The Dancing Boy

De: Roy E Stolworthy

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

Having edited Roy’s third novel, The Dancing Boy, I have once again been impressed by his exceptional talent as a writer. With its shockingly honest, disturbing depiction of ‘dancing boys’ in Afghanistan, the reader is drawn into a world of child exploitation and sexual slavery and abuse at the hands of the rich and powerful. Alongside this is the protagonist, Gillet, a man who has been discharged from the army and is thought to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. In his attempt to put things right and put to rest some of his own demons, Gillet takes it upon himself to help one particular dancing boy who once saved his life, and offer him the chance to live a life free from sexual slavery in the UK. But the UK has its own demons, and he discovers that corruption is in fact everywhere. His mind is in turmoil and he won’t settle until he has won this last battle, and in effect it becomes his own personal war. A war that he cannot win regardless of how much he tries to make things right. The powerful language and sensory experiences in this book take the reader on an uncomfortable, but mind-blowing journey to the heart of the corruption, made all the more disturbing since it is a reality closer to the truth than we would perhaps like to admit. At times we want to withdraw and return to our ignorance, but the story and its characters pull you back, almost forcing you to persevere in the hope of a resolution. Some may consider it controversial reading, but it helps us to understand that we have a responsibility as human beings to acknowledge that the issues we face in the world today do exist, even though sometimes we might prefer to believe otherwise. This is a novel that leaves you shocked but enlightened, despairing but with hope for a better world; a novel that deserves to be read. Sarah Cheeseman, proofreader and editor, BA with HONS in English and American literature. .