Our Beautiful Boys

A compulsively readable and incisive novel about a group of teenage boys whose lives - and whose families' lives - are changed forever by one disastrous evening

'' An insightful, nuanced story of class, identity and friendship ... I couldn''t put it down '' CHARLES YU ''A blazing portrait of the contemporary American family'' KIRSTEN CHEN ''Compassionate and propulsive ... A deftly woven tale of fraying loyalties and family secrets '' TANIA JAMES I know my son. I know what he is and what he''s not capable of. Revelling in the triumph of a high school football win, MJ, Vikram and Diego find themselves at an ill-fated party, on a night that ends with the school bully in hospital. When no one comes forward with the truth of what actually happened, all three teenage "all stars" are suspended for the rest of the season, their futures suddenly uncertain. In the aftermath, the families gather to assess the damage to their children''s prospects, their reputations and their own relationships. As other secrets begin to bubble to the surface, each parent attempts to navigate the crisis at hand, confronted with their own inner turmoil and the question none of them want to face: how well can you ever truly know your own child? Our Beautiful Boys is a page-turning and incisive novel about masculinity, race, education and privilege, and the conflict that arises when all these collide.

Autorentext
Sameer Pandya is the author of the novel Members Only, a finalist for the California Book Award and an NPR Books We Love of 2020, and the story collection The Blind Writer, longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. His cultural criticism has appeared in a range of publications, including the Los Angeles Review of Books, Atlantic, Salon and Sports Illustrated. A recipient of the PEN/Civitella Fellowship, he is currently an associate professor of Asian American studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Klappentext

I know my son. I know what he is and what he's not capable of.

Revelling in the triumph of a high school football win, three newly friended boys find themselves at an ill-fated party - a party which ends with the school bully, Stanley, in the hospital.

In the space of one disastrous evening, the futures of the three teenage "all stars? are thrown in the balance. MJ, Vikram and Diego are suspended for the football season, much to their shock and dismay. As their families gather to assess the damage - to their own relationships, their reputations, and their children's futures - each parent is confronted with their own inner turmoil, reacting, judging and finally confronting the crisis at hand.

Our Beautiful Boys is a page-turning and incisive novel about masculinity, race, education and privilege, and the conflict that arises when all these collide. It asks the question that every parent has, at one time or another, contended with: how well can you ever truly know your own child?