"Dollhouse" by Mike Boyle now out

[--Ed.]

DOLLHOUSE is a book about a young man with problems. Tony Diggs has moved to the suburbs, crashed out with his girlfriend and her single mother. The soundtrack would be rock and roll (and a little bit of Neil Diamond), but between the opiates and the factory job, it’s hard to keep the band together. From the nightclubs, diners, and rooming houses, alongside the lesbians, painters, musicians, drunks, coke freaks, pot heads, cab drivers and Chinatown hucksters, there’s a lot to see on the road from Harrisburg to New York City. But only if he can avoid being sheet packed.

MIKE BOYLE lives between the coal belt and the rust belt in a concrete room by the train tracks. He was a singer, songwriter and guitarist for many rock bands from the late ‘70s until the mid ‘90s, most notably New Left, circa 1983-‘86. Part of the early DIY rock scene, New Left released two singles on their own label and received significant college radio airplay across the USA before disbanding in New York City amid rumors of substance abuse and in-fighting. Boyle has written poems and stories about street life, bar life and factory life, his first poetry appearing in small press journals in the late ‘80s. This is his first published novel.

[--Ed.]

That sounds great, but how can I get it?

Send me thirteen bucks (ten dollars plus three more for shipping), because that price is nice. You can either send a Paypal payment to thejargon at gmail dot com, or send thirteen dollars worth of whatever you're using for currency these days to:
TJ Press
PO Box 440051
Somerville, MA 02144

In the next ten days or so, the book will become increasingly more available: Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, also Ingram and Baker and Taylor Books will be distributing "Dollhouse." Which means if your local bookstore tells you they can't order the book for you, they're lying. It'll be available pretty much anywhere in the US, and I'll make updates when necessary.

[--Ed.]

So why Mike Boyle?

Read "Street Life": www.thievesjargon.com/workview.php?work=358

Okay, but that's poetry, and this is a novel.

Well, then read a few of his short stories we've published at Thieves Jargon:
www.thievesjargon.com/author_details.php?author=129

Mike's put in his time, man, he writes from experience, he's written a ton of great stories, his poems knock me to my knees, he's paid his dues. I'm happy to put out his first novel.

So what's this book about?

I describe it to people as a story about a musician who is living with his girlfriend and her mom. He's sleeping with them both.

There's obviously way more to it than that. On top of all the sex and the drugs and the music, there's the tender story of a young man trying to find his place in an increasingly confusing and chaotic world.

Haw, haw.

The suburban scene a few of us probably knew about growing up, and the transition into city living can be a fun and insightful time. A lot of what I like about this book comes from that.

And the analingus.

[Boyle]

Thanks for the big pitch --Ed.
Tender, sure, till I, er, the narrator had to break some kneecaps or bust a few rounds into some thugs. Never thought I could write fiction till I thought of it as lies; then it seems fun. But I had to be a dick, put some real stuff in there and who knows where the lies end and the reality is? I'm not telling.

So if one were to order directly from you, they'd make checks out to TG Press?

Ten bucks? What a deal. Some chapbooks go for ten bucks.

[--Ed.]

boyle said:

So if one were to order directly from you, they'd make checks out to TG Press?

Thieves Jargon Press, yeah, that's the one, send your money there!

[Boyle]

I notice Dollhouse getting some mention at some blogs.
From What to wear during an orange alert? -
"Mike Boyle's Dollhouse - Recently released by Thieves Jargon Press, this 176 page novel should be on your nightstand right now."
Heh, no doubt. Thanks to anyone and everyone who's getting the word out.
First reviews are in from some folks who bought it and took the time to mail me.
From E: "hey there, loved the book! the characters were really solid... a real Hollywood ending too. loved it! i think it would make a / er rather already makes a great screen play. maybe you should look up Martin Scorsese."

[--Ed.]

Mike covererd all the relevant information, but here's a link to Orange Alert, because I think they're a really swell blog and I'd recommend anybody check them out:
wearduringorangealert.blogspot.com/

[dnucci]

I need a copy, mofos.

[--Ed.]

Sorry I missed that show, my new night-friendly schedule doesn't start until Monday. Anybody's nuts get blown off by the sound?

[dnucci]

I didn't see any rolling around on the floor... but I didn't look, either.

[dnucci]

I've got my copy... what's YOUR excuse?

[cartermonroe]

A very good book, one that does with a protagonist what should be done. The theme of alienation without cynicism is rare. The narrator acknowledges, without the reader being aware, just how much he doesn't know. He seems to be totally honest with himself even at the expense of his peace of mind. It's as if he's put the things in perspective that the other characters will have to wait to realize and then sometimes at a great cost. An example is his own realization that opiates have gotten him and are getting him nowhere and the reader is left to judge to what extent others involved in those same habits will have that same moment of clarity.

The really good books will always have a major degree of universality, perhaps several, and perhaps those noticed by some and not by others. A good example is the relationships he has with Wendy and her mother. To view it in an objective sense, he's using them both in a variety of ways not the least of which is economically.
Yet, as you go with the narrator into these scenes you never lose your compassion for him. He never makes any moves that don't carry some amount of guilt no matter how slight. And, the two women view him differently. Wendy doesn't love him. Her mother wants to love him, but refuses to overcome the objective circumstances, his age being a minor one in comparison to his status (professional more so than social), his habits, and his relationship with her daughter.) The reader knows that had Lois met Tony independently of her daughter, she would likely have overcome the other stumbling blocks. A poet once told me that "poetry is the thing unsaid." The thing unsaid in Dollhouse is that Lois sought treatment because of her feelings for Tony.

Of course, that's simply my take. However, I've always believed that art needs two things - ambiguity and the ability to tell the reader/viewer/listener something about him/herself. Oftentimes, the two are linked. My assessment regarding something with multiple meanings is a kind of self revelation of sorts and not always one that's good.

I'll quit this stoned babbling and just say, "Buy the book. You won't be disappointed."

CM

[--Ed.]

boyle said:

Opps, that's right. Many of you are persuing MFA's or have them.

Hey man, it's an MA I'm going for.

I don't know enough about these things to really tell the difference.

[jasonjordan]

boyle said:

Okay, --Ed. I don't mean to pick on you acedemic folks, I just never did good with schools. The courses I liked, I devoured. When the class was still covering the first chapters of the books, I was already done and bored.

There's another Dollhouse review posted at tellchristian.com/decomp/areviewofboylesdollhouse.htm. I replied to this on my blog.

Again, thanks for publishing this book. Thanks to the reviewers, especially Scannell. Thanks also to the personal mail I've recieved from people who bought the book and liked it.
Now - anyone who looks in here and hasn't bought it should. T'would make a nice stocking stuffer, hehe...

I wrote the decomP review, and will reply to you in your blog.

[--Ed.]

boyle said:

Okay, --Ed. I don't mean to pick on you acedemic folks,

Dude. Just because I go to school doesn't mean I'm an academic. I don't wear a fucking scarf and a beret and I don't sit around in coffee shops discussing existential theory. Think of it more as publishing industry trade school, jeans and hoodie preferred.

Sweet interview on your blog, Mike. You must have had to pull some strings for that one.

Jason Jordan, thanks for taking the time to review that book. It's cool when somebody tells you they're going to review a book and then they actually do.

[jasonjordan]

admin said:

boyle said:

Okay, --Ed. I don't mean to pick on you acedemic folks,

Dude. Just because I go to school doesn't mean I'm an academic. I don't wear a fucking scarf and a beret and I don't sit around in coffee shops discussing existential theory. Think of it more as publishing industry trade school, jeans and hoodie preferred.

Haha. Yeah, I'm cargo pants and hoodie, but same difference I guess.

admin said:

Jason Jordan, thanks for taking the time to review that book. It's cool when somebody tells you they're going to review a book and then they actually do.

You're definitely welcome. I had a good time.

[Boyle]

Was it fun jerk?

[jasonjordan]

boyle said:

Was it fun jerk?

What's the problem? The review wasn't unnecessarily harsh or anything of the sort, and if you're going to be releasing books, your work is going to be critiqued....

[Boyle]

Signed collectors edition of Dollhouse sold out!
Thanks to the nice folks that bought. I'm glad it's over. This putting books in envelopes & sending them in the mail is a publishers job.
Group hug!

[--Ed.]

I dunno, maybe you're ready for a new career in sales.

Embrace the headset.

[morna17]

Hi,

i just received a copy that I won the other day. I was really chuffed, as after I entered I thought "no way, living in Scotland I have no chance of getting the book".
So, thanks Thieves Jargon!
I am really enjoying the book, not too heavy to read, but I am glued to the pages.

Morna

[authorwriting]

Not been here for an age - great to see your still going strong. Oh I especially enjoyed the cowboy poem.

[fdostoev]

I just finished reading dollhouse.

After the first page I was like:

"Oh-no, another pseudo-nihilistic junkie novel"

But then I got to page two and three and read the whole thing in about four hours and thankfully it was something more than a pseudo-nihilistic junkie novel.

Justin.

[P. H. M.]

I've just begun reading Dollhouse. I see it as a return to the Jargon's glory days--I was able to read Lecompte's novel a number of times without ever once getting bored.