The Boatman a Memoir of Same-Sex Love  (English, Paperback, Burbridge John)

'The Boatman' is a compelling, bravely honest account of India in the eighties, the expatriate NGO life and what it is to discover, reject and finally embrace a sexuality not, at the time, considered mainstream. Burbidge took shocking risks in exploring his newfound homosexuality and found a capacity for the covert that both fascinated and appalled him. It was a hard road to self-discovery. This and Burbidge's compassionate and respectful depiction of Indian street life from the perspective o...

I was pleased to lend support as well as a bit of critiquing to John on his reflective journey. From the beginning, he minces no words as he sets us up early in the first chapter of The Boatman: India defies preparation; it demands submission. This is both an intense and sensitive coming-out story into which John skillfully weaves the thread of a double life in a cultural setting not his own. He connects us to himself and to his journey as he struggles with complex issues through discovery of...

Sharing the same childhood origins as Burbidge, I was interested to see how a differently sexually orientated person had to leave Australia at that time to assume his adult identity. His writing is taut and lively and the reader enters into his skin as he crosses his Rubicon and movingly negotiates unknown terrain without any guidelines.