Synopsis
When Johnny's prostitute mother dies, Johnny is taken under the wing of a mysterious homosexual stranger, posing as his son called Vaslav. The two live in a luxurious world of wealth and social position until Vaslav, as a teenager, decides he wants his own life.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-10-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 236 pages | | Height: | 8.8 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 14.4 oz |
Publisher's Note
Johnny grew up in lower-class London with a mother who was both a prostitute and a drug addict. After her death from an overdose, he arrives in Australia to become "Vaslav", settling into a comfortable life as the son of a prominent gay man. Drinnan's first novel is one in which love, sex, and manipulation collapse upon each other--where the best intentions can yield the worst consequences.
Industry Reviews
This debut novel presents a disconcerting coming-of-age account narrated by a homosexual teenager. While visiting London, Shamash a highly regarded leader in the arts and gay communities of Sydney, Australia discovers a seven-year-old street boy named Johnny sitting beside his mother, who has just died of a drug overdose. Shamash, whose own child was killed by his mother in an apparent murder-suicide, seizes the opportunity to rescue Johnny and raise him as his son, renamed Vaslav. Growing up amidst the pornography, drugs, and alcohol that surround Shamash, Vaslav becomes sexually curious and begins to see Shamash not as a father but as a partner. The assumed incest is later discovered by an outraged public, and Shamash is condemned to prison, where he dies under suspicious circumstances. Vaslav sells his story to a magazine and runs off to Europe to live in a hedonistic fog of sex, drugs, and alcohol. The characters remain shallow and the tabloid plot stretches the bounds of credibility. Not recommended. David A. Beron?, Univ. of New England, Biddeford, ME
Wright
This debut novel presents a disconcerting coming-of-age account narrated by a homosexual teenager. While visiting London, Shamash a highly regarded leader in the arts and gay communities of Sydney, Australia discovers a seven-year-old street boy named Johnny sitting beside his mother, who has just died of a drug overdose. Shamash, whose own child was killed by his mother in an apparent murder-suicide, seizes the opportunity to rescue Johnny and raise him as his son, renamed Vaslav. Growing up amidst the pornography, drugs, and alcohol that surround Shamash, Vaslav becomes sexually curious and begins to see Shamash not as a father but as a partner. The assumed incest is later discovered by an outraged public, and Shamash is condemned to prison, where he dies under suspicious circumstances. Vaslav sells his story to a magazine and runs off to Europe to live in a hedonistic fog of sex, drugs, and alcohol. The characters remain shallow and the tabloid plot stretches the bounds of credibility. Not recommended. David A. Beron„, Univ. of New England, Biddeford, ME
Library Journal (09/15/1998)
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