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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
A wonderfully written memoir. Funny, heartbreaking, and real. Anyone who doubts that Tobias Wolff is a master should read this book.
A fantastic memoir with some unbelievable stories and an engaging voice.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I’m not sure why this book has so much praise. First off, the entire formatting of this book is completely atrocious, the page layout blows my mind, and the few amount of chapters is a strange and frankly annoying choice.
The stories told throughout this book are for the most part uninteresting and poorly described.
There were a few decent stories told that I credit the author with, but overall I do not see the purpose of the creation of this book.
The authors life does not feel unique enough, there is a lack of structure that this book needs.
Ultimately I am very dissatisfied and I do not recommend this book.
The stories told throughout this book are for the most part uninteresting and poorly described.
There were a few decent stories told that I credit the author with, but overall I do not see the purpose of the creation of this book.
The authors life does not feel unique enough, there is a lack of structure that this book needs.
Ultimately I am very dissatisfied and I do not recommend this book.
3.5 STARS
"This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Separated by divorce from his father and brother, Toby and his mother are constantly on the move, yet they develop an extraordinarily close, almost telepathic relationship. As Toby fights for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and comical, and Wolff does a masterful job of re-creating the frustrations and cruelties of adolescence. His various schemes - running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars - lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that releases him into a new world of possibility." (From Amazon)
I have seen the movie a hundred times...any time it is on TV I HAVE to watch it! The memoir was great as well but not sure I would read it again
"This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Separated by divorce from his father and brother, Toby and his mother are constantly on the move, yet they develop an extraordinarily close, almost telepathic relationship. As Toby fights for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and comical, and Wolff does a masterful job of re-creating the frustrations and cruelties of adolescence. His various schemes - running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars - lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that releases him into a new world of possibility." (From Amazon)
I have seen the movie a hundred times...any time it is on TV I HAVE to watch it! The memoir was great as well but not sure I would read it again
I honestly haven't read many memoirs, but I thought this one was pretty good. Not stellar, just okay. Stars off for swearing scenes. It was interesting to feel myself relate to the main character even though his actions have no overlap with anything I've ever done in my life. I've never lied, stolen, gotten drunk, failed a class, etc. and yet I felt myself strangely in tune with the character, largely because we get to hear his thoughts and motivations. This book is less about occurrences in the outside world than thoughts in the Jack's head and though his actions and mine differ, we've had similar thoughts, which is kinda freaky. Anyway, this book is a thinker and very well-written and well-read by the audiobook reader.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Quite the memoir. Brings back feelings of nostalgia for things I’ve never experienced; anger for situations I’ve never encountered. The imagery and storytelling was epic.
This Boy’s Life is a memoir dealing with guilt, abandonment, cruelty and lies, but most of all it is a novel about a never dying belief of one’s self. It is an upsetting story about abuse, and about wanting and believing that you deserve a better life. Written in a spare, clear and hypnotic Hemingway-way, a fixating novel.
Toby Wolff, later Jack, and his mother are on the road. They are moving to Utah to start a new life, but unfortunately his mother’s boyfriend Roy comes after them. Jack and his mother eventually escape Roy but soon find themselves moved in with another abuser, Dwight. Dwight demeans, bullies and punishes Jack for no reason and it takes a long time before Jack’s mother realizes what is going on when she is not around, but when she witnesses Dwight hurt her son she decides to get a divorce. In comparison to the protagonist in Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called “It”, a horrific autobiography describing in detail the abuse Pelzer was subjected to as a child, Jack is not perceived as the typical victim one sympathizes. Because unlike the protagonist in Pelzer’s novel, Jack eventually stands up for himself and understands that what he is subjected to is wrong and unfair. Jack deals with his situation through escapism via imagination and as the story moves on he begins to turn his fantasies into reality.
In Dave Pelzer’s novel it is impossible not to sympathize with the protagonist, but Jack is a rising underdog. He stands up for himself and tries to improve his situation and therefore one sometimes forgets to feel sorry for him. Wollf’s memoir is an inspirational story and it teaches that one should never allow anyone else to define oneself.
Toby Wolff, later Jack, and his mother are on the road. They are moving to Utah to start a new life, but unfortunately his mother’s boyfriend Roy comes after them. Jack and his mother eventually escape Roy but soon find themselves moved in with another abuser, Dwight. Dwight demeans, bullies and punishes Jack for no reason and it takes a long time before Jack’s mother realizes what is going on when she is not around, but when she witnesses Dwight hurt her son she decides to get a divorce. In comparison to the protagonist in Dave Pelzer’s A Child Called “It”, a horrific autobiography describing in detail the abuse Pelzer was subjected to as a child, Jack is not perceived as the typical victim one sympathizes. Because unlike the protagonist in Pelzer’s novel, Jack eventually stands up for himself and understands that what he is subjected to is wrong and unfair. Jack deals with his situation through escapism via imagination and as the story moves on he begins to turn his fantasies into reality.
In Dave Pelzer’s novel it is impossible not to sympathize with the protagonist, but Jack is a rising underdog. He stands up for himself and tries to improve his situation and therefore one sometimes forgets to feel sorry for him. Wollf’s memoir is an inspirational story and it teaches that one should never allow anyone else to define oneself.