Boy Parts (2020) by Eliza Clark
Nigel wanted to take HBG back into more unfamiliar territory. HBG is old, southern and male and so it was time to experience life for someone who is young, northern and female. An inverse HBG if you will.
*Theme - Psycho*
Irina is probably a psycho and so the theme was born.
READ: Boy Parts (2020) by Eliza Clark
Eliza Clark's debut novel is powerful and subversive and everyone was impressed. Some felt that the novel did not maintain its strong start and the last third was less satisfying.
The hard bitten, angry and cynical Irina, a young graduate artist, photographs men she meets. During the photography sessions she wields power and control. Irina's first person narration, all in a credible, modern vernacular, gets ever more extreme and unreliable as the story unfolds.
Boy Parts most closely resembles Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho. The violence here might not be quite so full on however the exploration of sexual assault, narcissism, rage, gaslighting, emotional manipulation, eating disorders, and drug abuse is every bit as provocative and blackly comedic.
Having a female psycho subverts the predatory stereotype. Irina is a stunning, monstrous protagonist and Boy Parts is dark and disturbing. We can't wait to discover what Eliza Clark does next.
Nick 7 / Tristan 8.5 / Nigel 8 / Keith 7 / Roland 9 / Robin 8.5 / Hamish 7
LISTEN: Psycho playlist
Psycho Killer is one of the greatest songs of all time
Talking Heads are one of the greatest bands of all time
The rest are old favourites with psycho in the title - annoyingly Spotify was missing a few Nigel would have included.
WATCH: American Psycho (2000) dir by Mary Harron
Many prominent feminists expressed outrage at the original novel
After director Mary Harron turned it into a film it became one of the most prominent works of feminist cinema of the early 2000s
The dark comedy offers a biting, satirical look at toxic masculinity
It’s a world where the other men around Bateman are so oblivious to his psychotic tendencies that he literally gets away with murder
When the film came out in 2000 Christian Bale was nowhere near as well known and his performance was a big part of establishing him as an A lister
Stand up really well
Nick - / Tristan 8 / Nigel 9 / Keith 8 / Roland 8.5 / Robin 7 / Hamish 7
HBG endorse it: 19 Oct 2021 ->
Guilt (BBC iPlayer)
Joker (2019) dir by Todd Phillips (Prime)
Stath Lets Flats (All4)
Add to Playlist (BBC Sounds)
The Trick (BBC iPlayer)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Another Round (Film)
The Flight Attendant (NowTV)
Succession - Season 3 (NowTV)
Owning a football club
Yussef Dayes live in concert
My Name (Netflix)
Fatboy Slim in concert
The Lighthouse (Netflix)
Reservation Dogs (Disney +)
