University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 1-1-2011 Gravesend William Boyle University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Creative Writing Commons Recommended Citation Boyle, William, "Gravesend" (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1187. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1187 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. GRAVESEND A Novel A Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Department of English The University of Mississippi By WILLIAM BOYLE December 2011 Copyright William Boyle 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Gravesend, a novel, is set predominantly in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, though there are several scenes that take place in a fictional upstate town called Hawk's Nest. The novel centers around three characters: Conway D’Innocenzio, Alessandra Biagini, and Eugene Calabrese. These characters are tied together by Ray Boy Calabrese, who has recently been released from prison for his role in the brutal death of Duncan D’Innocenzio, Conway’s brother, sixteen years before. Ray Boy returns and Conway, twenty-nine and working at Rite Aid, seeks revenge. Alessandra, a failed actress who has been in Los Angeles for a decade and has returned to Gravesend against her better judgment, is unexpectedly drawn to Ray Boy. And Eugene, Ray Boy’s nephew, is a gangster-in-the-making who idolizes his uncle for all the wrong reasons.