Blue Boy

Written by Rakesh Satyal

Narrated by Vikas Adam

Meet Kiran Sharma: lover of music, dance, and all things sensual; son of immigrants, social outcast, spiritual seeker. A boy who doesn't quite understand his lot-until he realizes he's a god . . .

As an only son, Kiran has obligations-to excel in his studies, to honor the deities, to find a nice Indian girl, and, above all, to make his mother and father proud-standard stuff for a boy of his background. If only Kiran had anything in common with the other Indian kids besides the color of his skin. They reject him at every turn, and his cretinous public schoolmates are no better. Cincinnati in the early 1990s isn't exactly a hotbed of cultural diversity, and Kiran's not-so-well-kept secrets don't endear him to any group. Playing with dolls, choosing ballet over basketball, taking the annual talent show way too seriously . . . the very things that make Kiran who he is also make him the star of his own personal freak show.

Surrounded by examples of upstanding Indian Americans-in his own home, in his temple, at the weekly parties given by his parents' friends-Kiran nevertheless finds it impossible to get the knack of "normalcy." And then one fateful day, a revelation: perhaps his desires aren't too earthly, but too divine. Perhaps the solution to the mystery of his existence has been before him since birth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781541405042

Rakesh Satyal

RAKESH SATYAL is the author of the novel Blue Boy, which won the 2010 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Debut Fiction and the 2010 Prose/Poetry Award from the Association of Asian American Studies. Satyal was a recipient of a 2010 Fellowship in Fiction from the New York Foundation for the Arts and two fellowships from the Norman Mailer Writers' Colony. His writing has appeared in New York magazine, Vulture, Out magazine, and The Awl. A graduate of Princeton University, he has taught in the publishing program at New York University and has been on the advisory committee for the annual PEN World Voices Festival. He lives in Brooklyn.

Reviews for Blue Boy

[jimrgill · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kiran Sharma—the complex, precocious, brazen, stubborn, adventurous, and decidedly “different” 12 year-old Indian-American protagonist—is convinced that he is the Hindu god Krishna come to life. As a culturally and sexually marginalized boy living in the Cincinnati suburbs during the 1990s, persuading himself that no one seems to understand him because he is, in fact, a deity becomes both a coping mechanism and a means of identity development for the charming and infuriating main character of Rakesh Satyal’s *Blue Boy*.Kiran’s command of language surpasses that of the typical 6th-grader. It probably surpasses the eloquence of many adults as well. His grammatical fastidiousness alienates him from his classmates (he even stays after school to study advanced language arts with one of his teachers). His penchant for spectacle and glamour—the school talent show is the highlight of his year—likewise distances him from his peers. And he fares no better with his fellow Indian-American acquaintances (whom he associates with mostly because their parents socialize on a weekly basis). Kiran is obsessed with his mother’s make-up—it is when she catches him that he decides he is an incarnation of the blue-skinned Krishna, and he begins to weave a grandiose narrative of his life as a nascent deity that justifies his thoughts and actions. The novel—Kiran’s narrative—delightfully illustrates both the joy and the sorrow of young adolescent isolation. Kiran is an only child, and even within marginalized communities (Indian Americans, the sexually precocious, the academically advanced) he often finds himself alone. And while he is well-equipped with the skills to amuse himself in his solitariness, he also yearns for friendship, companionship, and understanding. Peppered with pop culture allusions and resounding with the authentic dimensions of adolescent life as a “different” kind of kid, Satyal’s novel is a valuable contribution to multicultural literature as well as Young Adult literature.

[sgcallaway1994 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've signed up to receive an email alert for Kindle Freebies from Advanced Kindle Alert website. This book was one of the first books I was lead to by this site. The subject nature was different from what I might normally read. It was free so I figured I didn't have much to lose. So, I pushed "Download to My Kindle" and didn't look back.The narrator of this book is Kiran, a 12 year old Indian boy, growing up in Ohio who just doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Boys his age have always caused him feel uptight and he finds he relates better to girls. He enjoys ballet, the school talent show, playing with dolls and putting on his mother's makeup. The kids he attends school with constantly poke fun of him, his Indian counterparts do the same, leaving him friendless and confused and questioning himself. One morning he wakes, looks in the mirror and is shocked to find his skin beginning to turn a faint shade of blue. With this metamorphosis, he finally thinks he has found the answers to his questions! The school talent show appears to be the perfect vehicle to introduce this newly discovered self to the world. Will Kiran's act be a success, will he finally get the recognition and approval he is seeking, or will this just be another failed attempt to unveil who he really is?NOTE: This novel is a coming of age story, it is intended for mature audiences and contains explicit sex scenes. Though they are pertinent to the plot, they may not be suitable for all readers, especially those younger than 15 years old.Book Discussion: This book hits on some pretty mature topics such as a preteen boy discovering his sexuality and coming to the revelation he may not be like all the other boys his age. It has explicit sexual references and some scenes in the novel, which are important to the story, but for me were just slightly uncomfortable for me to read. I'm definitely not a prude, but I think I found myself embarrassed because I was reading it through the eyes of a child. This is one of the main reasons I gave this book 3 stars instead of four, I felt guilty reading some parts and felt like if someone discovered what I was reading, he/she may not approve. In addition, I felt Kiran's language didn't exactly fit the vocabulary of a boy his age. Did anyone else feel this way?

[writtenword-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the nicest books I have read in a long long time. The style was breezy, lots of unexpected humor, a little sad, a bit poignant, often truthful and tell-it-like-it-is book. Satyal is very true to the Indian community that lives in the US. Kiran is an interesting, amusing, never-say-die kid. I salute the determination with which he tackles all his issues: you have to have a sense of admiration for this kid, and even understand his anger and depression and outbursts of violence. An excellently written story.