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nealadolph's review against another edition
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Let me be up front.
I liked parts of this book. The portrayal of adolescent uncertainty for a white gay kid connected with me in a way that perhaps no other book has ever connected with me. I was surprised when it found a moment that resonated, felt true, felt like one that I had lived.
The parts of this book that I liked were far outnumbered by the parts of the book that I didn't like. There is a tedium, plotless, characterless, blandness that defines most of the book. Much of it is without meaningful tension; the moments that do have tension (either for the narrator battling with themselves or somebody else) often felt like they don't really have a direction they are flowing into; the few moments that really feel like they are going somewhere actually don't go much of anywhere.
And then there is the writing. Judging by reviews that abound on the internet, some people seem to have really enjoyed reading the book; others point out that the writing is inconsistent and derivative of other authors. It is lacking it's own voice. I wish I could say I fall into either of these two camps. Edmund White needed somebody to edit this book substantially. The writing is mostly inconsequential, and there is far too much of it. What is a novel should have been a novella, and it would have been tighter, cleaner, more direct, more true if it had been.
I will say the book ends well, or, at least, on a note that seems to be worth reading towards. It's too bad it took 200 pages to get there, and that nothing really meaningful was done with it when we got there. Maybe that's why there is a sequel? I'm not convinced I'll get to reading it.
Was A Boy's Own Story Good? Not really. Good enough for three stars. Good enough to shock readers in the early 1980s, and good enough for me to pass to another friend of mine to see if he would enjoy it - but with a heads up more than a recommendation. "Beware," I'll say. "This was probably only barely good enough to be published."
I liked parts of this book. The portrayal of adolescent uncertainty for a white gay kid connected with me in a way that perhaps no other book has ever connected with me. I was surprised when it found a moment that resonated, felt true, felt like one that I had lived.
The parts of this book that I liked were far outnumbered by the parts of the book that I didn't like. There is a tedium, plotless, characterless, blandness that defines most of the book. Much of it is without meaningful tension; the moments that do have tension (either for the narrator battling with themselves or somebody else) often felt like they don't really have a direction they are flowing into; the few moments that really feel like they are going somewhere actually don't go much of anywhere.
And then there is the writing. Judging by reviews that abound on the internet, some people seem to have really enjoyed reading the book; others point out that the writing is inconsistent and derivative of other authors. It is lacking it's own voice. I wish I could say I fall into either of these two camps. Edmund White needed somebody to edit this book substantially. The writing is mostly inconsequential, and there is far too much of it. What is a novel should have been a novella, and it would have been tighter, cleaner, more direct, more true if it had been.
I will say the book ends well, or, at least, on a note that seems to be worth reading towards. It's too bad it took 200 pages to get there, and that nothing really meaningful was done with it when we got there. Maybe that's why there is a sequel? I'm not convinced I'll get to reading it.
Was A Boy's Own Story Good? Not really. Good enough for three stars. Good enough to shock readers in the early 1980s, and good enough for me to pass to another friend of mine to see if he would enjoy it - but with a heads up more than a recommendation. "Beware," I'll say. "This was probably only barely good enough to be published."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
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