Southie BoySouthie Boy is the story of a young city boy and his struggles growing up between two traditions, totally part of neither. The plot develops in one of Boston's neighborhoods during and after the Second World War. When Timmy's traditional WASP father is killed in the war, his loss leaves Timmy with many of his father's values but without his father's influence. This situation forces him to confront his mother's culture and make his own decisions in a changing world. Complications arise for Timmy through his search for his identify in a multi-ethnic neighborhood dominated by an Irish Catholic milieu. The incidents and tensions that keep the story moving forward arise from the inherent conflict between the two sides of his family background. The choices the young boy makes in the long run will of course shape his character. Ultimately, the novel is a humorous depiction of Timmy making day-to-day choices in his religious life, in his relations with his mother, his stepfather, his corner gang and with the opposite sex. At the conclusion of the novel we see Timmy coming to terms with his life and at last achieving a balance between the values he has absorbed from his community and from the families of both his dead father and his Irish-American mother. |
