This Boy's Life

By: Tobias Wolff

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

First published in 1989, this scarifying memoir has become a classic of the genre, as notable for its artful structure and finely wrought prose as for the events it describes. The book essentially launched the memoir craze that has been going strong ever since. It was made into a movie in 1993.

The story is pretty grim: teen-aged Wolff moves with his divorced mother from Florida to Utah to Washington State to escape her violent boyfriend. When she remarries, Wolff finds himself in a bitter battle of wills with his abusive stepfather, a contest in which the two prove to be more evenly matched than might have been supposed.

Deception, disguise, and illusion are the weapons the young man learns to employ as he grows up, not bad training for a writer-to-be. Somber though this tale of family strife is, it is also darkly funny and so artistically satisfying that listeners come away exhilarated.

©1989 Tobias Wolff (P)2010 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Unforgettable." ( Time )

"At once compassionate and deeply disturbing." ( The New York Times Magazine)

"A jewel-like memoir of childhood in the 1950s...Lucid, bitter, precise, terribly sad: the real-life equivalent of Wolff's acclaimed fiction." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Exceptional

An incredibly beautiful book masterfully performed. Brilliant. Everything you'd expect from a writer of this stature and enhanced by a nuanced performance. Highly recommended.

Well Written

This is a good story. There is far more detail than needed to get the point across. I understand it's a memoir.

Powerful memoir

Despite the fact memoirs are not usually my cup of tea, I found this one fascinating and touching.

Tobias Wolff doesn't need my praise. I am much looking forward to finding his novel "Old School" in the audible catalogoue.

This Boy Had A Life

Having not read or listened to memoirs before, I really didn't know what to expect from this. While I felt the ending was a little abrupt, I became weirdly involved in learning more about Tobias Wolff's childhood. To get the most out of this piece, I suggest the reader gives himself/herself time after each session time to mull over Toby's story. I don't know what you'll discover, but I've walked away with a deeper apreciation for the different ways we have all grown up and how that influences our lives.

A Great Listen.

I liked everything about the story. I also enjoyed the movie that was out in the 90's.Two thumbs ups.

The amazing transparency so essential in a good memoir

Poignantly and elegantly written with the kind of transparency that makes all of us see ourselves, the ourselves that no one else knows, in the pages. Thank you, Mr. Wolff.

My issue with the narrator is that he does not pause in between chapters where a pause is necessary. So it just keeps running on, and you realize a new chapter started only when you realize that the topic changed slightly. The effect would’ve been so much better with even a three-second pause.

My other issue is that he always makes young Tobias sound whiny. Not sure if that’s actually the right word… It’s kind of hard to put my finger on it. Almost with a question mark at the end of each sentence he speaks? But not quite. Surely the boy didn’t speak every sentence with that exact same intonation in real life. But for all I know, Mr. Wolff himself instructed him to read it just this way.

I love the story, listened to it over and over these past few year

I love the narrator, he does such a wonderful job! Author is a great storyteller!

Keen observations of universal themes of boyhood.

This Boy’s Life. Although one person’s narrative, Tobias Wolff’s keen observations inform a better understanding of the universal interiority (whether or not boys and men share it with others)of the growing pains of boyhood life, including expectations of masculine ideals—regardless of one’s sexual orientation. Strikingly self reflective, honest, and vulnerable storytelling. No wonder it’s a classic. Audiobook narrator Oliver Wyman offers impeccable, In depth, emotionally accessible performance.

One of my absolute favorites!

This book reminds me of my own much less troubled childhood. It makes me wonder how almost any young man can survive high school. He tells the story in an unflinching way; he has no trouble pointing out the he is not a hero. Well, most of us aren't.
But it is also, somehow impossibly, optimistic. A strange world weary optimism. Thank you Tobias!!

Fantastic!

Oliver Wyman did an excellent job with the voices of the characters, specially Dwight! Excellent story, I've seen the movie and Oliver was spot on with the characters.