Five boys meet and unite, drawn together by their innate spirit of defiance and determination, while each harbors secrets too horrible to mention that will gradually be revealed, in The Buzz Boys by novelist Edward Izzi, a powerful look at abuse and its lasting effects.
Told in individual episodes with a focus on each of its youthful protagonists growing up and growing wise, the book often features the careful, reasoned observations of Robby Mazzara, a self-styled leader of the group of five: himself, Marco, Billy, Petey and Johnny. Each of the boys is cut off from the mainstream, living in a private hell. All are systematically abused, permanently scarred on the outside and the inside.
Petey Rodriguez’s father is in and out of prison for violent crimes, and when home, contemptuously attacks his innocent son. Johnny Orozco is the witness to and victim of his single mother’s continual stream of male customers as she struggles to make ends meet, while a temporary stepfather only makes matters worse. Marco Pezza’s father is a monster who sexually abuses and physically punishes the boy, rapes his young sister, and savagely beats his wife, who, too afraid to report the incidents, finally acts in desperation and despair. Robby’s father sets on him with any implement handy in his sadistic rages, and drives his younger brother to probable voluntary death in a car crash. Billy Kozar’s father learns to control his temper only in old age, after victimizing the boy and his mother for years.
For the children trapped in abusive, indeed terrifying circumstances, Izzi makes it plain that they have found some modicum of escape in the friendships they develop, in simple pleasures like baseball card collecting, sports, and rivalry with school bullies. They try to do right, they confess their wrongdoing, but nothing can spare them from the hateful torments they experience at night, at home.
In high school, Robby names the gang The Buzz Boys and, in shop class, makes each of them a medallion with that inscription, which they can keep throughout their lives. However, the other legacy of their childhood is the hate they bear for those who hurt them, which surfaces in different ways as they face or escape from them in manhood, which requires a lifetime of healing and reconciliation.
There is no doubt that Izzi’s book is a distressing read, yet there are small glimmers of hope that shine through each of the five intertwined stories, and at the climax of this well-written saga. The boys are united in school and religious belief, though they all arise from different ethnic backgrounds, which gives the story, set in the wild side of Chicago, greater credence – making it, in fact, a purely American drama. This is a vividly drawn portrait of the horrors all too many children know, containing enough varied elements in the life of the boys – crime, competition, even romance – to keep readers of mystery, crime, and human-interest themes on edge, waiting to turn the next page.
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