Review: Boy Parts

5 stars. What a perfectly electric companion to A Certain Hunger. I need to think about this one some more, but I can safely say it'll land on my list of Kelly Choice Awards for the year. Maybe even top 5. Reading this was just ... a really fantastic experience. Highly recommend for fans of American Psycho, Maestra, maybe even Tampa. Absolutely nails the snooty art world; absolutely nails the bad art friend mood/vibe/aesthetic.

Boy Parts is about a young photographer named Irina who destroys everything in her path. Interested in fetish photography, she is fueled by sheer, alcohol- and drug-fueled chaos; manipulation; reckless behavior; unhealthy relationships; non-consensual interactions; neglected friendships; trauma; toxic emotions; vibes that push the envelope beyond irresponsible and towards criminal, or insane, behavior. I knew the ending was going to be vague and surreal - so in that sense it was a little predictable - but I really loved it. Crunchy. Didn't want a drop of alcohol after putting it down lol

It's a little terrifying how real the correspondence felt in this book. The text / email conversations made me shiver and cringe like I was living them. The party sequences were especially vivid and there was one particularly shrewd part (the chapter with the plastic surgeon when Irina muses about what's actually natural) that will stick with me for a long time. I love that theme: what is real or natural or unreal / unnatural and does anything actually mean anything? Oh yeah. Gets a little existential, in a very entertaining way.

That's it. That's all I'm going to say about this thing. Go read it. It's wild.

Boy Parts on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads