Boy Parts follows the story of Irina, a hard partying artist who’s very hard to like as a narrator. Her photography work is fetishistic with men she scouts on the street the main subject of her art.
She’s been offered a significant opportunity in the form of a gallery showing in London and we follow as she unpicks her archive of work ahead of the show. Through her past works she tells us story’s about the previous subjects she’s has photographed and videoed, these seem to be increasingly dark and revealing.
I am a big fan of unlikeable narrators and Irina brought to mind the characterisation of the narrator in My Year fo Rest and Relaxation. She’s awful to her friends manipulating her close friend , knowing she is in love with her she encourages her to break up with her boyfriend who rightly tells her to stay away from Irina.
She is also a compulsive liar, telling one of her subjects that she makes plenty of money from her art when she actually works in a bar and has her rent paid for by her parents. As the story progresses it becomes increasingly difficult to take her narration at face value.
Favourite quote: “Was it my idea to have him hurt me, or did he just let me think it was?”
Whilst the story starts in quite a grounded way, it becomes completely unhinged and surreal towards the end. The book overall is incredibly dark and violent which is important to keep in mind because I hadn’t had this impression before reading. Eliza Clark explores gender issues, power dynamics and quite a lot more. It’s an incredibly compelling read however it’s level or gore and sexual violent won’t be for everyone.
