4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")
This is an extraordinary story of the life of a rent boy and his reasons that brought him into this male sex scene working for money . His father sexually abused him from a young age and Stephens mother virtually ignored him and let him down also . Because of his fathers abuse Stephen drifted into the male sex world working for money and giving up his studies of art that might have made a big difference to his life and career . An interesting book and the author comes across as an extremely intelligent person who if he had better parents his life may have been much easier and better .
Norman - Amazon - 12 April 2023
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
Fantastic emotional gritty book excellent reading well written and I recommend it most thoroughly to anyone as a must read.
Amazon customer 8 March 2023
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")
For a start, one Amazon review says every word of this memoir is a lie. I don’t agree - much of the story rings of truth. My only curiosity is why the author decided to withhold the name of the city (I’m guessing Manchester), and possibly re-naming the cafes and pick-up joints he frequented. I’d love to have researched the history of all these places.
That said, I preferred the first quarter of the story where the author sort of ‘found himself’ at a young age. After that the story was intermittently interesting, probably because there were too many stories about his rent life. Ironic, of course, due to the book’s title. Many of the stories went nowhere, and I even found it difficult working out why they were even included as many didn’t add to his overall story.
Still, it’s important lives such as this one are recorded because they document a specific period of time (late 1950s to mid-60s) before the summer of love (drugs), and later aids, changed everything.
Dallas Robertson Goodreads 4 January 2023
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Emmett F. Ursry Goodreads 10 December 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Craig Goodreads 11 November 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")(No review)
Brent E. Goodreads 12 October 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Kit Hix Goodreads 12 October 2022
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")(No review)
Marcin Filipiak Goodreads 21 September 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")(No review)
Miles Lichterman Goodreads 14 August 2022
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")(No review)
John Goodreads 3 July 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
MultiCatster Goodreads (1 June 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")
"A compelling read. Couldn't put it down."
A. Cohen Goodreads (13 May 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Clay Newman Goodreads (5 May 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Kathleen Smith Goodreads (25 April 2022)
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Carol Shaw Goodreads (19 April 2022)
5 Star Rating - A memory of when he was a rent boy
This book took me on a journey I would never imagine. What a rent boy's life would look like, especially in the 1960s. Still think that Steven-Carl was more bi than gay. He slept with them both and agreed to do that. Even if he only felt something for boys. It was hard to read about his dad and mum, especially her. We do not exactly know which city it was. Firstly thought about London but was wrong. And the kinky sex...seriously people pay or paid for that stuff? We can see people never return to his around. It's sad. He lost contact with everyone. He had to have two different lives and when the relationship with Mickey happened was harder for him. I think it was his first love. I would be happy to have that and would fight for it. As the book is a memory of a boy who was servicing his body with growing up and getting older was involved in a few relationships he wasn't happy. Even after moving out, he still wasn't fully happy. It's sad but the book can open eyes to the life in that time when gays didn't have a mobile or internet. How they built the web and made contacts. But the rent boys most of them had their 'rent' name different from Carl. I'm glad I read it. Worth buying.
Marcin Filipiak - Amazon - 10 April 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
John E. O'Malley Goodreads (18 March 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")
This is just another pornographic narrative , supposedly true, told with only one goal: secure bragging rites. Nothing really to gain by reading this except being glad that this wasn't, or isn't you. I read only half the book before I finally grew tired of one sexual escapade after another and moved on to a mystery novel.
Michael Duane Witt Goodreads (16 March 2022) and Amazon (17 March 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Bob Goodreads (22 January 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Mrs VJ Burton Goodreads (24 November 2021)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Jackie Halsall Goodreads 29 September 2021
reddit/Any older gaybros here from the UK who can remember the rent boys of Piccadilly Circus and King's Cross?
.....Another book is Street Kid: Tales of a Rent Boy by Ned Williams I also highly recommend. It takes place in a provincial city in England.
joeinqueens c.September 2021
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
GARY ARNELL Goodreads 19 August 2021
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
Terry Clifton Goodreads 10 August 2021
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
i Goodreads 14 June 2021
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Roger Pennington Goodreads 10 May 2021
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Emma Goodreads 18 March 2021
5 Star Rating (Engrossing. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop it)
What a great book. Kept my interest all the way through.
Raymond 9 March 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Jason Orpwood Goodreads 3 March 2021
1 Star Rating ('I did not like it') (No review)
Paul Goodreads 25 February 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Joseph Goodreads 25 January 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Tony Lambert Goodreads 22 January 2021
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Steve Bonham Goodreads 9 December 2020
3 Star Rating (View from the Life of a Rent Boy) 5 December 2020
"Street Kid: A Rent Boy's Tale" is an easy read. It is more of a blow by blow account of the life of a rent boy rather than a psychological examination of the main character. There is no dark descent into drugs, homelessness, abuse or the desperation one might expect from a book with the title,"Street Kid." The focus really is on the sub-title, "A Rent Boy's Tale," in that it is an adventurous story of a boy who rather safely, and by choice, drops in and out of the seedier parts of town for sexual conquest and some extra cash.
It is brilliantly written in the voice of a male escort trying to impress by sounding worldly and using words larger than they need to be.
A good read for those who would like an escort to take them into the Never Never Land of lost boys, and safely return home in time for tea.
Arthur Embrey - Amazon
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
i taylor Goodreads 3 December 2020
2 Star ('It was OK') (No review)
David Sutherland Goodreads 20 November 2020
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
William Coodreads 10 November 2020
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Mandy Oliver Goodreads 27 October 2020
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Marc Goodreads 26 October 2020
Web review from Dave's Book Blog
Note: CONTAINS SPOILERS
This is the memoir of a boy who was abused by his father from the age of six, realised he was gay by the time he was twelve, and started working as a rent boy at the age of fourteen, before retiring at nineteen. Set in the early 1960s, when having gay sex was still illegal, let alone being an underage rent boy, 'Steven' ('Carl' on the 'racks') somehow managed to compartmentalise his life so that his emotionally stunted and controlling mother never found out he was gay (despite a hilarious scene when a dozen of his rentboy colleagues invite themselves to his place for coffee), his schoolfriends never knew he was a rentboy (despite the boys in his class queuing up outside a disused station waiting room for him to give them a blowjob, one by one), his (office) work colleagues never knew he was gay let alone working as a prostitute, his rentboy companions never knew of his gay love life, or that he had fathered a child; in short, huge parts of his life were compartmentalised and secret.
There are some fantastic characters:
There are mind-curling stories about the tricks he turns: the completely black room behind the coffee bar where clients and rents get naked and have orgies, no one knowing who is doing what to whom; the man who likes to be urinated on in the bath; the country house orgies he attends; the queue of clients in the toilet waiting to take turns buggering the boy in the stalls; the time when he has sex with a girlfriend who uses contraceptive foam which sets and glues them together by their not-so-private parts. It was shocking and disturbing and hilarious by turns.
But in the end it was mostly about a child being paid to be abused by older men. Again and again and again.
Some of the most memorable moments:
(These have been omitted for space reasons but can be accessed by using the link to Dave's Book Blog).
Is it fact or fiction? It purports to be a memoir and I suspect it is. It has a rambling structure, a sort of picaresque, in which one thing happens after another, to a large cast of characters; most of the stories are unresolved; in short, a typical novel would have been neater and better organised. So I suspect it is true.
It ought to be dreadful. It is fundamentally about older men abusing a young child. It is about exploitation. The fact that the narrator was lucky and survived the experience, psychologically as well as physically, should not make what happened less dreadful.
But it is well-told. The author is a born raconteur. It is stuffed full of anecdotes and, as listed above, it has a most wonderful cast of characters.
It's a long book but it is worth every moment of the investment. An excellent read.
Dave's Book Blog 24 October 2020
5 Star Rating ('A Must Read') 2 October 2020
This is the first time I have re-read a book because the story is fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. Set in England in the late 50's/early 60's when people turned a blind eye to child abuse and child prostitution and told in autobiographical form is the life of Steven (aka Carl) who chooses to become a rent boy at the ages of 12-19 after suffering years of sexual abuse from his father. He is getting even for the abuse his father put on him by charging all men for sex. He is neither proud or ashamed at what he has chosen and there's part of him wanting to have a normal childhood.
This is a graphical account of his life on the street and the friends he makes of his fellow rent boys. Whats astonishing is that none of his rent boy clique are homeless and appear to be from middle class backgrounds. One, 19, is married with a daughter.
The reader will learn a lot of what these kids go through on the streets and the dangers they face, so they have set up a "watch group" for their fellow renters to avoid them going with dangerous clients.
This book is an eye-opener!
Joey - Amazon
I really enjoyed your book, it was an eye-opener! Whether it is true or not, the characters and situations came alive for me as you said. I would like to have known what happened to the other rents and Stephens mother but that was a long time ago. Can't wait for the new book, pleaee keep me updated!
Joseph via website 2 October 2020
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No Review)
Michael Beach Goodreads 18 May 2020
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No Review)
Ralph Wooldridge Goodreads 6 May 2020
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No Review)
Ross Baker Goodreads 20 January 2020
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No Review)
PMF Goodreads 6 January 2020
"A very well written book. It tells the tale of a abused lad getting into the murky world of male prostitution during a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK and gay people were imprisoned. Nowadays people are proud to be gay and go on marches, but in the 1960's being gay was looked down upon by society. The writer writes honestly about his times during this period which are often sad but also some laugh out loud moments. It describes a world that most people, myself included, know nothing about. It certainly open my eyes to a previously unknown world. I really enjoyed this book and have recommended it to several friends."
5 Star Rating (A well written book, a real eye-opener) Glenn A. Nash on Kindle Store.UK review 23 October 2019.
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
"A Different Time"
"Fun, funny, sometimes terrifying - that's how I'd describe this story. Apparently the UK is full to the brim with gay dudes, even before it was (more or less) ok to be gay. Who knew!"
Jen Goodreads and Amazon.com 5 September 2019
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Duane Goodreads 1 September 2019
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
M A FORD Goodreads 21 August 2019
5 Star Rating ("it was amazing") (No review)
philipjcareylive.com Goodreads 7 July 2019
"A wonderful and insightful account of a time in our collective queen experience lost to the annals of history. A gripping read from start to finish."
5 Star Rating ("Gripping") Kindle Store .com review. 5 July 2019
5 Star Rating ("it was amazing") (No review)
Gregory Alan Bowen Goodreads 6th May 2019
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
THEODORE TYSON Goodreads 21st March 2019
2 Star Rating ("It was okay") (No review)
Kevin Kirby Goodreads 22nd January2019
"I didn’t believe a word of this ~ not only was it unbelievable but I found it boring! There are so many true accounts of this subject that are worthy of your money ~ I would give this rubbish a miss."
1 Star Rating ("Untrue and boring") Ruby Blue Kindle Edition UK 17th November 2018
"At last, a good long interesting read; I am so tired of "books" on Kindle that are really only short stories. Carl, in his teens, is an interesting character. I enjoyed the storytelling. Fiction? Fact? - who cares, the characters were drawn on the page extremely well, and there were so many of them that every now and then I had to stop reading and think who was who. But I guess during teenage years, a young man accumulates a vast number of friends from all areas of his life, so the cast of thousands didn't worry me all that much. The book was well-written, with a casual easy flow to it, with good dialogue and structure. I was surprised how such a young lad could fall so quickly into such a rent boy lifestyle - I guess it was the era/times. The author is very good at getting into a character's personality. The pictures painted of his mother, Marti, Andy, Sheba, Mickey, Roger, and many (many) more were extremely well-done. The book was well-worth the money."
4 Star Rating ("Good Read") Lorraine on Kindle Store .com review. 25th July 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Peter Rahill Goodreads 26th June 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Mrs M. Simpson Goodreads 25th January 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Matthew Welsh Goodreads 24th January 2018
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
The Anciient Submariner Goodreads 28th December 2017
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Mary Williams (No relation! N. W.) Goodreads 17th December 2017
"A sad story, excellently told."
4 Star Rating ("Four Stars") "Amazon Customer" on Kindle Store UK review. 3rd December 2017
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
MR L Goodreads 6th October 2017
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Paul Gunn Goodreads 27th July 2017
"This book has you on an emotional roller coaster. One minute crying then laughing through the tears. An amazing book written by an amazing person. "
5 Star Rating ("WOW") Parko on Kindle Store UK review. 20th May 2017.
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Michaela Boulton Goodreads 16th May 2017
"An opus magnum of the memories and recollections of a Rent Boy. Brutally honest and delivered with a smoothness and pace that is refreshing and opens up another world to the uninitiated. Shocking in its revelations, yet manages to be touchingly emotional about his feelings. The book is funny yet contains anecdotes that touch on what must be one of the most dangerous and little known occupations. I congratulate the author. His recall of events is staggering."
5 Star Rating ("An Extraordinary Read") Confirmed Amazon Customer Kindle Store UK review. 16 April 2017.
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Richard Mullen Goodreads 4th April 2017
"A surprisingly humorous story of an abused boy escaping from the clutches of his father and the emotional neglect of his mother and finding companionship, cash and finally culture in the shadowy world of a provincial city in the 60s.”
4 Star Rating ("A parallel world") veemcloughlin Kindle Store UK review. 16 March 2017.
This is an extraordinary story of the life of a rent boy and his reasons that brought him into this male sex scene working for money . His father sexually abused him from a young age and Stephens mother virtually ignored him and let him down also . Because of his fathers abuse Stephen drifted into the male sex world working for money and giving up his studies of art that might have made a big difference to his life and career . An interesting book and the author comes across as an extremely intelligent person who if he had better parents his life may have been much easier and better .
Norman - Amazon - 12 April 2023
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
Fantastic emotional gritty book excellent reading well written and I recommend it most thoroughly to anyone as a must read.
Amazon customer 8 March 2023
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")
For a start, one Amazon review says every word of this memoir is a lie. I don’t agree - much of the story rings of truth. My only curiosity is why the author decided to withhold the name of the city (I’m guessing Manchester), and possibly re-naming the cafes and pick-up joints he frequented. I’d love to have researched the history of all these places.
That said, I preferred the first quarter of the story where the author sort of ‘found himself’ at a young age. After that the story was intermittently interesting, probably because there were too many stories about his rent life. Ironic, of course, due to the book’s title. Many of the stories went nowhere, and I even found it difficult working out why they were even included as many didn’t add to his overall story.
Still, it’s important lives such as this one are recorded because they document a specific period of time (late 1950s to mid-60s) before the summer of love (drugs), and later aids, changed everything.
Dallas Robertson Goodreads 4 January 2023
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Emmett F. Ursry Goodreads 10 December 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Craig Goodreads 11 November 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")(No review)
Brent E. Goodreads 12 October 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")(No review)
Kit Hix Goodreads 12 October 2022
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")(No review)
Marcin Filipiak Goodreads 21 September 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")(No review)
Miles Lichterman Goodreads 14 August 2022
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")(No review)
John Goodreads 3 July 2022
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
MultiCatster Goodreads (1 June 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it")
"A compelling read. Couldn't put it down."
A. Cohen Goodreads (13 May 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Clay Newman Goodreads (5 May 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Kathleen Smith Goodreads (25 April 2022)
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Carol Shaw Goodreads (19 April 2022)
5 Star Rating - A memory of when he was a rent boy
This book took me on a journey I would never imagine. What a rent boy's life would look like, especially in the 1960s. Still think that Steven-Carl was more bi than gay. He slept with them both and agreed to do that. Even if he only felt something for boys. It was hard to read about his dad and mum, especially her. We do not exactly know which city it was. Firstly thought about London but was wrong. And the kinky sex...seriously people pay or paid for that stuff? We can see people never return to his around. It's sad. He lost contact with everyone. He had to have two different lives and when the relationship with Mickey happened was harder for him. I think it was his first love. I would be happy to have that and would fight for it. As the book is a memory of a boy who was servicing his body with growing up and getting older was involved in a few relationships he wasn't happy. Even after moving out, he still wasn't fully happy. It's sad but the book can open eyes to the life in that time when gays didn't have a mobile or internet. How they built the web and made contacts. But the rent boys most of them had their 'rent' name different from Carl. I'm glad I read it. Worth buying.
Marcin Filipiak - Amazon - 10 April 2022
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
John E. O'Malley Goodreads (18 March 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it")
This is just another pornographic narrative , supposedly true, told with only one goal: secure bragging rites. Nothing really to gain by reading this except being glad that this wasn't, or isn't you. I read only half the book before I finally grew tired of one sexual escapade after another and moved on to a mystery novel.
Michael Duane Witt Goodreads (16 March 2022) and Amazon (17 March 2022)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Bob Goodreads (22 January 2022)
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Mrs VJ Burton Goodreads (24 November 2021)
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Jackie Halsall Goodreads 29 September 2021
reddit/Any older gaybros here from the UK who can remember the rent boys of Piccadilly Circus and King's Cross?
.....Another book is Street Kid: Tales of a Rent Boy by Ned Williams I also highly recommend. It takes place in a provincial city in England.
joeinqueens c.September 2021
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
GARY ARNELL Goodreads 19 August 2021
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
Terry Clifton Goodreads 10 August 2021
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
i Goodreads 14 June 2021
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Roger Pennington Goodreads 10 May 2021
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Emma Goodreads 18 March 2021
5 Star Rating (Engrossing. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop it)
What a great book. Kept my interest all the way through.
Raymond 9 March 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Jason Orpwood Goodreads 3 March 2021
1 Star Rating ('I did not like it') (No review)
Paul Goodreads 25 February 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Joseph Goodreads 25 January 2021
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
Tony Lambert Goodreads 22 January 2021
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Steve Bonham Goodreads 9 December 2020
3 Star Rating (View from the Life of a Rent Boy) 5 December 2020
"Street Kid: A Rent Boy's Tale" is an easy read. It is more of a blow by blow account of the life of a rent boy rather than a psychological examination of the main character. There is no dark descent into drugs, homelessness, abuse or the desperation one might expect from a book with the title,"Street Kid." The focus really is on the sub-title, "A Rent Boy's Tale," in that it is an adventurous story of a boy who rather safely, and by choice, drops in and out of the seedier parts of town for sexual conquest and some extra cash.
It is brilliantly written in the voice of a male escort trying to impress by sounding worldly and using words larger than they need to be.
A good read for those who would like an escort to take them into the Never Never Land of lost boys, and safely return home in time for tea.
Arthur Embrey - Amazon
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
i taylor Goodreads 3 December 2020
2 Star ('It was OK') (No review)
David Sutherland Goodreads 20 November 2020
5 Star Rating ('It was amazing') (No review)
William Coodreads 10 November 2020
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Mandy Oliver Goodreads 27 October 2020
4 Star Rating ('Really liked it') (No review)
Marc Goodreads 26 October 2020
Web review from Dave's Book Blog
Note: CONTAINS SPOILERS
This is the memoir of a boy who was abused by his father from the age of six, realised he was gay by the time he was twelve, and started working as a rent boy at the age of fourteen, before retiring at nineteen. Set in the early 1960s, when having gay sex was still illegal, let alone being an underage rent boy, 'Steven' ('Carl' on the 'racks') somehow managed to compartmentalise his life so that his emotionally stunted and controlling mother never found out he was gay (despite a hilarious scene when a dozen of his rentboy colleagues invite themselves to his place for coffee), his schoolfriends never knew he was a rentboy (despite the boys in his class queuing up outside a disused station waiting room for him to give them a blowjob, one by one), his (office) work colleagues never knew he was gay let alone working as a prostitute, his rentboy companions never knew of his gay love life, or that he had fathered a child; in short, huge parts of his life were compartmentalised and secret.
There are some fantastic characters:
- Andy, the narrator's rent mentor, who is straight with a wife and child but earns money through gay sex
- Jacko who has "an arse like a reservoir"
- Paolo, bitter about new rents on the racks
- Zenda, who read a book once and took his name for it, perhaps the most compassionate of the rents, who becomes impotent, except when he can have sex in a threesome with the narrator
- Lorna the lesbian prostitute with whom he shares a flat
- Larry the drag queen
- Roger who, the narrator discovers after they have shared a bed, likes sweetcorn
- Deaf Joey
- Marti and Matthew
- Mikki
- Brian his school friend who has a girlfriend who won't do oral so would Steve mind ...
- Sophie from work, her uncle Winston who invites Steven into his home to discuss classical music, his gay son Leonard who has sex with Steven, Leonard's sister Tamara with whom Steven has an affair ...
- Alan, the teacher, who organises parties of young men
- Sheba, also from work, desperate to lose her virginity but all her boyfriends want to wait
There are mind-curling stories about the tricks he turns: the completely black room behind the coffee bar where clients and rents get naked and have orgies, no one knowing who is doing what to whom; the man who likes to be urinated on in the bath; the country house orgies he attends; the queue of clients in the toilet waiting to take turns buggering the boy in the stalls; the time when he has sex with a girlfriend who uses contraceptive foam which sets and glues them together by their not-so-private parts. It was shocking and disturbing and hilarious by turns.
But in the end it was mostly about a child being paid to be abused by older men. Again and again and again.
Some of the most memorable moments:
(These have been omitted for space reasons but can be accessed by using the link to Dave's Book Blog).
Is it fact or fiction? It purports to be a memoir and I suspect it is. It has a rambling structure, a sort of picaresque, in which one thing happens after another, to a large cast of characters; most of the stories are unresolved; in short, a typical novel would have been neater and better organised. So I suspect it is true.
It ought to be dreadful. It is fundamentally about older men abusing a young child. It is about exploitation. The fact that the narrator was lucky and survived the experience, psychologically as well as physically, should not make what happened less dreadful.
But it is well-told. The author is a born raconteur. It is stuffed full of anecdotes and, as listed above, it has a most wonderful cast of characters.
It's a long book but it is worth every moment of the investment. An excellent read.
Dave's Book Blog 24 October 2020
5 Star Rating ('A Must Read') 2 October 2020
This is the first time I have re-read a book because the story is fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. Set in England in the late 50's/early 60's when people turned a blind eye to child abuse and child prostitution and told in autobiographical form is the life of Steven (aka Carl) who chooses to become a rent boy at the ages of 12-19 after suffering years of sexual abuse from his father. He is getting even for the abuse his father put on him by charging all men for sex. He is neither proud or ashamed at what he has chosen and there's part of him wanting to have a normal childhood.
This is a graphical account of his life on the street and the friends he makes of his fellow rent boys. Whats astonishing is that none of his rent boy clique are homeless and appear to be from middle class backgrounds. One, 19, is married with a daughter.
The reader will learn a lot of what these kids go through on the streets and the dangers they face, so they have set up a "watch group" for their fellow renters to avoid them going with dangerous clients.
This book is an eye-opener!
Joey - Amazon
I really enjoyed your book, it was an eye-opener! Whether it is true or not, the characters and situations came alive for me as you said. I would like to have known what happened to the other rents and Stephens mother but that was a long time ago. Can't wait for the new book, pleaee keep me updated!
Joseph via website 2 October 2020
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No Review)
Michael Beach Goodreads 18 May 2020
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No Review)
Ralph Wooldridge Goodreads 6 May 2020
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No Review)
Ross Baker Goodreads 20 January 2020
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No Review)
PMF Goodreads 6 January 2020
"A very well written book. It tells the tale of a abused lad getting into the murky world of male prostitution during a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK and gay people were imprisoned. Nowadays people are proud to be gay and go on marches, but in the 1960's being gay was looked down upon by society. The writer writes honestly about his times during this period which are often sad but also some laugh out loud moments. It describes a world that most people, myself included, know nothing about. It certainly open my eyes to a previously unknown world. I really enjoyed this book and have recommended it to several friends."
5 Star Rating (A well written book, a real eye-opener) Glenn A. Nash on Kindle Store.UK review 23 October 2019.
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing")
"A Different Time"
"Fun, funny, sometimes terrifying - that's how I'd describe this story. Apparently the UK is full to the brim with gay dudes, even before it was (more or less) ok to be gay. Who knew!"
Jen Goodreads and Amazon.com 5 September 2019
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Duane Goodreads 1 September 2019
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
M A FORD Goodreads 21 August 2019
5 Star Rating ("it was amazing") (No review)
philipjcareylive.com Goodreads 7 July 2019
"A wonderful and insightful account of a time in our collective queen experience lost to the annals of history. A gripping read from start to finish."
5 Star Rating ("Gripping") Kindle Store .com review. 5 July 2019
5 Star Rating ("it was amazing") (No review)
Gregory Alan Bowen Goodreads 6th May 2019
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
THEODORE TYSON Goodreads 21st March 2019
2 Star Rating ("It was okay") (No review)
Kevin Kirby Goodreads 22nd January2019
"I didn’t believe a word of this ~ not only was it unbelievable but I found it boring! There are so many true accounts of this subject that are worthy of your money ~ I would give this rubbish a miss."
1 Star Rating ("Untrue and boring") Ruby Blue Kindle Edition UK 17th November 2018
"At last, a good long interesting read; I am so tired of "books" on Kindle that are really only short stories. Carl, in his teens, is an interesting character. I enjoyed the storytelling. Fiction? Fact? - who cares, the characters were drawn on the page extremely well, and there were so many of them that every now and then I had to stop reading and think who was who. But I guess during teenage years, a young man accumulates a vast number of friends from all areas of his life, so the cast of thousands didn't worry me all that much. The book was well-written, with a casual easy flow to it, with good dialogue and structure. I was surprised how such a young lad could fall so quickly into such a rent boy lifestyle - I guess it was the era/times. The author is very good at getting into a character's personality. The pictures painted of his mother, Marti, Andy, Sheba, Mickey, Roger, and many (many) more were extremely well-done. The book was well-worth the money."
4 Star Rating ("Good Read") Lorraine on Kindle Store .com review. 25th July 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Peter Rahill Goodreads 26th June 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Mrs M. Simpson Goodreads 25th January 2018
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Matthew Welsh Goodreads 24th January 2018
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
The Anciient Submariner Goodreads 28th December 2017
4 Star Rating ("Really liked it") (No review)
Mary Williams (No relation! N. W.) Goodreads 17th December 2017
"A sad story, excellently told."
4 Star Rating ("Four Stars") "Amazon Customer" on Kindle Store UK review. 3rd December 2017
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
MR L Goodreads 6th October 2017
5 Star Rating ("It was amazing") (No review)
Paul Gunn Goodreads 27th July 2017
"This book has you on an emotional roller coaster. One minute crying then laughing through the tears. An amazing book written by an amazing person. "
5 Star Rating ("WOW") Parko on Kindle Store UK review. 20th May 2017.
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Michaela Boulton Goodreads 16th May 2017
"An opus magnum of the memories and recollections of a Rent Boy. Brutally honest and delivered with a smoothness and pace that is refreshing and opens up another world to the uninitiated. Shocking in its revelations, yet manages to be touchingly emotional about his feelings. The book is funny yet contains anecdotes that touch on what must be one of the most dangerous and little known occupations. I congratulate the author. His recall of events is staggering."
5 Star Rating ("An Extraordinary Read") Confirmed Amazon Customer Kindle Store UK review. 16 April 2017.
3 Star Rating ("Liked it") (No review)
Richard Mullen Goodreads 4th April 2017
"A surprisingly humorous story of an abused boy escaping from the clutches of his father and the emotional neglect of his mother and finding companionship, cash and finally culture in the shadowy world of a provincial city in the 60s.”
4 Star Rating ("A parallel world") veemcloughlin Kindle Store UK review. 16 March 2017.