''The Boys on the Rock'' is a novel by John Fox, which follows the

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

and first love of a gay sixteen-year-old

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

Plot

Set in the Bronx against the historical backdrop of United States Senator

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

's unsuccessful bid to become the Democratic presidential candidate for the 1968 elections, the novel focuses on Connors's "rocky relationship that fared no better than McCarthy's campaign", in the words of critic Wayne Hoffman (author of the novel ''Hard''), who described it in '' The Washington Post'' as a "classic".

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called it "a slight first novel with an uneasy blend of graphic sex, a faux-naif Y A tone, and gay-pride preachiness." and found it "Occasionally sharp in its place/time specifics, but otherwise a juvenile debut–both punkily narcissistic and sloppily sentimental." while Trevor Sydney said that "Fox's only novel remains a compelling '' Bildungsroman''."

International influence

''The Boys on the Rock'' has been described as "A watershed in the history of the translation of queer literature into Japanese...". Its translation "was subsequently followed by a large number of translations of novels about queer desire - more specifically about gay men in the West."

Editions

The popularity of ''Boys on the Rock'' is evidenced in the substantial quantity of editions to which it ran, having first been published in 1984 by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

in New York. A Stonewall Inn paperback edition was published in 1994 by St. Martin Griffin.

References

* Hoffman, Wayne. "Gay New World." '' The Washington Post'', 11 October 2006: C9. 1984 American novels American historical novels American LGBT novels American political novels Gay male teen fiction Novels with gay themes Novels set in the 1960s LGBT-related young adult novels 1980s LGBT novels 1984 debut novels {{1980s-LGBT-novel-stub