All American Boy

All American Boy

infobox Book |
name = All American Boy
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = William J. Mann
cover_artist =
country = USA
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Kensington Books
release_date = 2005
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 339 pp (paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-7582-0329-2 (paperback edition)
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"All American Boy" is a novel by William J. Mann.

Fourteen-year-old Walter (Wally) Day was a good son, 'girly handsome', the smartest boy in his class, an archetypal 'All American Boy' growing up in the 1970s. Twenty years later, Wally’s mother, whom he hasn’t seen in ten years, asks him to come home and Wally, now a handsome actor, has to confront the reasons he left his hometown of Brown's Mill in a cloud of anger, shame, and guilt.

Wally is in denial, denial about his failing career as an actor and denial about the rent-boys he uses. His lover, Ned, has died of AIDS. Returning home, he relives his past: his mother, whom he once loved more than anyone else in the world; his abusive father, Miss Aletha, who had given the boy real affection; and Zandy - the man who loved him and the man Wally cannot forget, the man they branded a pedophile and sent to jail.

As a small boy, Wally was physically abused by his father. He wanted to play with dolls, and was not allowed to. His mother was no help to him at all. Aged 13, he starts to make obscene phone calls, offering sex and one person he rings is Alexander Reefy, Zandy, a known homosexual. Until he phones Zandy, every caller either hangs up or shouts obscenities down the line. But Zandy is different. When Wally says, "How would you like to suck my cock?" Zandy replies, "I might be interested". After calling Zandy every day for two weeks, and two weeks after his fourteenth birthday, Wally cycles over to Zandy's house and asks if he can have sex with him.

Zandy was "the man who first touched Wally's skin. He was the man whose hands live on so strongly in Wally's memory, hands that first caressed the pink buds of his nipples, hands that stroked his hair and gripped his innocent butt... he did things to Wally's body that made him shake, that made him cry, that made the boy love him."

Although Wally naively believes that the relationship is a loving one, his grades at school are affected, he drops out of sports and loses his friends. Zandy also introduces him to drugs. One day, his father follows Wally to Zandy's house, confronts him, asking "Have you been having sex with that pervert." Wally answers calmly, "Yes, I've been having sex with him" and makes Wally tell the police. Zandy is arrested and ends up in jail.

Returning to see his mother and wanting to apologise to Zandy, he meets with the old man, now close to death, who forgives him. Wally also meets Donald Kyrwinski, Dee, an 'adorable' 16-year-old gay boy who comes on to him. Wally finds he can teach a 16-year-old boy about love and takes him back to the city with him.

ee also

*Pedophilia
*List of books portraying paedophilia or sexual abuse of minors


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • All American Boy (album) — Infobox Album Name = All American Boy Type = studio Artist = Rick Derringer Released = 1973 Recorded = Genre = Length = 44:28 Label = Blue Sky Records Producer = Bill Szymczyk Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p …   Wikipedia

  • Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy — was a radio adventure series which maintained its popularity from 1933 to 1951. The program originated at WBBM in Chicago on July 31, 1933, and was later carried on CBS, then NBC and finally ABC. The storylines centered around the globe trotting… …   Wikipedia

  • All-American Boy — Jack Armstrong …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • all-American — all A merican adjective 1. ) an all American player is a student at a HIGH SCHOOL, college, or university in the U.S. who has officially been called one of the best in their particular sport 2. ) an all American boy or girl has all the good… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • all-American — I. adjective Date: 1888 1. a. (also all America) selected (as by a poll of journalists) as one of the best in the United States in a particular category at a particular time < an all American quarterback > b. having only all American participants …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • all-american — I. | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ adjective Usage: capitalized 2d A 1. : composed wholly of American elements played an all American program 2. : thought of as representative of the United States as a whole the tales are not sectional or provincial in… …   Useful english dictionary

  • All-American (disambiguation) — The term all American is colloquially used to describe stereotypically clean cut, mainstream or conventional middle class people (in the United States), particularly teenagers and young adults. The term All American may also refer to:*All America …   Wikipedia

  • all-American — ADJ: ADJ n If you describe someone as an all American boy or girl, you mean that they seem to have all the typical qualities that are valued by ordinary Americans, such as good looks and love of their country. ...the image of the standard all… …   English dictionary

  • all-American — UK / US adjective 1) an all American boy or girl has all the good qualities that many in the US consider typical of Americans, for example being attractive and healthy, and working hard 2) an all American player is a student at a high school,… …   English dictionary

  • American Boy — Single par Estelle Swaray ft. Kanye West extrait de l’album Shine Face B Life to Me Sortie 29 janvier 2008 …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”