Excitable Boy: Essays on Risk

by Dominic Gordon

A wild ride through a disaffected youth by a gifted writer. Dominic Gordon explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour.

What happens to the adolescent spirit when all vestiges of innocence about the world are foregone, replaced within the grinding sounds of concrete and metal of the CBD of Melbourne? A place where train tunnels become nesting sites, carpark stairwells spots to refuel on methamphetamine and hide from predators; where agility leads you across nightclub rooftops, yielding cash in tight spaces with a quick reflex. For a rest, why not ride on the back of a train as it speeds through the night? The dangers of a decades-long exploration of risk in the streets of his city is exhilarating.
In these original essays, Dominic Gordon, explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour. Excitable Boy is an immersive experience of what it was like growing up in and around criminal-class and working-class culture in the inner city of Melbourne at the turn of the twentieth century.

199 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2024

Reviews

[Georgie Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast gritty humorous . Tells a story of Melbourne as a crawling insect - sad and dark and scary - yet invigoratingly explored . There is always so much joy in reading someone’s journey through a city that they know as if that place were a person - to the point that the place becomes a character . Another layer added to the portrait of Melbourne ❤️

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to give it a 5 when you have an urge to underline shit.

[Peter Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

A raw and honest account of a young life - beautifully written. Those hours spent in the library really paid off.

[Dale B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book in an interesting format

[Me · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hate Melbourne but this was cool

[luci whitelake · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s like going on a long rambling walk with nicest eshay you know 💯 could use another pass thru the copy editor but a wonderful piece to add to the Melbourne text archive <3

[Scarlet Murdoch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love books set in Melbourne, and I loved that these essays showed a different side of Melbourne. Although there is a brutality to Gordon’s writing and experiences, there is lots of warmth too.

[Pamplemousslacroix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Electric

[Thomas Penn · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Melbourne like I’ve never seen it before. Loved it.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading for an insight into life on the streets of Melbourne for a young boy/ youth/man struggling to exist. Powerful writing, opening short story is a knockout. Not really a positive tale, although somehow he moves on. Just a bit of encouragement at the right time helped. I’d like to read more.

[Crank · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a masterpiece.

[Asha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Addictive

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art of getting over.

[Nell Morris-Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. Rarely read a book that depicts scenes that I grew up in and sub communities within Melbourne. I loved this book.

[Bronwen Heathfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I should really give this 5 stars as it is bloody good. The only reason for the 4 stars is I found it a little repetitive. It is a collection of autobiographical stories of a young man’s life in inner Melbourne. It is very well written with a direct prose style. His life is confronting for most of us, a Melbourne we suspect is there but only catch glimpses. I was impressed by his observations and honesty. A life of petty crime, drug use and graffiti. Also a life of risk taking and testing life’s boundaries. Read this if you’re at all interested in choices made in life, risks and inner city life.

[Fanny Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graf poetry. Gorgeous and dirty and brutally honest. The audiobook read by the author is amazinggggg highly recommend listening to it.

[Poppy Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excitable Boy is by Melbourne writer Dominic Gordon. He's written a collection of short essays, which are memoirish but feel more like action-packed, edgy journalism than a traditional memoir. The storytelling is very gritty and raw, with beautiful prose, where you often stop and re-read a sentence just for the sheer beauty of it. Christos Tsiolkas recommends it, and there are many similarities between the two writers, particularly how they interrogate masculinity and society.

These essays take you inside Melbourne's sex clubs, into train yards with graffiti crews, to back alleys where street fights are blowing up, the drug scene, chaotic hospitals at midnight, destructive criminal activities, all places many of us are not regularly (or ever!) exposed to... The scenes are described with a visual, stylish flair and are very enjoyable, and darkly funny, to read.

I felt sorry for the young Dominic, who slipped through the cracks in the classroom and into the seedy underbelly of Melbourne. He shows how graffiti gangs recreate social structures that members don't necessarily have in ordinary society. Although you can't help but feel compassionate toward him, he's not asking for sympathy, or even forgiveness, which is one of the things that makes his stories so fresh and enjoyable.

It's worth checking out: it's quality writing that pushes the boundaries in compelling and refreshing ways.

[Ashleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Random collection of memories of the grittier side of teenage-hood in Melbourne. Loved the area-specific references, and the very brief little snippets of history, perfectly placed. At first, I found it a little disconcerting that it wasn't recounted chronologically, but as I read on, I liked how all the memories slotted into place like puzzle pieces. Great easy read. Loved it!

[Brodie Groves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to love it, did at parts, but overall left me wanting more. But not my scene nor steeze so didn’t really invest / relate - I’m sure would be an epic read for someone more invested

[Cedric Fun · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melbourne Reads: 3/15, 3.75 - bit repetitive.

[Ali El Zein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest and direct writing about parts of the Australian metropolitan experience which seem to be important and influential on culture today but are rarely written about.

[Sam Sof · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, intense, on edge.... couldnt put it down

[Cedric Fun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that is Melbourne yes very much so