Where the Boys Are

Jeff & Lloyd #2

by William J. Mann

In a sequel to "The Men From the Boys," Jeff continues his trek through the gay singles scene along with sometime lover Lloyd and protege Henry, who jointly grieve for their late mentor Javitz and explore the challenges of finding love in the twenty-first century.

Genres: Fiction, M M Romance, LGBT, Gay, Gay Fiction, Novels, Romance

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Also writes children's books under the pseudonym Geoffrey Huntington.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very touched by this introspective and heartfelt exploration on the lives, loves, and learning of several gay men at the turn of the new millennium. Inspired and inspiring to me as a writer. Thank you, Mr. Mann.

[Cameron Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just finished reading Mann's trilogy that started with "The Men from the Boys," and ended with "Men Who Love Men" (well, I have a hunch that there will be future books that deal with these characters). This book, "Where the Boys Are," is the middle part of the set - as well as the most disappointing.

The basic rundown - lovers Jeff and Lloyd have become estranged once their best friend and mentor, Javitz, has died from AIDS. Jeff becomes even more unlikeable as he falls into the Circuit Boy scene; Lloyd, on the other hand, takes a new direction in his professional life by running a guest house in Provincetown.

As with the first book, there were many moments that seemed much more essay-like as the author tried defending certain ideas about different aspects of the gay community (monogamy, the Circuit scene, etc). To be fair, while Jeff explains his more positive spin on what the Circuit scene means to him (a place to get away and come together as one writhing force on the dance floor), we also see the dark side of the scene with out of control drug use by some characters and the grave consequences that can have.

My biggest problem with this book is the unbelievable plot. I won't give anything away so as not to ruin any surprises for future readers, but I found the storylines of Eva and Anthony to be laughably bad and unbelievable in any shape or form. I know this is a work of fiction, but, come on!

And, everything between Jeff and Lloyd just gets a little too hokey by the end as the author scurries to tie up all loose ends. Also, I often found myself wishing the author had spent as much time delving into his characterizations as he did describing who had the hottest bod.

[K.Z. Snow]

UPDATE

DNF

Nothing's any better, I'm afraid. The dialogue is more turgid than the characters' winkies ever get, and it's still loaded with mentions of the speakers' names. (Didn't this book have an editor?) On one page alone, where there was a conversation between two men, the speakers addressed each other by name 11 times. That's 11 times in 15 pieces of dialogue! I can't take much more.

In addition, and in spite of all the crying the guys do, this 400+-page tome has too little conflict to justify its length. I'm still having difficulty distinguishing between the POV characters. Another key player is like some gratingly overwrought female in a really bad old movie; every time she appears, I roll my eyes and skip to the next chapter.

Basically, I just don't care about these people. At all. I'm afraid this one will be a DNF.

* * *

I've just started this book, but some of the author's narrative choices are already getting in the way of the story.

1.) Three POV characters with (so far) virtually indistinguishable first-person voices. o_O

2.) Each character's habit of stepping out of voice and addressing the reader directly, which is not conducive to immersion.

3.) Each character's habit of repeatedly saying the name of whomever it is he's talking to. "Jeff, I have something to say. I know all about you, Jeff. Want me to tell you what I know, Jeff?" AAAACK! This particular dialogue quirk sets my teeth on edge!

I'm hoping I get used to this stuff, 'cause I really need an enjoyable read right now.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like what this book is about-- the family that we chose for ourselves and how (like biological family) its struggles are intencse--and the impact of grief, how people deal or don't deal with it, individually and collectively. I also liked reading about both sides of the whole circuit party thing, the fact that nobody talks about AIDS anymore and the internalzied and external (of course) effects of homophobia. I like that this is all percolated into what is essentially a romance novel and seen through the eyes of complex mulitlayered characters who are believable and interesting. I like the three interconnected storylines that keep you turning the pages. Mann is a really good story teller and though this time I was a little ahead of him, he really knows when to release information and keep suspense going. What's really needed here is a red pencil. It's about 50-75 pages too long which could be remedied if the characters didn't talk about their feelings quite so much and the "look--no, you look" structure of many of the scenes was more varied. The emotional investment of the author adds weight and truth to the story and keeps it from melodrama, but at times is feels repetitive and borderline corny. And does everyone have to cry quite so much? Still, I remain a fan of Mann's writing -- both fiction and non-fiction--and am happy to have (re)discovered another gifted gay writer. (PS. I would love to be his editor!)

[Julia Bolatti · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING ! I LOVED the first book (The men from the boys) and had high hopes for this one. The writing is still impeccable! Another hit i will probably be rereading soon !

[Guy Venturi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mistakes were made

Family is based on relationships and trust. Friendships are based on trust and honesty. People do not always do the right thing, but they are always responsible for their actions and the consequences.

When friends merge into family, forgiveness for mistakes is a part of the love that glues them together in the moment. Be true to yourself and to others as you build a better life together.

[Aussie54 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with this sequel to “The Men from the Boys”. The different story-telling voices didn’t work for me. I became confused as to which person’s point of view we were in. The overwhelming over-use of names in the dialogue distracted me all the way through the book, even though this could’ve been one way the author chose to show whose section we were in. I was constantly pulled out of the story, as I was thinking we were getting one character’s thoughts/conversation, when it suddenly became clear it was someone else. Even though each different character’s name appears before each section, I still somehow became confused. Having three different character’s thoughts wasn’t conducive to an easily flowing reading experience for me.

[Skip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I started off not really liking some of these chracters, Mann makes it hard to put the book down. There were many moments when I truly did connect with many of these folks...

I Really liked the way the characters evolve and grow, even though there were a few plot devices that didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense... Was Jeff really just sitting around not working for four years...? (Or at least when he wasn't jumping from one circuit party to another...)

Eva began as more of a caricature than a character. But then she became more human.

(And why were there so many typos? These really should have been fixed before the book was printed....)

[Neet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place several years after Javitz`s death in the first book Men From The Boys. It's countdown to the millennium and Jeff is waiting for Lloyd impatiently with his friend Henry. Jeff is still self-absorbed, selfish, and vain. Now, we can add druggy, and circuit queen. Javitz left both Lloyd & Jeff a butt load of money. Jeff has become a circuit queen, he had a bad time with crystal, but he doesn't do that anymore. He does exercise, party, and use other drugs,.He also doesn't write or want to go back to P- Town. So we also learn that Jeff has been estranged from many of his friends, and he's been back with his on and off again boyfriend not that long. Things have been going so well with Lloyd , Jeff thinks they will be back as a couple, and Lloyd will move back to Boston (he lives in P-town) and they will share their lives together. Lloyd finally arrives and the two share a kiss at midnight. Lloyd also tells Jeff the big news.... He's opening a B&B in P-town with a woman named Eva. Eva is a woman he met several months ago at some conference several months ago. Jeff doesn't take the news well. Than we see Jeff meeting a handsome trick named Anthony. The trick stays longer than Jeff imagined and is invited to stay with Jeff at his apartment.We meet Eva, who is truly a wack job. Even when Jeff finally meets Eva ,he sees what a manipulative person she truly is. He attempts to tell Lloyd , but he refuses to believe him .Makes me glad that doofus Lloyd no longer is a practicing pathologist. Poor Lloyd can't see how mentally unhinged Eva is, even though she's done several questionable things that should of alerted him that Eva ain't well.Lloyd keeps making up lame excuses for her behavior and outbursts. I won't say more. Just that both men are lost without Javitz and using different methods to get through their grief. A long book that I still recommend, but understand if you don't like it.
.

[Andrew Chidzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this novel up for $5 at a book store in the Mission District in San Francisco - excited to find that it was the sequel to a novel I had bought on a previous visit to the city some three years earlier. As with its predecessor, I found this an extremely enjoyable read - Mann has a good ability to enable the reader to really get inside the head of his characters which makes the journey all that more real. That said, this novel was majorly let down by the absence of Javitz. Whilst this was unavoidable (I mean he did die at the end of the first book) his wisdom and humour was a notable omission. I did appreciate that Mann kept Javitz alive through Lloyd and Jeff's memory throughout the story - and perhaps the best moment in the book was when Lloyd and Jeff discovered Javitz's recorded message to them both (definitely a tear-jerker moment). I enjoyed the addition of new characters in Shane and Henry - and Eva (wow what a crackpot she was!). I also loved the inclusion of Mr Tompkins (Lloyd and Jeff's beloved cat)! The only let down in the writing was that at times it could get quite soppy/hollywood-esque (particularly the final few chapters). That said overall I loved this read - perhaps there will be another novel to come in the lives of these characters. We can only hope!

[Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow did I like this one! We love when the sequel is better than the original, but damn did this one blow the original out of the water. I loved everything about it. I adored the split pov. I loved Henry's character at the third protag. The parallelisms were masterfully done. Really can't recommend this book highly enough.

[Juan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was interesting and touched interesting themes. I enjoyed reading from the different perspectives of the characters and revisiting them from a previous novel from the same author. The background stories from some of the newer characters were left a bit of a mystery but I think I can see why the author chose to do so.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love and Mystery

I loved this book. It really resonated the ins and outs of relationships. The ending was surprisingly satisfying. Although the stereotypes were there, they exist in reality as well.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeff & Lloyd's story continues after Javitz has passed. Lots of new people in Jeff's life, not so many in Lloyd's, but bucket loads of drama for both.

Working through it all is what life is about.

good story - hit home a few places, made me cry, giggle and feel nostalgic as well.

[Neil Kitchin-wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to get used to having two other points of view to read from after being Team Jeff all through book one. I didn't realise I was going to cry until the tears were already escaping and I feel a wonderful sense of completion having just finished this book.

[Jay Demopoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but Jesus it was too long!

[Lori S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars Excellent read.


After I got over my qualms about reading a whole book in present perfect tense (yeah, ironic, since I'm writing in that form ...), I discovered a story full of fascinating characters who are just trying to live their lives to the fullest and get along with each other.

We have three narrators to follow, Jeff, Henry and Lloyd, and as their stories unfold and interweave with each other, they present the reader with a diverse view of the world in which they live. For Jeff and Henry, it's the gay dance circuit they participate in, going from city to city to party, dance and get high, though for each of them the circuit represents something different.

Jeff is avoiding confronting the pain of reality in which one of his family, Jarvit, has died of AIDS and losing his long-term boyfriend in the process. He feels guilty for not having been at Jarvit's side when he died, and refuses to talk about him except in clips and phrases that do the man little justice. By the same token, he feel estranged from Lloyd, with whom he's happiest, yet they've drifted as far apart as two people can, with different expectations and dreams, looking for a way to connect but not quite getting there.

Henry is feeling more and more disillusioned, not only about his day job as a CPA, but also the circuit scene. The more he participates, the more disconnected he feels. He's ready for something more permanent, more settled and steady. When a man he meets on the dance floor (Shane) offers to pay him money to spend the night, Henry refuses, but soon after starts exploring the possibilities of being a hustler, not only for the added income but for the shear novelty of the idea. But after one really bad incident with a disgusting client, Henry begins rethinking his strategy and wonders if it's really worth his dignity to sell his body for money.

As for Lloyd, Jeff's estranged boyfriend, doesn't like the circuit and avoids getting involved in it as much as possible. For him it is a place of drug and alcohol abuse, where men are so disparate to disengage, that they're willing to do stupid things just to have fun. Instead, he snags himself a business partner whose self-esteem and self-image is severely damaged. Though it seems a dream come true when he and Eva buy a bed and breakfast together, it quickly becomes obvious that Eva wants something more from Lloyd than he's willing or able to give. To add to the situation, Lloyd is also dealing with his own grief over Jarvit's death and not being able to speak to Jeff about it, he's unaware of his own behavior with Eva, both enabling and exacerbating the situation.

How each of these men deal with their problems and each other and find themselves in a new place in time for the new year is a journey well worth reading. Along the way we meet a man, who, as a teenager, committed a hate crime that sent him to prison and forced him to take a good, long look at himself and change his life, several men who have less than perfect bodies, but better than average attitudes, and a chance to look into the world of the circuit where every one lives in a fantasy world outside of their everyday, mundane lives.

[Askuhlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something very intriguing to me about the process of choosing a book. I look at a shelf, stocked to the brim with a collection of novels. All of these novels are categorized and separated by what they are "about". I found this book under one simple category title...fiction: literature. At first I remember thinking, "That's how you can describe this book? Nothing else. Nothing." And now, as I finish this book after 48 short hours, I understand why. This book is undefinable. It has...that quality. That quality that you can't put any words to. That quality that shakes you to your inner core but you aren't sure why. I don't know why I'm surprised. Every single one of Mr. Mann's novels have done this to me. They have brought me some grand new insight into myself. They have helped in recreating me in a little way. And this book is no different. You put yourself into these novels. You meet these characters. You go to these parties. You feel love, hate, fear, loathing, acceptance, and denial. You feel these things for yourself after hearing about them in the lives of characters. It's an interesting concept how someone created for the page, someone living only in the corners of an author's mind can truly shape you...more than another person sometimes. But, they do. They help in allowing you to relate to yourself. They help in giving you a mirror that you can hold yourself up to and finally answer the question...Who is that?

[Dolphe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is often an easy matter to say "I liked this book" or "I didn't like this book", but sometimes the simplest descriptions don't always apply. For instance, we may not LIKE the road we're forced to travel in life, but we may LIKE where the hardships lead us. In "Where the Boys Are", many of the characters are undeniably hard to like and sometimes too "holier than thou" to be tolerated ... but, that's okay ... since they end up leading us somewhere we needed to go. That destination is a realization that we have to do it all wrong before we ever learn to do it anywhere near right.

[Wendell Hennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a year in the lives of half a dozen gay men who are maturing and going through relationship issues and living the party circuit and bouncing from New York to Montreal to Ptown. At times very childish, (not unrealistically so) and at times insightful. Enough glue that it kept you wanting to keep reading to see what happens with each of them. Told chapter by chapter from a different characters perspective but not in an annoying manner.

[Jon]

I actually picked up this sequel to Mann's The Men From The Boys before I realized there was a previous book; half-way through the novel, I just HAD to read the first book since I kept hearing so much about the infamous Javitz! Excellent, excellent summer reading for the beach; light reading but excellent character development - you can't help but fall in love with these characters!

[Joe Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and not just because it was pure smut. William J. Mann really paints a good picture of the circuit party scene for someone who may not have experienced it. His ability to paint out the full brunt of maliciousness and delusions really has you continuously on the edge of your seat.

[Vfields Don't touch my happy! · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novel that followed three friends for one year while they deal with AIDS, love, money and friendship. The whole book was a bit soapy but never got too whiny. It was a long, large book that I did enjoy.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

great novel examining the lives of Boston circuit boys, thier lives and relationships. Huge step above most gay novels I've read before.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book the best of the three in the Jeff/Lloyd trilogy. So emotional!

[Tom Ratliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good gay romp.

[Ken Brunelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Dilo Keith]

After reading this and "The Men From the Boys", I ordered more of Mann's books.

[J Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful sequel.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed these characters so much. A bit of a soap opera plot, but the twists made it all wort while. On to book 3!