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Overview
"Lawnboy is, quite simply, the real thing, a novel of mystery and great beauty." —Michael Cunningham
They all thought I was good-natured, upright and responsible, generous, affectionate, and kind, and of course I could be those things, but there was much more to me than that, a side that unnerved even myself, and this side included William.
Seventeen-year-old Evan's adventure begins with mowing a neighbor's lawn, a summer job that leads him into an unpredictable world of desire and betrayal. Estranged from his parents and his older brother, he moves in with forty-one-year-old William and begins a disastrous series of attempts to make a new home. Must he make a choice between his family and desire? First published to wide acclaim in 1999, Lawnboy wanders the lush and tumultuous landscape of the early 1990s, its south Florida setting as fertile and troubling as Evan's inner life.
Synopsis
The adventure of seventeen-year-old Evan's life begins with mowing a neighbor's lawn, an ordinary chore that launches him into a world of desire, confusion, and betrayal. Rejected by his parents, struggling to make contact with his lost brother, he learns the nature of exile. Lawnboy is about the possibility of finding connection in a world of broken relationships and decaying motels, failed housing developments sinking back into the swamps—the urban, artificial landscape of South Florida, as lush and troubling as Evan's imagination.
Bret Anthony Johnston
Evan Sarshik, the seventeen-year-old, plant-loving narrator of Lisicky's first novel, agrees to mow his neighbor's lawn, and with that seemingly innocent chore the confused young man finds himself thrust into a life of decadence and disillusionment. Evan flees his childhood home to live with William, his forty-something neighbor with the beautiful lawn, then after the relationship fizzles, he begins searching for Peter, his missing older brother. Throughout his odyssey to find his own identity, Evan's imagination grows darker while he endures a string of fragmented relationships. Lisicky's prose shines, at times hilarious, at others entrenched in sorrow and longing, but always gorgeous to read. Though many of the characters fail to rise beyond the stereotypical, Evan's strong, exhilarating voice delivers the cast from cliche. The novel's conclusion is tight, if slightly too generous in its attempt to tidy up loose ends, but the reconciliations between the characters are moving and earned, graced with compassion and vitality.
Editorials
Bret Anthony Johnston
Evan Sarshik, the seventeen-year-old, plant-loving narrator of Lisicky's first novel, agrees to mow his neighbor's lawn, and with that seemingly innocent chore the confused young man finds himself thrust into a life of decadence and disillusionment. Evan flees his childhood home to live with William, his forty-something neighbor with the beautiful lawn, then after the relationship fizzles, he begins searching for Peter, his missing older brother. Throughout his odyssey to find his own identity, Evan's imagination grows darker while he endures a string of fragmented relationships. Lisicky's prose shines, at times hilarious, at others entrenched in sorrow and longing, but always gorgeous to read. Though many of the characters fail to rise beyond the stereotypical, Evan's strong, exhilarating voice delivers the cast from cliche. The novel's conclusion is tight, if slightly too generous in its attempt to tidy up loose ends, but the reconciliations between the characters are moving and earned, graced with compassion and vitality.Publishers Weekly -
Lisicky's long, attentive, gay coming-of-age novel largely sticks to familiar paths. Seventeen-year-old narrator Evan mows the lawn of his older Miami neighbor, William; one day they begin a secret affair. At first, denying his nature, Evan tries to date his best friend, Jane; soon, though, he runs away from his cold and critical parents to live at William's house. When their affair ends, Evan heads to Fort Lauderdale, where his estranged older brother Peter operates a seedy motel. There Evan meets Hector, Peter's assistant and sometime lover. (We later learn that Peter is bisexual, and may have fathered a child.) The worldly Hector teaches Evan what he knows about life and about being gay. When Hector moves on, Evan travels back to Miami, where he finds work in a plant nursery, and, sadder but wiser, awaits the future. The prose in Lisicky's debut ranges from competent to impressive. In one excellent scene, Hector wants to dress Evan in drag: "And then he strayed from the outlines of my mouth, applying bars of lipstick across my jaw, my cheeks, my forehead, my hair." Lisicky takes care to lay out his constantly worried protagonist's inner life; consistent symbolism likens Evan to plants waiting to put down roots. The plot, however, proceeds slowly and predictably, with some sex but not much sexiness. At one time, any honest coming-out novel could surprise, enlighten and excite: now the coming-out story is an established and honored literary genre. Apart from some Floridian locales, Lisicky's debut adds little to the form. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Mark Jacobs
Savvy enough to recognize the importance of buzz cuts and sleeveless shirts in gay identity formation, Lisicky is also smart enough not to rely on hackneyed consumer-culture signifiers, resulting in a lushly emotional , romantic and tragic pursuit.Paper