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'A wild ride through a disaffected youth by a gifted writer. Dominic Gordon explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour.
'What happens to the adolescent spirit when all vestiges of innocence about the world are foregone, replaced within the grinding sounds of concrete and metal of the CBD of Melbourne? A place where train tunnels become nesting sites, carpark stairwells spots to refuel on methamphetamine and hide from predators; where agility leads you across nightclub rooftops, yielding cash in tight spaces with a quick reflex. For a rest, why not ride on the back of a train as it speeds through the night? The dangers of a decades-long exploration of risk in the streets of his city is exhilarating.
'In these original essays, Dominic Gordon, explores his memories in tight prose bursting with insight, audacious ideas and dark humour. Excitable Boy is an immersive experience of what it was like growing up in and around criminal-class and working-class culture in the inner city of Melbourne at the turn of the twentieth century.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Excitable Boy by Dominic Gordon Review – Punchy Tales of Masculinity, Sex and Violence
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 May 2024;
— Review of Excitable Boy : Essays on Risk 2024 selected work essay autobiography'These stylish autobiographical essays take the reader into backstreets rarely traversed in Australian literature – sex clubs, street fights and emergency rooms' (Introduction)
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Dominic Gordon Excitable Boy
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2024;
— Review of Excitable Boy : Essays on Risk 2024 selected work essay autobiography'The title of Dominic Gordon’s debut book, Excitable Boy: Essays on Risk, is borrowed from the 1978 song by American musician Warren Zevon. The excitable boy in this memoir – the author – is not as bad as the rapist and murderer in the song, but nor is he good. He’s a thief and a drug addict. An illegal graffiti artist, brawler and glory hole-user, sex club and brothel regular. He’s a film buff who loves crime thrillers because he wants to emulate the criminals he sees on screen.' (Introduction)
-
Dominic Gordon Excitable Boy
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 27 April - 3 May 2024;
— Review of Excitable Boy : Essays on Risk 2024 selected work essay autobiography'The title of Dominic Gordon’s debut book, Excitable Boy: Essays on Risk, is borrowed from the 1978 song by American musician Warren Zevon. The excitable boy in this memoir – the author – is not as bad as the rapist and murderer in the song, but nor is he good. He’s a thief and a drug addict. An illegal graffiti artist, brawler and glory hole-user, sex club and brothel regular. He’s a film buff who loves crime thrillers because he wants to emulate the criminals he sees on screen.' (Introduction)
-
Excitable Boy by Dominic Gordon Review – Punchy Tales of Masculinity, Sex and Violence
2024
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 May 2024;
— Review of Excitable Boy : Essays on Risk 2024 selected work essay autobiography'These stylish autobiographical essays take the reader into backstreets rarely traversed in Australian literature – sex clubs, street fights and emergency rooms' (Introduction)