This Boy's Life (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Tobias Wolff
- First Published: 1989
- Type of Work: Memoir
- Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir
- Subjects: Family or family life, Mothers, Parents and children, Adolescence, Abused persons, Pregnancy, Women, Catholics or Catholic Church, Pacific Northwest, Stepfamily, Cowards or cowardliness
- Locales: Seattle, WA, Salt Lake City, UT, Chinook, WA
In This Boy's Life, Wolff offers a detailed, highly subjective portrait of himself and his family from the time that he was ten until he leaves for boarding school at fifteen. He develops a portrait of himself as someone with a passion for self-invention, beginning with his decision to change his name to “Jack,” upon his arrival in a new town with his mother, Rosemary, in 1955. However, his new name does not appease the nagging sense of unworthiness he carries with him everywhere nor his tendency to invent stories about himself. Jack's existence is complicated by his...
[The entire page is 914 words long]
Navigate
- This Boy's Life (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
- This Boy’s Life (Magill Book Reviews)
- This Boy’s Life (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
See Also:
- Add This Boy's Life to your favorites