A Boy's Own StoryThe "extraordinary novel" (The New York Times Book Review) about one boy's coming-of-age during the 1950s--and one of the most groundbreaking portrayals of gay life in American fiction "The best American narrative of sexual awakening since Catcher in the Rye." --Chicago Sun-Times Ridiculed by his classmates and beset by aloof parents and a cruel sister, the unnamed narrator of Edmund White's first autobiographical novel finds solace in literature, works of art, and his own fantastic imagination. But as he strives to forge new friendships, his yearning to be loved by the men in his life evokes a crushing sense of shame and a struggle to accept who he is. Lyrical and poignant, A Boy's Own Story--the first of a trilogy, followed by The Beautiful Room Is Empty and The Farewell Symphony--is an American literary treasure that became an instant classic upon publication for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality. |
From inside the book
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Page 32
... shouted , his face contorted , " You scumbag , you old scumbag , " and pushed her down the stairs . My father was furious . He lifted the woman from the floor and said to Kevin , " I think you've done enough for one day , young man ...
... shouted , his face contorted , " You scumbag , you old scumbag , " and pushed her down the stairs . My father was furious . He lifted the woman from the floor and said to Kevin , " I think you've done enough for one day , young man ...
Page 48
... shouted silently at them , outraged and fright- ened . " That's illegal ! " ) . Past the stoops crowded with grown- ups playing cards and drinking wine . In one glaring doorway a woman stood , holding her diapered baby against her , a ...
... shouted silently at them , outraged and fright- ened . " That's illegal ! " ) . Past the stoops crowded with grown- ups playing cards and drinking wine . In one glaring doorway a woman stood , holding her diapered baby against her , a ...
Page 94
... shouted into a telephone . Another woman was giving instructions to a child . This corridor was a sort of catch basin for the domesticity trickling down around me . The smells . The irritations . The complicated lives of abso- lutely ...
... shouted into a telephone . Another woman was giving instructions to a child . This corridor was a sort of catch basin for the domesticity trickling down around me . The smells . The irritations . The complicated lives of abso- lutely ...
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