The title of the book comes from the derogatory Jamaican epithet used to describe effeminate men presumed to be gay or bisexual. Batty Bwoy is the coming-of-age story of Mark Palmer, the black gay Jamaican son of an overbearing, absentee mother who is thrust into an environment that requires a thick skin to deal with various torments. Suppressing his gay tendencies to keep from being bashed or killed, he migrates to America and comes out of the closet into a world where he is disenfranchised and arrested. In spite of his bad choices, he resorts to desperate measures and finds hope. A well-written, engrossing read. Mantle’s site: maxarthurmantle.net. [Editor’s note: Max-Arthur Mantle will be signing and discussing his book on Thursday, October 15, at Houston Public Library’s Central Library, 500 McKinney St., at 6 p.m.] —Troy Carrington
