"At the End of the Sidewalks" by Baptiste Thery-Guilbert

This is a tender and tragic short novella, set in the south of France, chronicling the terrible pressures placed upon gay teenagers by the expectations of heteronormative society, the transgressive joys of casual sex, but also the beauty of a loving relationship between young friends. 

It starts at the end: “Clément died. A suicide by many hands.” (Age 17; p 10). It then returns to the narrator's passionate affair with Clément, his best friend and fellow school pupil. The narrator also has sex with Blue, an older man who likes the idea of underage boys. There are other gay characters as well, such as Louis, a complex character who dislikes gay men but can't get an erection with a girl and who enjoys being buggered by Djamil, an Arab catholic who can't speak to his mum but goes to confession where he speaks freely about his love-life.

The second part jumps forward two years to the narrator aged 19; he and Clément have broken up. There is a sense of maturity and regret.

What lifts this little novel above most gay fiction is the way the author structures the prose - which is as lean and spare as a waif-like rent-boy - into poetry. Consider this paragraph (Age 17, p 17):

"Djamil knows now

he will never have his fill of pleasure reaped from the bodies

of such giving men."

The writing is never ornate or melodramatic. Even complex human emotions are stripped to their naked essentials:

"When  Djamil gets angry around his mum he tells her to shut her mouth. She wants to listen. 

No matter. What Djamil wants to say no one understands." 

(Age 17, p 18)

The anonymous narrator tells his story mostly in the first person present tense, which creates intense empathy between narrator and reader. However, at times, he slips into the second person, describing himself as 'you', which both doubles down on the empathy and also creates a dissociative feeling of identity, as if the writer can separate his personalities, as we all can to some extent, putting on masks to disguise himself. This technique works well as a metaphor for the need for gay teenagers - before they are 'out', and frequently after - to hide their sexuality in the face of a frequently, sometimes murderously, censorious society. But it also suggests a degree of neurodivergence on the part of the narrator, underlined by the fact that he takes lithium, which is generally prescribed in the UK for bipolar disorder.

This delightful novel has echoes of, for example, James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room. It also reminded me of the oeuvre of Jean Genet, and some of the books of Andre Gide, such as The Immoralist. The works of William Burroughs (eg The Wild Boys) and John Rechy (eg City of Night) clearly deal with the same subject matter. But what makes this novella unique is its style.

I am blown away by the simple brilliance of this little book. Is there an English translation of Thery-Guilbert's first novel, Pas dire, or his 'distorted mirror sequel' to Sidewalks, Lésions. If so, I want to read them. If not, please may there soon be. 

Selected quotes:

• "In Marseille you deviate from the norm you die. In Marseille domination is a blood sport played in the street with a passing word or look.” (Age 17; p 10)
• “Desire never dies merely clots.” (Age 17; p 14)
• “It's better to be who you are than to play at who you should be.” (Age 17; p 52)
• “On the concrete still hot from the freshly finished day where men come greedy for hope and hungry for a body.” (Age 19; p 76)

May 2026; 97 pages

Originally published by Editions blast in French in 2022

This translation, by Trask Roberts, was published in paperback by Renard Press in 2026

This review was written by

the author of Bally and Bro, Motherdarling 

and The Kids of God