Books : Lawnboy

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Author name: Paul Lisicky

: Lawnboy
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9781555974480
ISBN number: 1555974481
Label: Graywolf Press
Manufacturer: Graywolf Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 384
Printing Date: June 27, 2006
Publishing house: Graywolf Press
Release Date: June 27, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 732791
Studio: Graywolf Press



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Editor's Notes and Comments:

Product Description:
'Lawnboy is, quite simply, the real thing, a novel of mystery and great beauty.' —Michael Cunningham

They all thought I was good-natured, upright and responsible, generous, affectionate, and kind, and of course I could be those things, but there was much more to me than that, a side that unnerved even myself, and this side included William.

Seventeen-year-old Evan’s adventure begins with mowing a neighbor’s lawn, a summer job that leads him into an unpredictable world of desire and betrayal. Estranged from his parents and his older brother, he moves in with forty-one-year-old William and begins a disastrous series of attempts to make a new home. Must he make a choice between his family and desire? First published to wide acclaim in 1999, Lawnboy wanders the lush and tumultuous landscape of the early 1990s, its south Florida setting as fertile and troubling as Evan’s inner life.




Customer Reviews
User popularity level: out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Where's does a 17year old go when looking for happiness...
After 31 reviews there's not much new left to say about the story. Lisicky manages to provoke the reader to feel what 17 year old, Evan feels. Evan seems to be looking for something..love?happiness?Things he doesn't have at home but hopes to find in William a neighbour he moves in with (exactly 1260' from his house!)
After William, Evan finds his brother and more mixed feelings of hope,hopelessness,lust.His brother is also looking for something more than what his parents provided.He can't help Evan.
Everything is in a state of decay,and rot in south Florida.The land is pillaged and nothing is left of it's original state.This seems to sum up Evan and his family and his search for something more.
Lisicky takes the reader through Evan's mind, his thoughts,his yearnings.He wants to find love (or what he thinks love is). Although Evan is drawn to older men; they aren't always the answer.He won a scholarship to a prestigious college-that's not the answer.
The deeper we go in the book, the deeper we traverse Evan's psyche. He revisits old partners, friends.Then he hears about AIDS.
I like that the book was not permeated with this fact but was a brief tie-in.
I loved Evan,his brother,Peter,Hector,William and Jane. So well-developed.All the characters were so rich and played an important role in this coming-of-age story.
In the end, Evan decides to give up everything. It seems then that his story begins anew.(Don't want to give away the ending)
Interesting dialogue at end of book for thought-provoking discussion.
Excellent descriptive narrative as Lisicky captures the life of a 17 year old in search of more.


Rated by buyers 4 out of 5 stars - Accepting Yourself
Lisicky, Paul. "Lawnboy". Graywolf Press, 2006.

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

Several years ago I read Paul Lisicky's novel "Lawnboy" and was moved by both the story and the style. I was so glad to see that is has been reissued with a new cover, a reading guide and a short interview with the author. It is a beautiful coming of age novel that carefully deals with the issue of self acceptance(something that has always concerned me in reference to others).
"Lawnboy" deals with familiar issues and does so beautifully and emotionally. Evan, the 17 year old narrator and main character, tends to the lawn of an older neighbor, William, in Miami. One day they begin a secret affair and this becomes a major concern of Evan who at very first attempts to deny the gay aspect of himself. He dates his best girl buddy, Jane, but when he realizes that this is not for him he runs away from home and moves in with his older brother. This relationship is also short lived and he leaves Miami for Fort Lauderdale and goes to his brother who has a flop house of a motel. It is here that he meets Hector, his brother's part time "lover" and assistant. Hector becomes a mentor to Evan but moves on and Evan returns to Miami, wiser and more aware, yet sadder. Here is the story of the ups and downs of gay awakening in the 1990s and a view at the inner workings of a young man's mind as he comes to terms about who he is.
"Lawnboy" is romantic as well as extremely sad as it probes mind of a boy who is at odds with himself. The longing and the need to be accepted is depicted in often heart breaking passages. There is not much new here but what we all have been through is beautifully written about. The innocence of boyhood is coupled with the inability to choose and this may make it hard to read because it is so familiar. This book is about truth; a novel that is on one side mysterious and on the other beautiful. Transcendence and tragedy, love and hope, desire and sexual awakening blend together to provide a satisfying and rewarding read. Put this book on your "To Read" list. And when you read it, savor every word and passage.
_________________



Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Well written coming of age tale
"Lawnboy" rises above the level of entertainment reading, and is more on the level of literature, but without pretension. Well-paced, with a main character who does not judge his innocence and need to learn. Lisicky is a very talented writer.


Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Great Book
This is one of the best books I have read about "coming of age". It's realistic, fun and pretty hot. This was one of the very first book on my "gay, summer reading" list and so far it really stands out above the rest.


Rated by buyers 1 out of 5 stars - Boring and Overated
Okay I read this book awhile back,when I was 17,and unless they rewrote it I don't understand all the praise this book is getting.This book was so boring that if it had a voice it would be monotone.Also I was the same age as the main character of this book when I read it and I still couldn't relate to it.None of the characters are at all relatable and even worse completely unlikeable.Plus,I kept waiting for the story to pick up and go somewhere and it just never happened. I don't know maybe I'm just not introspective enough but I hated it.

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