't possibly share with anyone. Unlike girls, who tell each other everything (often to their own detriment, as such secretc can be used against them later), boys use words to impress each other and thus boost their own standing within the group - words that may not necessarily be true and are certainly unlikely to reflect their true feelings.
The book is written in shifting points of view and alternately in past and present tense - a style that does hold the interest (as each chunk is short and quick to read) but also makes it difficult to keep caring about the overall story.
I would have given this book three stars but for the storyline involving Ben, who is sleeping with his teacher. I thought this storyline showed excellently how an older (emotionally damaged) woman could manipulate a younger man in a sexual situation. And how that seventeen-year-old would feel trapped because, to all intents and purposes, he is living every boy's fantasy - even though it's turned sour.
The book is explicit but not unnecessarily so. An interesting and insightful read.
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Will appeal to younger readers
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This is not a book for mature men and women. This novel just relates so much to people we've all known at school (except maybe the one who's sleeping with his teacher). The guy who's so sure of himself on the outside but is secretly insecure, the girl who's fun to be with but is single, the girls who won't sleep with their boyfriends. This is an honest account of modern day Sixth Formers and I think that anyone under 35 will be able to relate to some if not all the characters.
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If you are 30 going on 50 give it a miss otherwise.
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Funny, spot on and makes your toes curl. A book about how awful it is to be a tennager in lust! Well worth a read but only if you can remember being a teenager.....
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Not all that but not the 'BIN IT' type either!
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I read the book and had a laugh at some descriptions of the three teenagers and their experiences as Melvin wrote. Some bits of it are quite boring to be honest but if you do not read the boring bits where's the fun in reading the interesting ones? Very explicit but yet funny. Reminds me of my teenage to some extent. I wouldn't call it a garbage I wouldn't call it marvelous....its somewhere in between. Certainly its not a waste of money or time. Its not a bad read at all.
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