Book Review: Boston Boys Club by Johnny Diaz

This is the anti-freeze of queer Beantown lit and I mean that in the most generous way possible. Boston Globe Living/Arts writer, Johnny Diaz, came to Boston from Miami a few years ago and with open Cuban arms embraced this city and its quirky ways. His first book, Boston Boys Club, maybe is not a love letter to Boston, as other book reviews have chanted, but definitely a loving, friendly post card from Columbus Avenue. It’s light summer reading but gratefully so.

It centers on four characters who patronize Club Café in the South End: friendly Tommy, horny Rico, opportunist Kyle and messy Mikey. By the end of the book each has been granted a second lease on life. There’s a light spirit of redemption and renewal that (I have a feeling) is part-autobiographical for Diaz, as character, Tommy Perez, explains to a “cutie pie” he meets at Club Café:

“I love Boston, Mikey,” I say as I break his stare by taking sips of my DCV (Diet Coke and Vodka.) “It’s one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. Big but not too big, or overwhelming like New York City. And the seasons make time fly and make me appreciate the moments in life. I love Miami, and it will always be a part of me, but sometimes, you need change to grow.”

Diaz, at one point, alludes to the (paraphrasing) “sometimes icy nature of this city” and any gay Bostonian will instantly know what he means. In this way, he recasts the city’s image into something more approachable once you get to know some of her citizens.

There is also a sub-theme of recovery which is always welcome even in works of fiction. Some people think that Alcoholics Anonymous is a place where the bottom of the barrel end up, but as my many friends in AA can attest, this program of recovery has changed people’s lives for the better. And at Club Café, there are probably many candidates for AA who have no clue about the program’s own openness and inclusion.

I once heard a quote that the real Americans are not the ones born within its borders, but the ones that arrive here from other lands: hardworking immigrants with a dream. Is the same true of Boston? Having grown up on the South Shore, I would’ve thought that seniority comes with permanent residence. Diaz shatters that myth as he brings fresh insight and gratitude to the “Athens of America.” We, Bostonians, contrary to popular belief, are happy to open our homes to people with staying power. The city is not as icy as we sometimes believe and Diaz supports that latent openness with “Boston Boys Club.” Best to be read before summer’s end!