“I’m 27 and I don’t know who I am”
– boygenius – “Emily, I’m Sorry”
This line from one of the latest boygenius tracks really sums up what this book is about in part. Julian is only 26, the black drummer in a Portland band living hand to mouth and not without the generosity of his better off friends. Homeschooled and brought up ardently Christian, he finds himself out of place in a city populated by few other black people.
As is the case with anybody in there twenties, Julian is fucking around and figuring shit out. His affair ends as quick as it began with his lover getting engaged and as the band he plays in finds itself on the up, Julian is spiraling into crisis and taking out on those closest to him.
Boyd’s writing keeps you rapt throughout and never becomes melodramatic. He finds the perfect tone for living through your twenties and how you’ll spend too much just to get to hang out with friends or prospective lovers in the right night spot or the trendy cafe/bar.
He hits upon the way in which Christianity still holds major sway over the United States whereas here in Scotland, worship is a much more private thing compared with the garish displays of devotion written about in the novel with weekly workplace prayers.
I loved this novel, but I cannot profess to fully understand what it is to be a black man in America. One of the highlight scenes of the book is when Julian is driven by a police officer to get gas for a truck and it is at once hilarious and plain terrifying as Julian’s fears in this situation as well as the observers are at once tangible and in this case ridiculous, but the line is difficult to see when you are that close to it.
It is clear from the acknowledgements that this is an autobiographical novel and it is plain in the dialogue as things often become uncomfortable and acrimonious between the band members especially during their tour of the West Coast. It’s no different to any family dynamic where the boundaries disappear and the truth is more readily spoken.
There must be something in the water as my previous novel was a five star read from Joshua Ferris and he is listed as Boyd’s first writing teacher.
I adored this debut by Jeff Boyd highlighting the difficulty of being in your twenties with added barriers for working things out. At times, the character seems younger than he is, but a somewhat sheltered existence up to his divorce speaks for that lack of experience in the world. I’m excited to see what Boyd does next and urge you all to jump into this one.
Punk Noir Magazine 
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