Vol. 1 Brooklyn

Review by Jon Reiss

From the Memiors of  a Non-Enemy Combatant
by Alex Gilvarry
(Viking, 320 p.)

From the Memiors of  a Non-Enemy Combatant is the story of Boyet (Boy for short) Hernandez, a Philippine-born aspiring designer who, having grown up in admiration of his fabric slinging uncle, lusts for a future as New York’s most desirable, heterosexual male clothing designer (of which there area bout 10.)  Living off a meager allowance from his parents, Boy is barely able to afford an apartment in Bushwick.   Meanwhile he yearns for success. To him, this means — among other things — an apartment on the illustrious streets of Williamsburg.  Stranded in Bushwick, far from the glamour of the fashion world, he comes into contact with a seemingly affable if not mercurial fabric salesman named Ahemd who commissions him to make a pair of suits, eventually offering to fund his entire debut clothing line.  Boy’s desire for success is so that he accepts Ahmed’s offer despite looming doubts and distrust of his methods.  As Boy’s dreams begin to come to fruition, the stage is set for his eventual downfall, one that results in him being stranded in a government facility for detainees far more remote than the Kosciuszko stop on the J train.  Writing this tale as a long form confession from the offshore facility nicknamed “No Man’s Land” Boy is forced to come to terms with the fact that the decisions made to bolster his (B)oy fashion label also resulted in the new, notorious label bestowed upon him by the media: “The Fashion Terrorist.”

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