Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett : REVIEW

Boys Don't Cry by Fiona Scarlett

Release Date: 3rd February 2022

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Genres: Contemporary Fiction / Literary Fiction

Joe is 17, a gifted artist and a brilliant older brother to 12-year-old Finn. They live with their Ma and Da in a Dublin tower block called Bojaxhiu or 'the Jax'. It's not an easy place to be a kid, especially when your father, Frank, is the muscle for the notorious gang leader Dessie 'The Badger' Murphy. But whether it's daytrips to the beach or drawing secret sketches, Joe works hard to show Finn life beyond the battered concrete yard below their flat. Joe is determined not to become like his Da. But when Finn falls ill, Joe finds his convictions harder to cling to. With his father now in prison, his mother submerged in her grief, and his relationships with friends and classmates crumbling, Joe has to figure out how to survive without becoming what the world around him expects him to be.

Boys Don't Cry is told from two perspectives. Joe, the elder of the brothers is trying to forge a life for himself and desperately wants it to be different to the life of his Ma & Da and a scholarship to a very prestigious school might be a route out of The Jax. He kicks against the expectation that he will be just like his father who has been in trouble his whole life and is notorious among the criminals who run Dublin. Joe has an opportunity to escape all this but his father's reputation and his desire to help his friend are threatening to drag him back into a world he doesn't want to be part of.

Finn, a rather innocent child for a 12 year old looks up to Joe and has always been Joe that protects him from the harsh realities of life. It is Joe that helps drown out the violent arguments between his parents and it is Joe who becomes his rock when Finn becomes ill. But, it is Finn who is an anchor for Joe. Someone to remind him that life is about more then just himself. Joe needs to step up when his Da can't and he does this in more ways than one. I really don't want to give any spoilers about this book and ruin your enjoyment.

Boy's Don't Cry was one of the books chosen by a Book Club I attend and each meeting they choose an Irish author.  Being from sunny Northern Ireland myself its always a joy to feature an author from the island of Ireland. Though, I would love to see Fiona Scarlett promote herself more on social media. Her wonderfulness should be shouted from the rooftops as this amazing debut novel was difficult to put down and difficult to read in equal measure. This is a book that emotionally broke me and I sobbed through it, laughed through it and had to put it down at times because it just became too painful. The subject matter of death is hard hitting but handled beautifully. The grief felt by all was palpable and through their stories, I felt every emotion felt by Finn and Joe. 

Boy's Don't Cry, set in the gritty working class neighbourhoods of Dublin gives the reader some insight into the daily struggles of those living in The Jax and the tight grip that poverty, addiction, domestic violence, debt and a sense of inevitability have on its residents. The self-fulfilling prophecy that life cannot be changed, that all roads lead to the same place, will threaten Joe's future.

Both boys were amazing characters with Joe seeming older than his age and conversely, Finn seeming younger. Although Joe tries his best to be the big brother and the parent when his Ma and Da can't step up, I found so much wisdom in Finn in a wonderful childlike way that only those with a degree of innocence possess. Love comes in many forms and the love of these two brothers through such sadness was perhaps one of the greatest love stories I've read in a long time. There is a confusing scene in the book that perhaps takes a little something from it in terms of editorial continuity, but oh my goodness what a wonderful novel that I highly recommend. A relatively short book I defy anyone not to read it in one sitting. You will not be able to tear yourself away from Finn and Joe. These characters spoke to me for a long time after the last page.

Trigger warnings: Cancer, Death, Bad language, drug addiction, Grief.

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ABOUT FIONA SCARLETT

Fíona Scarlett is from Dublin but now living in Co. Kildare with her husband and two

children. 

She holds an MLitt in creative writing from the University of Glasgow as well as a masters in early childhood education. 

She was awarded the Denis O’Driscoll Literary Bursary through Kildare County Council in 2019 and a Literature Bursary through the National Arts Council Ireland in 2020. 

She works full time as a primary school teacher and Boys Don’t Cry is her debut novel.

Twitter @Scarlett_for_ya