Excitable Boy

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, car park 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.

'In these essays, Gordon pokes the bruise that society leaves on those who push back. Shining a light on characters who reliably fall between the cracks, he dares you to flinch.' - Jenny Valentish

'Nightclub fights, graffiti odysseys. The lube-stink of low rent sex clubs, lust for life told with humour and style. Great, great writing. An instant classic.' - Guy Rundle