Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

After reading the description I knew I had to read Ponyboy by Eliot Duncan. I have been wanting more messy trans, queer stories and this definitely filled that void. This book is exactly what the synopsis says: we follow Ponyboy as he’s spinning out in Paris and then Berlin and eventually returns to Iowa to go to rehab. But the beauty is in the chaos of this messy (in a good way) character study. Ponyboy is a transmasc writer living in Paris dealing with addiction, gender identity, sex, drugs, art, and a girlfriend who doesn’t quite understand him. I feel like I can’t say more without spoilers, but this is very much a vibes book, you just have to keep going with the flow. Ponyboy is going through *a lot* and it comes through in the writing. The prose is very chaotic and jaunty yet poetic in a way that perfectly encapsulates Ponyboy’s own inner turmoil and mindset. While I can see why this wouldn’t work for some people, I think it worked for me. We also get some of Ponyboy’s work throughout the book in the form of poetry and some dialogues written to various people such as Freud’s famous case study Dora and Brandon Teena. I loved that this book felt like a modern take on the classic “queer person goes to Europe and chaos ensues� following the tradition dating back to Barnes and Isherwood and Auden. Overall, I would say definitely keep an eye out for Ponyboy come June, especially if you love messy, gritty, queer stories with poetic, experimental writing.

P.S. I don’t know if this will make sense to anyone but me, but this book feels like the song $20 by boygenius in the best way.