The Boy Who Sat by the Window

I loved this exploration of such a particular facet of queer history. Author David Hodge does a wonderful job composing The Boy Who Sat By the Window, and I'm happy to recommend it to anyone with a love of queer nonfiction.

The life and times of both David Hodge and his alter ego, the celebrated drag queen, The Very Miss Dusty O. Hodge documents the highs and lows of building a life using just one, small, albeit glorious aspect of yourself and the cost that extracts from you as a whole person. From a bullied young boy in Birmingham to the Queen of Soho and what happened to the man behind it all, this is a fascinating, un-self-pitying read.

Five Stars!
Coming September 2022

The Boy Who Sat By the Window is a behind the scenes look at the outrageous drag scene and club scene in London in the 80s and 90s. Unfortunately I was a bit too young and born on the wrong side of the Atlantic to experience it, but I really couldn’t ask for a better tour guide on my tour -- The Queen of Soho, the drop-dead gorgeous Very Miss Dusty O has seen and done it all! Front row at Versace fashion shows, traveling the world, dinner parties with Madonna and Cher, cavorting on a bar with Grace Jones, and dancing on a float with Boy George (!!) in a Pride parade. It’s literally the life of dreams.

But more than Dusty, there’s the story of David, the little boy who was sat by the window because he was bullied for being different. David, the young man who lived through the AIDS crisis and homophobia and survived addiction, a murder attempt, losing friends and family. David who overcame all the obstacles in his path and is now discovering and learning to love his true self. Though Dusty sounds like she was absolutely fabulous, I loved getting to know David most, rooting for him, and following his journey of discovery. I can’t recommend this enough.

I am so grateful to Netgalley, David Hodge, and Ad Lib Publishers/Mardle Books for the opportunity to read and review The Boy Who Sat By The Window.

Artist David Hodge and his former long-term drag persona The Very Miss Dusty O have a very complex relationship, and that's even after he killed her off, twice. In his new memoir, Hodge takes us from queer childhood in the 70s and 80s, through London’s vibrant Soho in the 90s and decline in the 00s, to the demise of Dusty O and the rebirth of David Hodge as a visual artist… with some ferociously frank observations of celebrity, fame and drag life along the way.

Starting off as a ginger kid from Walsall, already an outsider before the first twinkle of queerness rose in him, he was bullied, living with waring parents and desperate for an escape. Hodge found inspiration in a teacher who encouraged him to be himself and soon his world transformed through the lens of 80s androgynous pop music and the power of Vivienne Westwood.

But before Dusty O would become the premiere drag personality of London’s clubland at night, David Hodge would live a different life by day, working at London’s Lighthouse (a care facility for people living with HIV and AIDS). This duality, the line between David and Dusty, drives his life in fascinating directions.

Hodge is well aware that many readers will come to The Boy Who Sat by the Window for the gossip. Brushing shoulders with Princess Diana, dining with Madonna, fighting with his friend Boy George, partying with Robbie Williams, Pete Burns, Kylie Minogue and Grace Jones etc. But if you’re looking for the acid-tongued wit that made Dusty O a legend, then you may be disappointed to find there is a tone of understanding and forgiveness in his voice. Hodge may serve the tea, but he’s added some soothing honey to counter the bitterness. After all, who is Dusty O to throw stones at the self-centred narcissists in this world, when he was one of them?

Dusty O’s world was old-school drag - boozy, fantastical, rough and dangerous. And Hodge’s tales of London’s famed Pushca and Trannyshack make for a great companion read to Jeremy Atherton Lin’s excellent history of London’s gay scene, Gay Bar: Why We Went Out. Hearing about the Showgirls-like inner-workings of the drag scene comes as something of a splash of cold reality compared to the sisterly love-fest of recent RuPaul’s Drag Race.

There is a conversational, confessional tone to the book that makes for a very easy read. Hodge carefully navigates his own story with a weary resignation to his own faults, a calm eye over his misadventures. There is still an ego at play, and while Hodge offers some signs of humility it’s clear there’s still an edge of steel to him. What could easily have come as a series of glib humble-brags or outright gloats is tempered with something akin to wisdom.

It’s often the case that people who strive for what they think they need only discover it’s emptiness when they get it and it’s Hodge’s musings on the end of his drag career and his discovery of visual art that inspires. You get the impression that leaving Dusty O behind was bumpier than he admits, and there is a real melancholy in his writing as he describes putting the persona down. Just because a relationship became toxic doesn’t mean there wasn’t love there.

Can you accuse David Hodge of faux-humility? Possibly. You can play a dangerous drinking game by noting the number of times the phrase “the Queen of Soho” comes up. Can you accuse him of gross ignorance? Sure. Taking gigs in homophobic countries for the pay-cheque don’t show him in the best light. But The Boy Who Sat in the Window is as much a cautionary tale as it is a chronicle of a wondrous time in London’s gay life. Mistakes were made and Hodge owns them, and that self-awareness makes for a great read.

Sometimes I feel like the myths of my youth are being celebrated and Miss Dusty O is amongst them. It was an interesting read, a bit sad at times but full of interesting insights.
There's the scene, the famous faces but there's also a lot of food for thought.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine