It has a removed tone and a clear style, which made the pages really turn for me. They are also a real counterpoint to today's youth culture of self-diagnosed anxiety and trauma as identity. This kid really had a rough upbringing but he didn't realize it himself until much later. There is no self-pity here, which makes you sympathize with him even more. I am glad to hear that this book is sometimes used in the high school curriculum, because I think it portrays the freedom and fear that used to be childhood back before we started putting foam on every counter corner.
58 in 2005, 32 in 2006, 46 in 2007, 54 in 2008, 27 in 2009, 73 in 2010, 61 in 2011, 67 in 2012, 26 in 2013, 28 in 2014, 32 in 2015, 18 in 2016, 58 in 2017, 57 in 2018, 104 in 2019, 66 in 2020, 57 in 2021, 59 in 2022, 93 in 2023
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
9. This Boy's Life: a Memoir by Tobias Wolff
My sister really wanted me to read this as she quite enjoyed it. I found it quite good but have trouble moving it into the excellent category. I feel like these kinds of memoirs came out in the late 80s early 90s and furthermore these kinds of books are just not my jam. I say all that to make clear my biases, because objectively speaking it is a really enjoyable and interesting read, with emotional and intellectual resonance. It's Wolff's narrative of his own childhood following his divorced mother around as she tried to make a go of it in various cities. The bulk of the narrative takes place in Chinook, Washington, where she eventually gave in to the ministrations of a pathetic and abusive mechanic named Dwight to marry her. He is a real asshole, especially to Tobias, but the writing is so subtle in its tone that you are almost sympathetic to him rather than outraged, which I think is Wolff's ultimate revenge.
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