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Paperback
Publisher: Plume
Originally published in 1982 as the first of Edmund White’s trilogy of autobiographical novels, A Boy’s Own Story became an instant classic for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality. The book’s unnamed narrator, growing up during the 1950s, is beset by aloof parents, a cruel sister, and relentless mocking from his peers, compelling him to seek out works of art and literature as solace—and to uncover new relationships in the struggle to embrace his own sexuality. Lyrical and poignant, with powerful evocations of shame and yearning, this is an American literary treasure.
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| Interesting learning experience for an author |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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I read the book as a potential writer, trying to learn what makes a classic. I still don't know. The author was seemingly open about sexual matters, only to discover in his later writings in the trilogy that he left out some very important sexual experiences in the first book. On the other hand, his style seemed to me to be obscure and inconsistantat times, as if his writing voice was not jet set. Looking back on the experience, I'm not sure what I have taken away from having read it. At the age of 75 years, I finally learned what "corn hole" means, so I guess all was not lost.
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| Over-Descriptive of Places than it's characters |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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This is the only book in my life of 40 yrs did I not complete finishes a book. I have to force myself to read it & had to have great endurance & patience too ! Finally, I had to give up reading at the last 30 pages of the book. The key reason being there's no in-depth plot of the characters. A new character just pop up every few pages & went off site. It's really frustrating thinking there will be some development of the characters but disappointing, none ! Never in my life did I not finish a book as I always respect the author's earnest work but unfortunately for this book, I SIMPLY CAN'T FINISH IT !!! Sad to say.............
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| Fine Prose, Not My Cup of Tea |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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This is my very personal review of a well-respected book. White is a fine prose stylist. I read the book because it had been acclaimed as a gay rite of passage novel. I found large sections of the book to be dull and boring. The protagonist was a disagreeable brat who came from a privileged family. He was an exploitive user who had a self-absorbed selfish streak. The book's beginning, I think, is fairly interesting because it gives a social picture of an America of a certain era, (a white boy's relationship with black America for instance) and because his sexual encounter with Kevin is so well told.
It's a book about endless desires and craving for sexual fulfillment but not about consummation. The boy seems not to have any real understanding or feelings of love.
I think the book is pretentious. The boy doesn't mind committing acts of betrayal as long as he can satisfy his libido. Edmund White was born in 1940 so he grew up in a closeted time for gays, and the book was published in 1982 when some things for gays were beginning to change ever so slightly.
This book has become a Modern Library classic and perhaps it deserves that designation. I don't believe that the book transcends its gay niche shelving to become a rite of passage book for the American everyboy. (Not that I think any book could really do that.) I think this novel gets too mired in self pity and navel gazing. Harsh criticism for a classic? I calls `em as I react to them.
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| Awakening Sexually |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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White, Edmund. "A Boy's Own Story", Penguin Reprint, 2009.
Awakening Sexually
Amos Lassen
"A Boy's Own Story" was originally published in 1982 and it immediately found its way into the gay canon. The story is told by an unnamed narrator who grew up in the 50's and as a homosexual had problems with acceptance. It is a beautifully told story and our hero is wonderfully developed. Edmund White writes literature and that is evident here. The plot is clear and solid and it is written as if each of us has experienced the same things as does our hero.
Remembering that this novel is set in the 50's when homosexuality was still considered a sickness; this is a different look at coming-out.
As out hero grapples with questions about his sexuality, he is forced to accept reality. He takes us into his life as he takes tiny steps out of the closet at a time when his sexuality was considered a taboo. We are with him during the highs and lows of self-awareness and self-doubt and on his journey of looking for love and acceptance. We share his joys and are hurt by his disappointments and through his coming out to others.
I read this book when it first was published and much of it is still with me today. White handles the theme of homosexuality with sensitivity and the themes are somewhat complex. I would not exactly call "A Boy's Own Story" a novel however; it is more of a series of autobiographical sketches. There is a theme but no overall storyline and with the exception of the narrator, there are no sustaining characters. This in no way hurts the book--it is a wonderful read. There is a lot of depth and excellent use of English prose.
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| Lots of washing, less to hang out |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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A reviewer of A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White is presented with a number of problems, In the paraphrased words of one of the book's characters, there may be a lot in the wash, but eventually not much to hang out, and this, by the end of the book, largely summed up what it had delivered. Be reassured, however, that the process of reading A Boy's Own Story is a delight from start to finish. Edmund White's style is quite beautiful, full of complex allusions, superb characterisation and, above all, masterful description. Every character springs to life off the page. If only collectively or individually they had more to offer...
A Boy's Own Story is an adolescent's discovery and realisation of his own homosexuality. The book promises a lot of sex and, sure enough, it both begins and ends with explicit encounters. Throughout the remainder, however, the sex seems to be more in the mind than in the experience. It appears that Edmund White's adult recollection of his teenage dilemmas could have been subject to the embellishment of later reflection. Repeatedly the author stretches time to explore the detail of options whenever the boy of the title is presented with a dilemma. These were surely the voices of later years speaking through an ostensibly reconstructed, but surely imagined past. The boy always spoke eloquently about his choices, considered options in detail, but perhaps not convincingly. One of the more engaging aspects of coming of age sagas is how innocence is portrayed and how its conquest is engineered. In A Boy's Own Story one feels that Edmund White wants to deny that he was ever innocent, or at least suggest that he would ever admit it. And so a spark that could have lit up the glowing prose never quite ignited.
When the book first appeared over twenty years ago, the fact that it did appear in its explicit form, apparently denying the guilt that oozes off every page, might itself have been worthy of note. Twenty years on it now reads as merely dated, but still it reads beautifully thanks to the author's supreme skill with words and expression. The issues that might previously have rendered it remarkable have, however, long since cooled, so now the reader must approach the book either as it is, as an autobiography, or alternatively in historical terms. The book, however, cannot sustain the latter approach.
I will now certainly seek out other books by Edmund White, but in the case of A Boy's Own Story I am tempted to conclude that though writers have to be self-obsessed, when that neurosis is turned completely inward, it raises new barriers that can exclude the reader. Hence the gloss. Hence the sheen of the whiter than white washing that proves to be just half a load.
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