The Romance of the Dancing Boy
by Mazahir Hussain
The
Romance of the Dancing Boy
A mythic love story in four parts
by Mazahir Hussain
The Romance of the Dancing Boy
A mythic love story in four parts
Part One
The Grace of Dreaming a Prince into the Night.......... page 08
Part Two
Paradise Between Thighs.................................................... page 46
Part Three
Mourning the Loss of a Kingdom Never Built.............. page 84
Part Four
Romance of the Dancing Boys........................................... page 118
The Romance of the Dancing Boy by Mazahir Hussain
First Edition, 2024
ISBN 978-1-915348-02-9
Aphrodite cover, 2436-3A
Eros cover, 2436-3E
Published by Twentyfour Thirtysix Ltd
Publishers for visual artists from the subtropics and tropics
All illustrations and text © 2024 by Mazahir Hussain
Editorial direction and design, Shiraz Randeria
Book design © 2024 by Twentyfour Thirtysix Ltd
Typeset in OT Abalos
Printed and bound in the UK by Park
To find out more about our publications and to order books please visit www.twentyfourthirtysix.com
5% of profits will go towards grassroots arts funding as approved by Mazahir Hussain
The Romance of the Dancing Boy
by Mazahir Hussain
Mazahir Hussain’s debut book is a beautifully crafted tale: an illustrated semi-autobiographical depiction of queer romance and a re-imagining of Greek mythology with its visual narrative spaceshifting between the modern day, historical eras and the fairytale.
*
We encounter The Dancing Boy throughout the book via multiple prisms of the same handsome, brown and hirsute character, drawn and redrawn in different forms. Brown-body positivity, ancient lore and modern life are all connected by Mazahir’s storytelling hands, through the four parts of The Dancing Boy’s love odyssey:
Part 1 - We meet our hero at home in his wistful single life, full of daydreams and wishful poetry and follow him on his furtive steps into night life and the promising bubbles of excitement.
Part 2 - A flame is lit with the realisation of those daydreams coming to bountiful, heady fruition: A new lover. A meeting of minds and bodies as we share in his wide-eyed romance, both tender and lustful. Love is all-encompassing and is forever and ever.
Part 3 - Except sometimes the playful love arrow of Eros can in human hands become twisted into the shape of a spear... There can be no mythic tale without betrayal and heartbreak.
Part 4 - It is now up to the kindness and support from friends: The Dancing Boy meets the three Charites, heroic figures that symbolize an uplifting community and a healing process.
Along the way, we’ll also be reintroduced to a pantheon of Greek Gods, brought to life as supporting characters in The Dancing Boy’s story.
*
