keithsdiary's review
3.0
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.
mfjellstrom's review
2.0
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.
dkpnw's review
4.0
Wolff is one hell of a writer. The book left me feeling a bit gloomy at times but I enjoyed it an awful lot.
abroadwell's review
3.0
A good memoir of a boy's difficult childhood and adolescence, growing up with an uncertain mother and an abusive stepfather.
It was gripping at many points, but I found my attention wandering. I've learned that memoir is not my preferred genre, possibly because it is hard to shift the narrative away from 'this happened; then this other thing happened.'
It was gripping at many points, but I found my attention wandering. I've learned that memoir is not my preferred genre, possibly because it is hard to shift the narrative away from 'this happened; then this other thing happened.'
smileyghost's review
3.0
A well written, but unsatisfying read. Although Wolff's ability to tap into the emotions of the reader was impressive, I spent the entirety of the book waiting for something to happen. The whole ride is mostly just witnessing the various flavors of abuse he experiences while he becomes an increasingly disappointing character.
skelleybean's review
4.0
A great story about a young boy trying to learn what it means to be a man without any good role models to find. I loved it, couldn't put it down!
bookhawk's review
4.0
I highly recommend this excellent book. Wolff wrote a sad story about adolescence that was both gray and mesmerizing. Amazing to think how this troubled boy with such humbled beginnings turned out to be such a success.