Mike Boyle’s Dollhouse makes me wish for things. Here is a list:
1. More books from Thieves Jargon Press.
2. More attention for indie press writers and editors.
3. More room on my bookshelves.
1. More books from Thieves Jargon Press.
2. More attention for indie press writers and editors.
3. More room on my bookshelves.
dollhouse
a novel by Mike Boyle, Reviewed by JA Tyler
Thieves Jargon publishes great and strange work online, and everyone knows it. Thieves Jargon Press,
however, is erratic in its schedule and not as highly publicized, so is less apparent in this online world
of literature and independent presses. But it does indeed exist, rest assured, and last year it birthed Mike
Boyle’s debut novel: Dollhouse.
Here is a small list of what Dollhouse does well:
1. Punch
2. Cut.
3. Force the reader into corners.
And in contrast, here are some of the strange things that Dollhouse does:
1. Includes the word “analingus”
2. Includes a woman rubbing sex on her face and in her hair.
3. Includes a sex scene with a man, a woman, and a toilet.
I am not a prude reader. And I am not a prude, in general. But it is a shame that Boyle uses so much space
in this novel for these sexually aggressive scenes. If they were used to progress the plot, to show character
depth, or even to enhance the reader’s experience, then so be it. But they do not. They are unnecessary.
The plot is already fluid, the characters are already working well, and the reader experience is already
bursting. So why include them? I don’t know, but my concern is that Boyle has so much more to say, so
many more great sentences to turn out, to share, the thread through a reader’s eyes.
So how about this list then, a list of the phrases that Boyle so beautifully
creates in Dollhouse:
1. “The sky was swollen shut. Nothing but stars and universe.”
2. “I will be anonymous, a blood-filled ghost, a walking corpse,
my jaw will flop as a door loose on its hinge, in the wind
that blows.”
3. “We all swam. Gargoyles swooped. It’s always like that at
twilight. The sky changes color and the skin peels.”
Thieves Jargon does a good thing publishing the work of a talented writer
like Mike Boyle. And Dollhouse is a book worth reading, for sure, as long
as you aren’t easily offended or startled. It is dotted with good writing,
tremendous writing in fact, and deserves to be read even around these
unpredictable sketches of violent and raw sex.
So, to finish, here are some other things that Dollhouse makes me wish for:
1. Less sexual waste and more of the enticing and perfectly
phrased lines from Boyle’s head.
2. Another Boyle novel to chew on.
3. The continued success of Thieves Jargon Press and its
online companion.
however, is erratic in its schedule and not as highly publicized, so is less apparent in this online world
of literature and independent presses. But it does indeed exist, rest assured, and last year it birthed Mike
Boyle’s debut novel: Dollhouse.
Here is a small list of what Dollhouse does well:
1. Punch
2. Cut.
3. Force the reader into corners.
And in contrast, here are some of the strange things that Dollhouse does:
1. Includes the word “analingus”
2. Includes a woman rubbing sex on her face and in her hair.
3. Includes a sex scene with a man, a woman, and a toilet.
I am not a prude reader. And I am not a prude, in general. But it is a shame that Boyle uses so much space
in this novel for these sexually aggressive scenes. If they were used to progress the plot, to show character
depth, or even to enhance the reader’s experience, then so be it. But they do not. They are unnecessary.
The plot is already fluid, the characters are already working well, and the reader experience is already
bursting. So why include them? I don’t know, but my concern is that Boyle has so much more to say, so
many more great sentences to turn out, to share, the thread through a reader’s eyes.
So how about this list then, a list of the phrases that Boyle so beautifully
creates in Dollhouse:
1. “The sky was swollen shut. Nothing but stars and universe.”
2. “I will be anonymous, a blood-filled ghost, a walking corpse,
my jaw will flop as a door loose on its hinge, in the wind
that blows.”
3. “We all swam. Gargoyles swooped. It’s always like that at
twilight. The sky changes color and the skin peels.”
Thieves Jargon does a good thing publishing the work of a talented writer
like Mike Boyle. And Dollhouse is a book worth reading, for sure, as long
as you aren’t easily offended or startled. It is dotted with good writing,
tremendous writing in fact, and deserves to be read even around these
unpredictable sketches of violent and raw sex.
So, to finish, here are some other things that Dollhouse makes me wish for:
1. Less sexual waste and more of the enticing and perfectly
phrased lines from Boyle’s head.
2. Another Boyle novel to chew on.
3. The continued success of Thieves Jargon Press and its
online companion.
