Eric Beck Rubin

Jan and Dirk are teenage boys when they meet in the Netherlands. Jan is studying the piano and dreams of a musical career. Dirk has already had a career as a child actor. Jan is a quiet boy, while Dirk is flamboyant and outgoing. Jan soon is obsessed with Dirk and follows him everywhere. To his surprise, Dirk seems to want to be with him and they soon become fast friends, with sleepovers where they watch porn. They lose touch when Dirk goes to America to find his way to stardom and Jan stays in the Netherlands to go to music school. They don’t see each other again until Jan becomes ill and reaches out to Dirk.

OK, I have to admit that I was turned off by the beginning of this book. Dirk’s language and topics of conversation were sometimes a bit offensive and while young boys may think of only one thing – sex – it isn’t my preferred reading material. Dirk’s character seemed to go quite a bit over board with his rebellious spirit although the adults unbelievably took it all in stride. But I’m very glad I stuck with this book. It really turned around after they each went off to pursue their adult lives and I became engrossed in the book. It’s a beautifully written story about male friendship and quite sad. I also enjoyed the author’s description of a musician’s life and the total absorption in the music. The book leaves open quite a few questions and that’s fine with me. I didn’t need this type of book wrapped up nicely. It’s a powerful, emotional read and I don’t even want to start another book yet as I want to give this one some more thought for a while.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.… (mais)