Boulevard : a novel

Jim Grimsley

An innocent teenager from small-town Alabama, Newell comes to New Orleans with just a duffel-sack full of possessions and a handful of dollars in his pocket. It's 1978, and the city is a gay mecca - filled with bars, bright lights and men everywhere. Newell soon finds an apartment in the atmospheric old French Quarter and lands himself a waiting job. But he finds his good looks are an obstacle to success; his workmates either want his body, or are jealous of the tips he rakes in with his toned pecs and winning grin. So he is much happier after he quits the bitchy restaurant and finds a job in a porn shop. Newell's good nature, good looks and lack of inhibitions make him a popular assistant there - as does the daring stunt he pulls in a local bar. And he is beginning to make friends; Miss Sophia, New Orleans' ugliest transsexual, takes a shine to him, and so does Jack, the sadistic yet irresistible son of a wealthy family. Yet there is danger lying in wait for Newell, and only he can save himself... Boulevard captures New Orleans at its most seductive. Compelling and beautifully written, it is the work of one of America's finest contemporary novelists.