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The Boy Made the Difference
Rex, a husband and father, makes an unintentional error. Will Rex get away with his terrible, taboo-busting mistake?
This opening premise is the starting gun to a rollicking ride through London of the late 1980s and early 1990s, in a literary novel that focuses on human frailty, love, marriage, family bonds, gay sex, betrayal, alcoholism, illness and death. Although aspects of the novel are richly ironic and even comedic, it also deals with challenging themes, not least HIV/AIDS.
Matt Bishop wrote The Boy Made the Difference because very few (if any) literary novels are set against the narrative backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which had a profound and lasting impact on the gay community.
This opening premise is the starting gun to a rollicking ride through London of the late 1980s and early 1990s, in a literary novel that focuses on human frailty, love, marriage, family bonds, gay sex, betrayal, alcoholism, illness and death. Although aspects of the novel are richly ironic and even comedic, it also deals with challenging themes, not least HIV/AIDS.
Matt Bishop wrote The Boy Made the Difference because very few (if any) literary novels are set against the narrative backdrop of the HIV/AIDS crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which had a profound and lasting impact on the gay community.
330 pages, Paperback
Published August 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 30, 2021
I had to push myself through after the first chapter, hoping it would get better. Sadly it didn’t; the author seemed more focused on shocking the reader than writing an actual story.
The last few chapters slightly redeemed the book but not enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
The last few chapters slightly redeemed the book but not enough for me to recommend it to anyone.
September 15, 2020
In this book, a life of dull luxurious routine is again and again threatened and finally destroyed. Initially, Rex Davis is one of the most unsympathetic of protagonists, a husband and father who boasts about his cars, is vain, pompous, middle-aged before his time, self-indulgent and living a lie; he has regular gay sex in public toilets but doesn't admit to himself, let alone anyone else, that he is a gay man. The sex seems to be an utterly mechanistic process.
But quite early on there are two narrative jolts, brought about by coincidences, but well enough described to be believable. The equilibrium of his life with his wife and son are shattered. Powerful changes affect the characters more and more.
The author has a good eye for the convincing detail, sometimes funny, sometimes embarrassing or harrowing, but always lifelike. The opening chapters rather wearisomely recount the everyday life details, the London streets all meticulously named, 1989's TV programmes accurately researched, and a lot of coverage of the characters' snooker, football and tennis games. This is all conveyed with the detached prose of a good sports writer, and I know it's all important scene-setting but I thought that at times it could perhaps have been more concise. Still the details means that our feelings for the characters' increasingly-fraught predicaments - lust, betrayal, shock, illness - gather in intensity almost despite the author, not with him.
Some of the best thoughts and dialogue are reserved for Jill, Rex's long-suffering wife. For instance, I particularly like 'She had assumed that sexual diminuendo was the stuff of married life, like it or lump it' - a lovely balance of Latin and Anglo Saxon in that sentence. I would have liked a bit more of her. She very calmly evaluates what is going on, and it is a shame that at a certain point she rather disappears into heavy drinking.
By the end of the book Rex's family is broken up on many levels and an agonizing final permanent cure to his smugness looms over him as we read the last pages. By now I was feeling sorry for Rex, and knew I would be much sorrier if the story had not ended when it did. I almost wanted more time with these characters. Rex's character arc is superbly well drawn.
Stylish, clever and gripping. Recommended.
But quite early on there are two narrative jolts, brought about by coincidences, but well enough described to be believable. The equilibrium of his life with his wife and son are shattered. Powerful changes affect the characters more and more.
The author has a good eye for the convincing detail, sometimes funny, sometimes embarrassing or harrowing, but always lifelike. The opening chapters rather wearisomely recount the everyday life details, the London streets all meticulously named, 1989's TV programmes accurately researched, and a lot of coverage of the characters' snooker, football and tennis games. This is all conveyed with the detached prose of a good sports writer, and I know it's all important scene-setting but I thought that at times it could perhaps have been more concise. Still the details means that our feelings for the characters' increasingly-fraught predicaments - lust, betrayal, shock, illness - gather in intensity almost despite the author, not with him.
Some of the best thoughts and dialogue are reserved for Jill, Rex's long-suffering wife. For instance, I particularly like 'She had assumed that sexual diminuendo was the stuff of married life, like it or lump it' - a lovely balance of Latin and Anglo Saxon in that sentence. I would have liked a bit more of her. She very calmly evaluates what is going on, and it is a shame that at a certain point she rather disappears into heavy drinking.
By the end of the book Rex's family is broken up on many levels and an agonizing final permanent cure to his smugness looms over him as we read the last pages. By now I was feeling sorry for Rex, and knew I would be much sorrier if the story had not ended when it did. I almost wanted more time with these characters. Rex's character arc is superbly well drawn.
Stylish, clever and gripping. Recommended.
August 29, 2021
A well-intentioned but not especially well-written novel...
The overwhelmingly favourable reviews of 'The Boy Made the Difference' encouraged me to add it to my reading list, so I was disappointed to find that it fell well short of my expectations. I guess I should have taken first-time author Matt Bishop's declared reasons for writing it - in essence, because he wanted to read it, but also because he claimed there were no novels of late covering the same sort of ground (he clearly missed Rebecca Makkai's stunning 2018 novel 'The Great Believers', even if that was set in America rather than the UK) as something of a warning sign. He clearly means well, but lacks the finesse to pull it off.
I found the protagonists in the book shallow and, in the case of lead character Rex, irredeemably unlikeable, and without exception everyone in the novel converses in the most unnatural dialogue I've read in a book in a very long time. Perhaps recognising this as his biggest weakness, the author attempts to prop up the prose by shoehorning in a pompous literary turn of phrase every now and then that sticks out like a sore thumb. He also peppers the text with descriptions that read as nothing more than the research notes they clearly were, most noticeably when relating journeys, in which he tends to list off every street and every turning.
What rescues the book from being a one-star disaster is the social service it renders and cultural history it shines the spotlight on: presenting the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the prejudice it engendered and the sense of hopelessness that accompanied it in the stark terms they deserve. Even here the story and its telling tip over into melodrama, however, so while the effort is laudable, its execution lets it down. The subject matter is never explored with any true depth, and in the end the potential of the morally ambiguous event that sparks the whole story is squandered.
At some point, I'd be happy to revisit just about every LGBTQ+ novel I've read over the years. 'The Boy Made the Difference', sadly, joins the small pile of those I doubt I'll be reading again.
The overwhelmingly favourable reviews of 'The Boy Made the Difference' encouraged me to add it to my reading list, so I was disappointed to find that it fell well short of my expectations. I guess I should have taken first-time author Matt Bishop's declared reasons for writing it - in essence, because he wanted to read it, but also because he claimed there were no novels of late covering the same sort of ground (he clearly missed Rebecca Makkai's stunning 2018 novel 'The Great Believers', even if that was set in America rather than the UK) as something of a warning sign. He clearly means well, but lacks the finesse to pull it off.
I found the protagonists in the book shallow and, in the case of lead character Rex, irredeemably unlikeable, and without exception everyone in the novel converses in the most unnatural dialogue I've read in a book in a very long time. Perhaps recognising this as his biggest weakness, the author attempts to prop up the prose by shoehorning in a pompous literary turn of phrase every now and then that sticks out like a sore thumb. He also peppers the text with descriptions that read as nothing more than the research notes they clearly were, most noticeably when relating journeys, in which he tends to list off every street and every turning.
What rescues the book from being a one-star disaster is the social service it renders and cultural history it shines the spotlight on: presenting the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the prejudice it engendered and the sense of hopelessness that accompanied it in the stark terms they deserve. Even here the story and its telling tip over into melodrama, however, so while the effort is laudable, its execution lets it down. The subject matter is never explored with any true depth, and in the end the potential of the morally ambiguous event that sparks the whole story is squandered.
At some point, I'd be happy to revisit just about every LGBTQ+ novel I've read over the years. 'The Boy Made the Difference', sadly, joins the small pile of those I doubt I'll be reading again.
January 7, 2022
I was very keen to read this as it was supposed to be about the 80s and yet the storyline missed out much of what I was expecting to read and instead was a narrow narrative of a family torn apart by hidden sexuality. I think it’s very cliched in representing LQBT issues, however I did really enjoy the book and couldn’t put it down and hoping for a happier resolution to some of the issues raised. It’s quite an eye opener in some ways and also very moving in parts with Rex’s character evolving towards the middle of the book as he careers headlong into the relationship he has only ever dreamed of. Overall an unusual read tackling a heartbreaking story and maybe a bit rough around the edges but an interesting one.
February 29, 2024
Real life
Reading this I was taken back to the 80s and 90s, when I lived in London. Some of the memories evoked were good, but some not.
Danny's forced coming out, and Rex's acceptance of his struck a chord as did much of the action throughout.
If you want an idea of what those days were like for us this is a good place to.start.
Reading this I was taken back to the 80s and 90s, when I lived in London. Some of the memories evoked were good, but some not.
Danny's forced coming out, and Rex's acceptance of his struck a chord as did much of the action throughout.
If you want an idea of what those days were like for us this is a good place to.start.
November 27, 2024
This could have been a powerful novella. Instead it is a padded out novel created by someone who really cannot write. The dialogue is ridiculous, the plot is sparse and the characters grotesque caricatures. I commend Bishop’s intent but I’m afraid he simply isn’t equipped to carry it off. We deserve our stories to be told more adeptly.
February 3, 2021
This is quite a departure from my usual reading choices. The subject matter is difficult, anyone of a certain age will remember when HIV/AIDS was in the news. The book is about family, gay sex, love, illness, death and much more.
I found it to be challenging to read.
I found it to be challenging to read.
September 18, 2021
I enjoyed this well written story and could identify with much that happened in it.
April 24, 2024
Brilliant - the full package, disbelief,laughter, tears, a true roller coaster of a read. Highly recommended 😉
September 9, 2020
The blurb for this novel was so mysterious I didn't know what to expect. And honestly, the first chapters were surprisingly dark. And when I say 'dark' , I don't mean 'concerned with the HIV epidemic', I mean that a very, very disturbing thing happens in chapter one.
👀
It made me think about content warnings--including them would mean a spoiler and the reader wouldn't feel the same shock/confusion the main character is feeling. I'm surprised the author decided to start with something so dark. I'd be afraid I'd lose readers after that.
👀
Suffice it to say, if any content warnings apply to you, you probably shouldn't read it. If you don't mind morbid content that leads to a lot of serious drama, go ahead.
👀
Despite the dark topics, the tone of the book remains surprisingly light. It didn't feel trivializing, but instead, it made the book somehow easier to digest and the characters more human. I think the characters were just trying to cope.
👀
The rest of the book is an exploration of sexual identities, of a teen and of an adult. The book deals with coming outs and relationships in times when being queer in the UK was penalized. It's also about life-changing mistakes and guilt.
👀
Each character was handling their situation differently. Danny was just a teenager figuring out who he was. Jill was concerned. Kimberly was liberated and supportive of others, but also always honest. Rex was unreasonable and borderline perverse most of the time, and his life was just one huge accident. Kenny was the voice of reason, and he literally said out loud what I was thinking as a reader.
👀
I still don't know how to rate this book. It made me think a lot, and I was curious what would happen next--but it was the same morbid curiosity we feel watching an accident happen.
👀
It made me think about content warnings--including them would mean a spoiler and the reader wouldn't feel the same shock/confusion the main character is feeling. I'm surprised the author decided to start with something so dark. I'd be afraid I'd lose readers after that.
👀
Suffice it to say, if any content warnings apply to you, you probably shouldn't read it. If you don't mind morbid content that leads to a lot of serious drama, go ahead.
👀
Despite the dark topics, the tone of the book remains surprisingly light. It didn't feel trivializing, but instead, it made the book somehow easier to digest and the characters more human. I think the characters were just trying to cope.
👀
The rest of the book is an exploration of sexual identities, of a teen and of an adult. The book deals with coming outs and relationships in times when being queer in the UK was penalized. It's also about life-changing mistakes and guilt.
👀
Each character was handling their situation differently. Danny was just a teenager figuring out who he was. Jill was concerned. Kimberly was liberated and supportive of others, but also always honest. Rex was unreasonable and borderline perverse most of the time, and his life was just one huge accident. Kenny was the voice of reason, and he literally said out loud what I was thinking as a reader.
👀
I still don't know how to rate this book. It made me think a lot, and I was curious what would happen next--but it was the same morbid curiosity we feel watching an accident happen.
October 5, 2020
The Boy Made the Difference was an incredibly interesting read from the beginning. Chronicling a dark period in LGBTQ+ history, the AIDS epidemic, made this story stand out from others in my mind. At least initially. But it was really the character work that Matt Bishop put in that kept me there.
The story begins with our protagonist (and this word can be used lightly at points), Rex, making the kind of mistake that had my jaw literally on the floor as I began reading furiously to find out just how it was resolved and if it ever was. It hooked me, instantly. As for the resolution, I strongly advise that you read the book to find out.
It is Rex's entire family that makes this book what it is. His wife and her struggles felt incredibly real. The marriage they shared felt genuinely strained - for some obvious reasons. The love that Rex and his wife felt for their son also felt real.
The London setting, the London of the late 80s and early 90s, was a perfect backdrop for this tale. and I genuinely recommend that you take some time to read this book. I recognize that it is not for everyone, but simply the period that it covers alone should get people to give it a chance.
Even if you aren't an LGBTQ+ history nerd like me...
**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
The story begins with our protagonist (and this word can be used lightly at points), Rex, making the kind of mistake that had my jaw literally on the floor as I began reading furiously to find out just how it was resolved and if it ever was. It hooked me, instantly. As for the resolution, I strongly advise that you read the book to find out.
It is Rex's entire family that makes this book what it is. His wife and her struggles felt incredibly real. The marriage they shared felt genuinely strained - for some obvious reasons. The love that Rex and his wife felt for their son also felt real.
The London setting, the London of the late 80s and early 90s, was a perfect backdrop for this tale. and I genuinely recommend that you take some time to read this book. I recognize that it is not for everyone, but simply the period that it covers alone should get people to give it a chance.
Even if you aren't an LGBTQ+ history nerd like me...
**I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews