This Boy's Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff
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Book Reviews of This Boy's Life: A Memoir
Book Review: A Journy through Life
Summary: 5 Stars
America is said to be the land of the free. This freedom provides a wide variety in the ways that people choose to live their lives. Everyone has a different and unique family situation. Dysfunctional families exist all over the nation. "This Boy's Life: A Memoir", by Tobias Wolff, puts you in the shoes of a young kid growing up in a dysfunctional family. The main character in the story is the author Tobias Wolff in his childhood. In an effort to escape his abusive father, Toby and his mother move from Florida to Utah to try to get rich from uranium. In Utah, Toby makes friends with the trouble makers at school and becomes a master of deception. As the story progresses, Toby struggles with his identity. He wants to be the son his mother expects him to be, but he can't stop lying and stealing. Later in the story they move to Washington where Toby's mother remarries a man named Dwight, who also turns out to be abusive. And the cycle continues.This story is told very true to life. Wolff tells his story very well so that even if you do not live in a dysfunctional family, you can still understand the harsh situation that people are in across the country. Some families only have a mother, others only a father. Whatever the situation may be, unless someone has lived in a situation like this it is hard to imagine what life might be like in a single parent dysfunctional family. In the book, Wolff gives a child of a unique family situation a voice, and brings his story to life. Wolff tells the story well enough that you understand emotionally, what Toby is going through. Throughout the story, Toby is met with some common conflicts a lot of people encounter during adolescence. How many people can say they have never in some way lied, stolen, or questioned their identity? Not very many. The book is a journey through Wolff's life, but at the same time it's a journey through a lot of people's lives.
This book reminded me of some very valuable life lessons. It reminded me that difficult situations like Toby encountered are not punishments or barriers, but rather character builders. In the story, Toby learned to cope with the absence of his father, and he also learned to search for positives in a world full of negatives. I think most people would agree that situations like Toby's only make you a stronger person. Living and experiencing pain and bad luck, you learn to deal with the things that life throws at you. Your experiences and make you who you are. I think Toby learned a lot from what was happening around him. For him, growing up in a dysfunctional family, I think showed him what he didn't want to turn out to be.
The story ends with Toby and his friend Chuck driving in the car singing along to the radio. Toby had been through a lot, and was still in a tough situation, but for the first time he seemed happy. He had let go of all of the things that were happening to him, and he learned to overcome his situation. This ending sent a very powerful message to me. It reminded me that no matter what life throws at you, you always have hope, and you can always move on.
I think this is a great story because it deals with real life issues. This book is about life, the good and the bad. Though this is a very depressing story, I found this book to be very inspiring.
Book Review: "I had been in hiding, and I'd left a dummy in my place."
Summary: 5 Stars
Leaving Sarasota, Florida, in a run-down Nash Rambler in 1955, Toby Wolff, then ten, and his mother are looking forward to a new life in Utah. Not long after arriving, however, the two make a sudden, night-time departure for newer pastures in Seattle--the mother's abusive relationship in Utah having become intolerable. Later Toby and his mother gravitate to Chinook, a remote village in the Cascades. His mother marries a tough man who cruelly punishes Toby (who has changed his name to Jack in honor of Jack London) for infractions, sells some of Toby's belongings, and tries to enforce military discipline on him.
Wolff's story of his grim life from age ten through high school is a breath-taking recreation, filled with the sorts of longings that motivate sensitive young boys everywhere, but also filled with an a self-awareness that is rare in such autobiographies. Jack (Toby) is a rebel--a sometime kleptomaniac, thief, cheater, liar, and schoolboy miscreant who loves his mother, hates his stepfather (and generally tries to avoid him), and hangs out with similarly alienated, hell-raising schoolmates, who often "escape" through alcohol.
When he is a sophomore in high school, he talks with his older brother for the first time in six years. His brother, now a student at Princeton, remained with his father when his parents split, and he encourages Jack to apply as a scholarship student to an eastern boarding school, thereby escaping his step-father and starting yet another new life. Jack's only academic interest to date has been in writing, thanks to the inspiration of his English teacher, but he is intrigued with the idea of escape. The story of how Wolff lies and cheats his way into a prep school is a classic. (The fictionalized story of his boarding school life appears in his recent novel, Old School.)
Throughout this self-examination, which is hilariously funny in many places and remarkably astute, Jack sees himself as the "Jack" he invents to suit circumstances, while simultaneously revealing himself as he really is, the hidden "Jack." Like many his age, he often takes the easy way out, and he recognizes this, too. As he grapples with perennial issues of growing up, needing to be accepted, learning what is "right," and changing his behavior to meet the differing expectations of peers, family, and the preacher with whom he lives for three months, he comes to new understandings about himself and his place in the world. One of the best and most honest coming-of-age stories ever written, This Boy's Life is a modern classic. n Mary Whipple
Book Review: "This Boy's Life" Book Review
Summary: 5 Stars
"This Boy's Life", By Tobias Wolff, explores the life of a troubled boy reaching maturity in the 50's. The novel is about a mother and son who move to Washington. Toby's mother remarries Dwight, also a divorced parent. Toby later finds out that his stepfather isn't all that nice. While living through a life of lies and deceptions, he meets role models influencing his life in many ways. Although the book may have some "slow parts", the book was interesting, and overall an entertaining reader. The way Tobias Wolff portrayed the younger version of himself was not as a hero, but in need of a hero. Toby was a wild kid when growing up, and did many crazy things. He forged checks, stole gasoline, changed his name to "John", wrote graffiti on walls, and stole money from people on his paper route. Toby does many more acts of insubordinate behavior throughout the story, each revealing part of his personality and that he wants to fit in.
Toby wanted his mother's satisfaction but did not want to disappoint her, so he would often lie to her. "I said I didn't do it. If he said he didn't do it, he didn't do it, my mother said. He doesn't lie." (Page 79) Even if his mother suspected him of lying, she wouldn't question her son's word, thus making it easier for him to get away with things.
There were many people in his childhood that shaped his personality. Toby's mother was a hero for him because she stuck by his side throughout all the trouble he got in. Parents play a major role in their children's personality because they are an example to their kids. If Toby's mother didn't have such a big heart that she did, Toby would have gotten into more trouble than he ended up in. A person that shaped his personality in a negative where all the kids that caused trouble with him. Most of the time it was there ideas, and he just followed through with them.
This book backs up the idea that role models influence children's lives, both good and bad. Toby got into trouble many times throughout the novel, yet he is carefree and happy at the end. Every book has its boring pages, and I admit that this novel also has some. Tobias Wolff summarized his life magically in this novel and I would recommend the novel to anyone who likes to read about comical issues teenagers' face.
Book Review: Toby Wolff; an Unsung hero
Summary: 5 Stars
Tobias Wolff's memoir entitled This Boy's Life is a poignant look at a dysfunctional family set in the "Baby- Boomer" era; a time in America when society was still being exposed to the portrayal of family by such icons as "Lassie" and "Ozzie and Harriet". This book proves to be a worthwhile read as it encompasses the struggles, triumphs, and qualities of an unsung hero.Toby (our hero) once said "I wanted to call myself Jack, after Jack London. I believed that his name would charge me with some strength and competence inherent in my idea of him. [P. 8]" In this comment it becomes clear that Toby held internal struggles and he wanted to have a fresh start and outlook on life. With that being said, it becomes more evident that he struggled before he left and wanted to have a name that would "charge" him with "strength and competence" so that in the future he could triumph over his struggles. Or help prevent those that lie ahead of him all together. That same alter ego helps him in his struggles with Dwight, his evil stepfather and nemesis.
Throughout the book, one basic cliché that makes for a great story is stressed and that is "You can achieve anything that you put your mind to". Although that exact phrase is never mentioned in the story, the way the hero, Toby, overcomes all of his obstacles shows just how pertenent the above mentioned phrase is to Toby's whole life. Like when Dwight made Toby play basketball in dress shoes because he was too cheap and cruel to buy him sneakers. Despite the humiliation of repeatedly tripping, Toby continued to play because he was determined to finish the game.
Toby is "Every man's Hero" because he is a whirlwind of contradictions. He's deeply flawed yet focused. He is vulnerable but sly. And in the end we cheer for this insecure, young boy who proves to be a tower of strength and courage. When Toby risks his life to rescue someone in danger, the evolution of his character is complete. The Unsung Hero.
This Boy's Life: A true classic and a great tale of "Good Overcoming Evil" and a testament to moral fiber and hard work.
Book Review: This Boy's life Rocks
Summary: 5 Stars
Tobias Wolff tells about his unstable childhood in his memoir, This Boys Life. He introduces and elaborates on all the different places, situations, and people that have affected him. The book has all kinds of diverse well thought out characters. The main character, Jack, is a teenage going up in the 1950's. The book is told in the way that Jack sees it. Jack is a gawky ungraceful teenager looking for belonging; he looks for it in his friends and family. Jack is a mellow character; he looks at his life as a learning experience. He does not repeat the same mistakes over again. Jack will only listen and respect one person, and that is his mother. Jack's mom, Rosemary, has done what everyone told her or wanted her to do. She has never been fully happy in her life. When she got a divorce from Jack's father, it was just her Jack. She becomes close to Jack, they develop a bond that no one can break. Then Rosemary meets Dwight, Jack's future step-dad. Dwight is a simply man, all he needs is his beer, the TV, and a gun. Dwight has a very short temper, is easily jealous, and sometimes even abusive. He never really felt appreciated from his family, job, and friends.
The book gives great insight on how an insecure abuse victim handles dilemmas in his life. He turns towards his mother, Rosemary. Rosemary dedicates her life to her son. She wants the best for her son and she tries everything to make sure that he is always happy. Then Dwight enters their life. Dwight falls in love with Rosemary, soon his love turns unhealthy. He becomes obsessive and jealous. He wants all of Rosemary's love and attention, he becomes abusive towards Jack.
Tobias Wolff captures the confusion and frustration of being a teenager. The scenes in the story are places we have all been to and can picture easily. (For example, the Jack's run down high school, and Jack's the dirty home.) Each twist and turn in this story will have the reader wanting to read more to see what will happen next.
This Boys Life takes the reader on a ride with Jack Wolff through all his struggles and triumphs, from the very beginning to the unusual end. This Boys Life will move the reader.