- A Boy's Own Story
infobox Book |
name = A Boy's Own Story
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption =
author =Edmund White
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country =United States
language = English
series =
genre =Autobiographical Novel
publisher = Dutton Adult
release_date =28 September ,1982
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback &Paperback )
pages = 217 pp
isbn = ISBN 0525241280
preceded_by =
followed_by ="A Boy’s Own Story" is a 1982 semi-autobiographical
novel byEdmund White .Overview
"A Boy’s Own Story" is the first of a
trilogy of novels, describing a boy’scoming-of-age and documenting a young man’s experience ofhomosexuality in the 1950s. The trilogy continued with "The Beautiful Room Is Empty " (1988) and "The Farewell Symphony " (1997), the latter of which brought the setting up to the 1990s. Although all three share a number of themes and are frequently considered to be at least partly autobiographical, they do not tell a linear story in the manner of some trilogies, and can be read independently of one another.Plot
The story starts when the author, aged fifteen, experiences the physical side of young love with his twelve-year-old friend Kevin. Although much the younger boy, Kevin takes the lead in the sexual activity. The two pubescent boys' mutual
sodomy is described in detail with tenderness and realism. Kevin's remoteness – he doesn’t allow kissing – keeps the relationship one sided; the young Kevin forgets all about it once each session is over whereas the author gets more and more worried about his deep feelings. As the book progresses, the encounters between the two adolescents become infrequent and are kept in the background, and the author's soul-searching about his homosexuality continues.
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