Augustown: A Novel

Ian Moody was young when he fell in love with Clarky. He used to work washing cars, but business slowed down as he started to hit puberty at 13 and wasn’t as cute as the other kids. Clarky took him under his wing and made Ian his apprentice. For six years, they worked together selling fruit and vegetables. Ian denies to himself that he loved Clarky romantically, but there was “an intensity of feeling” between the two, even though it went unspoken (121). One night, when Ian followed Clarky home with the handcart, he spent the night with Clarky in his hut. Though they were both physically aroused, they did not have any sexual contact and simply slept side by side. 

Ian was with Clarky at the market when the police came and harassed him, falsely accusing him of selling marijuana. He watched as the police threw the callaloo out of Clarky’s cart before beating him violently with their batons and dragging him off to jail. Ian found Clarky after he hung himself when the police cut off his dreadlocks. He cut Clarky down and held his body.

After Clarky’s death, Ian committed fully to Rastafarianism and now calls himself Bongo Moody.