Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White ISBN: 0-375-70740-9 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 30 May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (27 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautifully told literary classic.
Comment: This story is a very beautifully told literary classic. The intimate proximatey of such a well developed character is truly amazing. White tells a wonderful sotry of a gay boy growing up in the 50's--though he never truly accepts it; not until the second book of the series, anyhow.
Warnings: Many people reviewed this book negatively and I wish to use this space to share who will NOT enjoy this book. First of all, you must enjoy the "literary" style of writing; if you don't enjoy classics and works by the likes of John Irving than this is not for you. A fine example is to compare it to J.D. Salenger's "Catcher in the Rye"--if you read this in your schooling years and hated it, you'll probably hate this also. If you like a solid and clear course of plot you may not enjoy it; this book is written much like life is lived, and that is with a degree of chaos. Also, if you are homophonic, this book is obviously not for you unless you are attempting to open your mind. Finally, if you are the type of person who is offended by the unappologetic beliefs of the 50's that homosexuality is an illness, etc., then you may not want to read this; this was an issue with me, but I came to understand that this would be the thought process of someone in the narrators posision at his age and time.
I loved this book, and hope that other readers will expierience the same amazement as I did.
Rating: 5
Summary: An enduring masterwork
Comment: Edmund White is one of America's finest writers. From his early forays into a then edgey genre of stories that happen to include in depth studies of gay men and their questionable place in the public fabric to his current biographies of famous writers (Proust, et al) to his assessment in literary form of the AIDS crisis and it effect on life in all of America, White has become ever more erudite, polished in technique, and fascinating to explore. Because of this current prominence among gifted writers it is rewarding to return to the early works and see if they contained all the seeds of his success. Having just re-read "A Boy's Own Story" I am even more deeply moved and impressed with White than I remembered. This treasureable book is not just a Pink Triangle groupie read. This is wondrously beautiful writing by all standards. White knows how to make the English linguage sing with acute observations that begin with a keen delineation of line but then blossom fully into metaphors than can only be called poems. These descriptions apply not only to walks in nature or observed qualities of light at varying times of day, but they are used to define his characters in such a vivid manner that they literally step off the page, indelibly.
And the story.....this tale of the grappling of a youth over questions not only of sexuality but of coming of age in social, religious, educational, dream vs reality strikes chords in all of us. His unnamed narrator is in a way the Everyman of Youth. White does not go for the happy Hollywood ending: he writes about the truths of decisions gone awry, dreams dismemebered, realites coming into being. I would hope that "A Boy's Own Story" would be part of the required reading list for the liberal arts schools who care about not only quality of literature but also of complexity of becoming an adult.
Rating: 4
Summary: High quality writing
Comment: An excellent and very readable account of teenage years of growing up, and of aspects of life, parents, sexuality, duplicity and human beings. Vivid and clever use of language. An interesting combination of words, ideas insights, growing maturity and honesty. A book that leaves the reader wanting more. A book with hidden depths. A book that probably needs to be read over more than once, to get its full effect.
 |
Title: The Beautiful Room Is Empty : A Novel by Edmund White ISBN: 0679755403 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: The Farewell Symphony by Edmund White ISBN: 0679754768 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 01 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: The World of Normal Boys by K. M. Soehnlein ISBN: 1575666618 Publisher: Kensington Pub Corp Pub. Date: August, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The Boys on the Rock by John Fox ISBN: 0312104332 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
 |
Title: Dancer from the Dance : A Novel by Andrew Holleran ISBN: 0060937068 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 18 December, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
