Written when the author was eighteen years old, this semi-autobiographical novel, based on his observations growing up in Italy and the US, explores a damaged outlook of a young man on society and reconciliation with his past.

After being expelled from the Liceo (Italian high school) Nicholas Durán, tough, alcoholic, anger filled, thrill-seeking, self-destructive teenage poet, leaves home to start a journey in Beat Generation style, through Italy, Ireland, Brazil, and the US, where he was raised in the Bronx, looking for revenge against the boogey men of his past that made him a monster, his childhood babysitter, his father whom he never met, and ultimately himself, within a society that struggles to help young ones in need. 

If Holden Caulfield, Arthur Fleck and Henry Chinaski were brought together in a 'Fight Club' loving character, to underline the importance of mental health among young people, The Boy Who Laughs is a Coming-of-Age story dealing with a young broken man striving to figure out that the only way to grow up and grow out of one's nightmares and traumas is through developing acceptance, forgiveness, and responsibility towards loved ones.