John Boyne and his brain worms [split topic]

[George White]

Just reading another tweet by controversial writer and daft git John Boyne.

Does anyone agree with him on this?

As a pronoun user who tries to be kind to everyone, I am just curious are there other homosexuals who believe this and not just this constant attention-seeking Auschwitz-baiting egomaniac who when anyone criticises him in the slightest, 'oh, you're a troll! I'm the biggest selling Irish writer of all time'.
And it really hurts me to say that, because I don't want to offend him. We should all be nice to each other, as he says so himself.

So does anyone here agree with this, and if so why?

"

People who put pronouns in their bio are not just guilty of priveleged middle-class narcissism but are signing up to a culture that denies that same-sex attraction exists.

To be absolutely clear: I believe that anyone who puts pronouns in their bio is homophobic."

https://twitter.com/JohnBoyneBooks/status/1680488343589605381

[dontpaintyourteeth]

the fuck is he on about

[George White]

He does genuinely seem to have mental problems, like all the acclaim went to his head and thus he thinks he is infallible. Like his belief he is the most successful Irish novelist. And that all women are victims.

I do agree with him about rejecting the word cis but not for the reasons he intends.

I must admit I kind of fancy him, even though he looks like a 50 year old Bod.

[convulsivespace]

Make way, Joyce!

In August 2020, it was noticed that Boyne's latest novel, A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom, which takes place in the real world in the year 1 AD, contained a section in which a seamstress refers to the ingredients used to create dyes. However, the listed ingredients were entirely fictional, being taken from the 2017 videogame The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and included items such as the "silent princess" flower, "octorok eyeballs", and "the tail of the red lizalfos". The error was initially posted on Reddit, and after writer Dana Schwartz highlighted the segment on Twitter, theorizing that Boyne had done an Internet search for 'how to dye clothes red' and used the Zelda results without looking into the context.

[flotemysost]

The Boyne and the Typed Bananas

I saw he did a piece for the Telegraph earlier this year denouncing the use of the word "queer"; I haven't/can't read the full piece so it's probably not really fair for me to comment - but if it walks like an op-ed in a Tory broadsheet in 2023, talks like a... I mean it's def gonna be TERFy vibes isn't it. Even the intro bit predictably starts with "If you're gay or lesbian"... these *are* the only options after all, anything else is middle-class narcissism

I've not actually read anything of his published work tbf, but I know a few years ago he had a children's book from the POV of a boy whose sibling comes out as a trans girl, which iirc got a fair bit of flak for his portrayal - at the time I assumed the intention was well-meaning, but I imagine there's potentially a comparison to be drawn there around him haphazardly co-opting complex experiences to sell emotional stories, I dunno.

[Kankurette]

Just reading another tweet by controversial writer and daft git John Boyne.

Does anyone agree with him on this?

As a pronoun user who tries to be kind to everyone, I am just curious are there other homosexuals who believe this and not just this constant attention-seeking Auschwitz-baiting egomaniac who when anyone criticises him in the slightest, 'oh, you're a troll! I'm the biggest selling Irish writer of all time'.
And it really hurts me to say that, because I don't want to offend him. We should all be nice to each other, as he says so himself.

So does anyone here agree with this, and if so why?

"

People who put pronouns in their bio are not just guilty of priveleged middle-class narcissism but are signing up to a culture that denies that same-sex attraction exists.

To be absolutely clear: I believe that anyone who puts pronouns in their bio is homophobic."

https://twitter.com/JohnBoyneBooks/status/1680488343589605381

Oh great, another 'being pro-trans rights is bourgeois decadence and true working-class people would NEVER' crap.

What about gay and bi people who put pronouns in their bios? I didn't magically become straight.

[JesusAndYourBush]

Has he deleted the tweet? The link doesn't work. I wanted to see if he explained his logic in a subsequent comment but it looks like he's thrown his toys out of the pram and deleted the tweet.

[George White]

He keeps deleting his tweets, initially  all of them for a cleanse, then deleted only a few after his next load of tweets.

[Cuellar]

Oo ees John Boyne

[George White]

He's a writer who says daft things on twitter, supports JKR, thinks he is the most successful Irish author alive, but I don't want to say too much because he already called me a troll for criticising his book without having read it (because I said it was ludicrous for a trans woman to convincingly pose as a cis man, not realising the character was according to him, pre-hormones). However, having met some really fluid 'all pronouns' 'gender is silly' transfemmes like Bugs Maytrix on twitter, I actually understand his point, but I don't think he intended 'Jessica' to be an 'all pronouns' nonbinary transfemme. I do admire him for basically saying 'writers, write anything! Don't just write about being a 50 year old bald gay man if you're a 50 year old bald gay man'. But I don't want to say too much because I know i am being hurtful if I say too much. And as he says himself, 'be kind'.

The Boyne and the Typed Bananas

I saw he did a piece for the Telegraph earlier this year denouncing the use of the word "queer"; I haven't/can't read the full piece so it's probably not really fair for me to comment - but if it walks like an op-ed in a Tory broadsheet in 2023, talks like a... I mean it's def gonna be TERFy vibes isn't it. Even the intro bit predictably starts with "If you're gay or lesbian"... these *are* the only options after all, anything else is middle-class narcissism

I've not actually read anything of his published work tbf, but I know a few years ago he had a children's book from the POV of a boy whose sibling comes out as a trans girl, which iirc got a fair bit of flak for his portrayal - at the time I assumed the intention was well-meaning, but I imagine there's potentially a comparison to be drawn there around him haphazardly co-opting complex experiences to sell emotional stories, I dunno.

I will kind of defend Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, even though yes, obviously it's , but he has said it was supposed to be a fable. if it was set in a fictitious country or future dystopia, or even Catholic Ireland, it probably would have attracted less criticism because he wouldn't have been saying 'Oh, Nazi officers didn't know they were participating in the widespread extermination of Jews from Europe'. but it's an emotion-pulling novel about dead kids and trying to do a platonic Romeo and Juliet while basically being an accidental combination of Italian concentration camp video nasties and another prevalent genre in Italian popular cinema, the lacrima movie, usually about dying children (post-Love Story). The theme from Curb your Enthusiasm comes from a lacrima, by Sergio Martino. And if John is reading this, yes, I mean that as a compliment. Anything resembling 70s Italian exploitation movies is good by me.

Richard Johnson, who's in the film of Striped Pyjamas, even did a lacrima - Take All of Me, by Luigi 'Starcrash' Cozzi, about a dying teenage girl who falls in love with a man mistaken as her father by doctors.

[Zetetic]

(because I said it was ludicrous for a trans woman to convincingly pose as a cis man, not realising the character was according to him, pre-hormones)

This seems like a pretty silly thing to say regardless, "pre-hormones" or otherwise.

[Shaxberd]

That's an interesting defence of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I can see it working from that perspective.

The problem is this book is actually being used in schools because it's seen as child-appropriate, when it's historically misleading and arguably pushes a dangerous narrative of the Holocaust being something that took place without most people knowing, instead of being sanctioned by ordinary Germans. Like you said, it would have worked better if it wasn't a Holocaust story - but it probably also wouldn't have been as successful.


Boyne just seems like a hack to me. It's fine to write what you don't know, but do your research.

[George White]

That's an interesting defence of the Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I can see it working from that perspective.

The problem is this book is actually being used in schools because it's seen as child-appropriate, when it's historically misleading and arguably pushes a dangerous narrative of the Holocaust being something that took place without most people knowing, instead of being sanctioned by ordinary Germans. Like you said, it would have worked better if it wasn't a Holocaust story - but it probably also wouldn't have been as successful.


Boyne just seems like a hack to me. It's fine to write what you don't know, but do your research.

He's a Harold Robbins type without the sex, and Harold Robbins types don't belong on curriculums (except in Star Trek).
As I said, 'atrocities happening without people knowing' feels more like Catholic Ireland.

[George White]

This seems like a pretty silly thing to say regardless, "pre-hormones" or otherwise.

Part of the plot relies on 'Jessica' boymoding, to help her brother get used to her being a trans woman. It's like John doesn't realise what boymoding is.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

GOODNIGHT JOHN BOYNE

[George White]

Just heard Boyne's voice again.
And it's ridiculous. Like an old queen version of Ross O'Carroll Kelly. Proper D4 Mid-Atlantic notions with a soupcon of Derrin Zikks and Bob Mortimer's train guy.

[George White]

More Boyne

He's become even more of a BOQ (Barmy Old Queen).

I think he's probably further mentally scarred by all this than Linehan.  I genuinely think he always was mentally precarious, hence his ego, and constantly going off on one when criticised. But I genuinely think of all the TERF-y sorts, Boyne basically shouldn't be criticised because even more so than Glinner, it's not doing any good to his wellbeing.
Like a few years ago, he was actively against Glinner, and now they're like Wint and Kidd.

[BritishHobo]

How do they manage to convince themselves that pro-trans voices are supported by incels who resemble Andrew Tate? It's so divorced from reality.

[Kankurette]

Incels are well-known for their love of trans women.

[JamesTC]

EastEnders' Ross Kemp looks unrecognisable as he's seen with full head of hair on Good Morning Britain.

[George White]

How do they manage to convince themselves that pro-trans voices are supported by incels who resemble Andrew Tate? It's so divorced from reality.

Exactly. The Irish media are to blame. They have let some of our brightest minds go to rot, with this frenzy.
Now, the main shit-stirrers are Newstalk harridan Dr. Ciara Kelly (who believes gender ideology is a genuine term and not something cooked up by the Nazi Pope) and Sontaran-esque former British Army soldier and senator Gerard Craughwell.

[first skeleton on mars]

Make way, Joyce!

this is incredible, it's even better in full

The dyes that I used in my dressmaking were composed from various ingredients, depending on the colour required, but almost all required nightshade, sapphire, keese wing, the leaves of the silent princess plant, Octorok eyeball, swift violet, thistle and hightail lizard. In addition, for the red I had used for Abrila's dress, I employed spicy pepper, the tail of the red lizalfos and four Hylian shrooms.

John Boyne making notes for his novel as he mouses over cartoon icons on a fandom dot com page

[George White]

Been writing Boynesque poetry, to prove how easy it is.

Billy Bragg is a slag.
Male lesbians are his bag.
Suzanne Moore is quite ace.
She reminds. me of Marsha from Spaced.
"Ello, Graham" she probably says
To everyone's favourite sitcom writer
Who thanks to hunger striking is now a stone lighter.
Gay men deserve their own space.
Men in dresses are a fucking disgrace.
All dosed on yellow Bentines,
they are corrupting innocent teens. 
Posie Parker's cheeks are rosy.
But Eddie Izzard's are like a lizard.
Glinner, grinner, chicken dinner.
As great a talent as Michael Winner.

[TommyTurnips]

EastEnders' Ross Kemp looks unrecognisable as he's seen with full head of hair on Good Morning Britain.

Casually combing his mahogany locks with his big Grant hands.

[Milo]

A chatGPT effort:

Spoiler alert

In the realm of music, Billy Bragg's name does chime,
A troubadour of politics, with lyrics that rhyme.
But beware, for beneath that socialist guise,
Lies a man who often preaches, but seldom truly tries.

With his guitar in hand and his voice so loud,
He claims to champion the working class crowd.
But as he strums those chords and sings his songs,
It's clear his convictions often don't belong.

For while he talks of equality and fairness for all,
His actions and wealth tell a different call.
From the comfort of his mansion, he'll condemn the rich,
But his own bank account continues to enrich.

He sings of revolutions and tearing down walls,
But when it comes to real change, his effort stalls.
His words may inspire, but what's his true aim?
To profit from outrage, it's all just a game.

So don't be fooled by Billy's leftist veneer,
For his hypocrisy and greed are crystal clear.
In the style of John Boyne, I'll say it with flair,
Billy Bragg, your act is nothing but hot air.

[close]

Not convinced it knows of John Boyne's poetry but the style is generic enough to fit.

[Senior Baiano]

"I do not like thee, Owen Jones"

[Curate's Egg]

https://twitter.com/OPunSaysMe/status/1707862443135836610

[jamiefairlie]

He's a Harold Robbins type without the sex, and Harold Robbins types don't belong on curriculums (except in Star Trek).
As I said, 'atrocities happening without people knowing' feels more like Catholic Ireland.

Although hardcore loyalists just love him and his brother Mason and sister 1690

[Better Midlands]

If my book sales are anything to go by, the overwhelming majority of readers agree with me.

[George White]

Oh, he's using the 'I was abused, so that must means they are nonces' excuse.