Dave Franklin can actually write. In fact, he infuses a great deal of personality and energy into every sentence and so I'm actually sad that I had to give Girls Like Funny Boys only a two star rating. Even Franklin's abilities can't save the story from being a wirlpool of groan.The biggest problem is that Franklin wants you to know that this is Australian in the 1980's AND HE WON'T EVER LET YOU FORGET IT. In fact, there was a reference to either the location or the time period in almost every second sentence. From the name dropping of bands, to hair styles, clothing styles, cars and the painful rendition of the Australian accent and slang, to the Aussie locations and pubs used in the novel. It felt like Franklin was screaming in my face: "THIS IS AUSTRALIA IN 1986!!!!!! WOOOOOOT!!!!!"The main character, whilst crying and sniffling over his poor dead dog was also drunkenly molesting a young woman at a party. Then he'd cry about his dog somemore. Then he'd think about sex. Then he'd whack off to a porn video. He kind of lost me very quickly. I know we're exploring adolescents here but strangely I wasn't in the moood for reading a dude making tissue babies to a graphic porn movie. You can leave SOME mystery to your character, you know. I mean, I've got quite a few Goodreads friends and followers who I almost NEVER update about my sex life. Yet strangely they still read my reviews. Wait, SHOULD I be adding saucy details about intimate moments here? Will this get me more readers? Will I then be considered 'gritty' and 'real'?Maybe not...I think this book had a good concept and Dave Franklin has a natural craft with words but I think he had a great deal of difficulty bringing the concept into a readable and enjoyable story. ( )

This was another enjoyable read from Dave Franklin. After I finished it I tried to decide which of his books I’ve liked the most, but it seems like a draw all round. They all made me laugh and they were all fast-paced interesting reads. And even though I won all three of his books that I own, I’d readily purchase a new work if I heard about it. ( )

I received this copy of Girls Like Funny Boys through the Member's Giveaway scheme and was looking forward to reading it after having enjoyed my first experience with Franklin's work.

The tale of Johnny Goodwin, first depicted as an aspiring comedian in his hormone ravaged teenaged years, was not a happy one. Death stalks through Franklin's work - and it seems the more bizarre or outrageous it can be the better! Dead and dying animals, death by animal... fish feeding frenzies.....eewww!

Many who take to the stage as comic actors, comedians, writers and artists are often plagued with self doubt and some famously and publicly struggle with depression, aberrant sexual behaviour and addiction. It seems to me that Johnny was all of this and more especially given the repeated appearance of the "black dog" in his dreams - yet even this began to grate a little as the story progressed. Certainly this was the tale of someone who struggled through life moving from one disfunctional relationship to the next.

Not being familiar with the Brisbane of Johnny's youth, I cannot comment on the accuracy of location descriptions however the stickiness of the weather certainly permeated the pages. Some of the cultural references to personalities, stars and TV programmes rang true, others didn't and it is wondered whether they reflected too narrow a representation.

Comments about the schooling structure, and the abbreviations for tests, scores and rankings were lost on someone unfamiliar with the Queensland Education system however they contributed to a strong sense of locality.

The depiction of Johnny's girlfriend as the faded star of Gladiators made for at times cringe worthy reading...deluded, part WAG, part gold digger, not very discerning - Jen certainly allowed us an unflattering peek into the world of celebrity. Not something to which one could aspire!

Its a dark tale in many respects which could have been more blackly comedic in places with a bit of an editorial tweak here and there. Overall I found it easily readable, Australian without being gawky and self conscious, and a little too honest about teenage boys. ( )

I wanted to like this book, I really did. – Typically, I enjoy fiction set in my home town of Brisbane, what little there is of it. As a result, I approach a book such as this, which has a distinct Brisbane flavour, with the desire to overlook any minor imperfections and the capacity to offer encouragement to both the author and his potential audience.

Unfortunately, some factual jolts early on in the book eroded that good will and I found myself struggling to maintain my enthusiasm. That said, all is not lost and I do believe, despite those flaws evident in this work, Dave Franklin has a future as a ‘popular’ fiction writer.

‘Girls like Funny Guys’ is a very easy read. Franklin’s writing flows smoothly, his grasp of language is strong and is accessible to the majority.

Understanding that the central character is a bitter man, I still felt the attacks on local comics was less an organic part of the novel and more an expression of the author’s own frustrations. Whatever the case they came across as being a little bit too harsh, often unwarranted and, in terms of the plot development, rather grating.

Brisbane, the city, did not seem to be a fully fleshed out character. Place Names are mentioned at times but they exist as nothing more than that. Mentioning a name is not the same as invoking it and giving it life. Or feeling. Sweaty armpits were mentioned more often than I was comfortable with and I wondered if this was a way to demonstrate Brisbane’s steamy summer temperatures without mentioning them directly.

Inaccurately advertised as a ‘coming of age’ story, I would suggest it is instead closer to a ‘demise of youth’ tale. THE Majority of the book revolves around the protagonist today as a man in his late 30’s.
As a novel in the ‘popular’ genre it is perhaps not quite amusing enough to be called ‘lad lit’ and seems to be missing the tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek which typifies books of that type.

It was incongruent to this reader to have unusual factual points which only served to distract.
• To have a nuclear family, plus dog, living in an apartment in 1980’s Brisbane is odd at the best of times. To offer no explanation for what is an almost unprecedented state of affairs is quite ridiculous. Such an anomaly is either a plot device or so irrelevant it isn’t worth mentioning. Franklin needs to decide which it is and either edit or expand his work accordingly.
• Similarly, a big fuss was made about the central character becoming 18 and being legally allowed to drink. However, throughout the course of the novel he was constantly in situations were people under the legal age were attending licensed venues and drinking. Why make a fuss about something which seems to have be no impediment to anyone else?

As a list the following items only hindered the book’s flow:

* Mention of the Brisbane Lions without the following ‘soccer club’, being as the more famous AFL team did not exist for another decade.
* Studying for ASAT which was not actually possible as it was an aptitude test to rate schools, not individuals;
* Collecting a TE score from school, these have always been posted to student’s homes;
* The school leaving function being held in a West End hotel, this being left un-name, though many other places were, would be highly unlikely as this was a run-down suburb at the time still awaiting gentrification. Replace the venue with The Greek Club opposite Musgrave Park and most locals would go AHA!
* Before the late 1990’s, did any humanities course at Griffith require a TE score above 850, let alone 900, UQ’s entrance score was set at 880 and was by far the more prestigious institution.

Despite these issues, readily adjustable without altering the plot, I feel Dave Franklin knows how to put a popular novel together. With Nick Earls and David Malouf as the benchmarks I think Franklin, at present, sits in a position far in advance of the insipid Rebecca Sparrow, and is well on his way to a deserved publishing contract. Certainly his self-published output to date demonstrates a work ethic to assure most publishers that he can match productivity with a natural talent for story-telling. . ( )

Unflinching portrait of a weak man, although the writing could have beeen tighter. Some well-aimed barbs and a memorable character in the shape of Wrath the Gladiator. ( )