As popular as "This Boys Life" by Tobias Wolff is, I didn't find it to be all that special. It was pretty much a kids life growing up. The writing style was a bit sharp for me, lacked elegance, but perhaps thats not a bad thing. Diversity must be cherished. I find that everyone has their big events in theirs lives that would make their respective stories just as interesting to read. That's the word I'm looking for, this book was interesting, but that was about it. It started with a road trip as an 8 year old going across the country and ended up with him becoming a young adult. There were many struggles along the way, some self inflicted, some that couldn't be helped. Toby was only 10 and he acheived the title of notorious vandel. Throwing eggs at firebirds and running around crazy with his friends. He then moved with his mother to a small town with Dwight. This turned out to be pure torture for Toby. Dwight was anything but a loving father. After living there for a few years Toby looked into college with his brother and left the home.
I found reflecting back on the book to be more entertaining then actually reading it. I compared myself to Toby and found few similarities but few differences. Social struggles and family struggles are apparent in many of our teenage lives. We're all looking ahead to college (most of us anyway) and are letting go of the family. It was a great surprise to me when I recently purchased my car. The independence is almost scary. Mom and Dad play a very small role in my life at this point. Toby was on his own too. My home may be a bit better then his ended up being but it brought to my eyes exactly how fast we're all growing up. Its simester point next week, finals and all, and I can still remember day one like it were yesterday. This year has been by far the fastest of any year of my life. If highschool keeps going like this, it'll be gone in an instant. Most say thats how it goes, I hope to savor it as much as I can. I think we all should savor it.
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3 comments:
I agree with you on the point that books like the one you read are not that special. The main character in a book always has family problems and a bad life, or else it wouldn't be interesting to read in the slightest. If it isn't told in an interesting way, then it becomes just another sad story about a boy growing up. A fact that I have been realizing this year is that my life right now is going too fast. I agree with you. Schedules have been getting more and more demanding throughout the century as our culture moves away from manual labor and into the technological world. I wish that we would not have so much homework and the teachers would realize that their class isn't the only one we have. As they say in the dead poet's society, "Carpe Dium". I hope I can eventually learn to seize the day.
I understand the feeling of reading a book and realizing that there was nothing special about it. To me it is a little disappointing, because I'm always looking for those books that are special, but I guess its like a treasure hunt.
I also can have empathy with you justin because i have read many books in the past that have nothing special about them, it leaves a bitter taste in your mind. I constantly think what would i have done instead of reading that? But life is full of mistakes and maybe next time when you read the summary you can better grasp if the book will be a mistake or a great novel. And i agree with campbell that schedules have been getting a lot more crammed compared to the schedules of our ancestors.
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