By: Tobias Wolff Publisher: Grove Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Grove Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 304 Publication Date: 2000-03
This unforgettable memoir, by one of our most gifted writers, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling, and ultimately winning. Separated by divorce from his father and brother, Toby and his mother are constantly on the move, yet they develop an extraordinarily close, almost telepathic relationship. As Toby fights for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and comical, and Wolff does a masterful job of re-creating the frustrations and cruelties of adolescence. His various schemes - running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars - lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that releases him into a new world of possibility.
Amazon.com Review: Fiction writer Tobias Wolff electrified critics with his scarifying 1989 memoir, which many deemed as notable for its artful structure and finely wrought prose as for the events it describes. The story is pretty grim: Teenaged Wolff moves with his divorced mother from Florida to Utah to Washington State to escape her violent boyfriend. When she remarries, Wolff finds himself in a bitter battle of wills with his abusive stepfather, a contest in which the two prove to be more evenly matched than might have been supposed. Deception, disguise, and illusion are the weapons the young man learns to employ as he grows up--not bad training for a writer-to-be. Somber though this tale of family strife is, it is also darkly funny and so artistically satisfying that most readers come away exhilarated rather than depressed.
Must read if you saw the movie I have seen the movie over and over and love it each time. It was great to read the actual events that happen and note what Hollywood produced. If you liked the movie the book is a must!
Stark portrait of life Generally the type of book you'd read as a school assignment. Very period - in 50's, I think. Sad story of life as the child of a single mom who marries someone she thinks would be adequate father, even though she knew he wouldn't be a good husband. Not so! Somewhat happy ending....recommend reading if you love to read well-written stories, but definately a downer!
Intriguing... The memoir is intriguing. Any male who reads this can, at some point, relate to the follies, plunders, and disappointments Wolff encounters during his adolescence. It is explicit and candid making for an interesting read.
absorbing and painful with moments of comic relief I'm about 2/3rds through this, and I find it entirely absorbing. Wolff's writing talent is not in using fancy words or complex forms...just one sentence after another of perfectly pitched prose that feels entirely true and believable. He gains the reader's trust and empathy early on and never loses them, even though, in my case, I wasn't much interested in the details of his somewhat sordid and pathetic early years. I keep asking myself this holds my attention, while most memoirs by people I have a lot more in common with don't. (Not to sound like a snob, but guns, dogs, smoking, drinking, etc. have never been my thing.) I think the reason is that his writing seems entirely transparent, plus you care about him. postscript: I've finished it now and towards the end I was increasingly pained by how f**ked up a person Wolff is--or was. It's troubling and yet the writing is still transparent. You might say he gives us a God's eye view: if there is a force that knows everything and can look at all our failings, faults and mistakes with simultaneous compassion and dispassion, then I think such a Being would write up Wolff's early life in the way he himself wrote it. You get a feeling that there is no self-judging or constrictions and nothing to hide: just the truth, the all too human truth.
worth the trip A great true story (almost) about Mr.Wolffs childhood. Robert DeNiro did an excellent job as the step-Father in this movie. This is typical of a Father figure who has no self esteem and picks at every little thing that goes wrong. It is never his fault always someone else. Toby has a tough time with growing up without a father and being carted around the country by his Mother who has no roots to tie on to. I see a lot of teenage problems in this movie that are played out and done extremely well. Take the time to watch this movie, you will not be sorry.
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