Boys Don’t Cry by Fíona Scarlett — Review

A heart-wrenching, memorable debut

This short debut novel is going to stay with me for a while, all of its love and all of its heartbreak. It tells the story of two brothers, Joe and Finn, growing up in a Dublin tower block. Their life isn’t the easiest with their dad doing the dirty work for a local gang leader and their mum trying to keep everything going. Then everything takes a turn for the worst when 12 year old Finn gets sick. From there, it switches between two narratives: Finn’s of his time being ill, and Joe’s in the present day where their father is in prison and Joe is trying not to end up like him.

This was a stunnning debut. The love between these two brothers has stuck with me days after finishing it. Despite everything life is throwing at them, they stick together and look after one another. There is such a depth of caring in every corner of this novel.

It’s a rollercoaster of emotions. Following a child’s narrative of being ill with hospital visits and all the worry surrounding him isn’t the easiest. Nor is Joe’s present day where he’s on a slippery slope to following in his father’s footsteps, the last thing he wants to do. Hope and inevitability are at war throughout. You want so badly to right the world for these two but it seems impossible.

As a Dublin native I might not be in the best possition to judge but the writing style balanced its thorough Irishness well while still being broadly relatable. Dubliners have a way of talking that can be confusing but I don’t think too much will get lost here. The author does a great job at developing Finn and Joe’s narrative voices. I came away feeling like I know them and really care about them which is what you want from a book like this.

This is going to be one of my favourites of this year. I couldn’t recommend it enough and I’m already excited to read whatever Fíona Scarlett has in store next.

Boys Don’t Cry is available to pre-order now and will be released on 22nd April 2021.