Rating: 
Summary: not very interesting boy's life
Review: This book does not have a lot to offer. There are so many memoirs out these days and Tobias should have stuck to fiction. His life just wasn't interesting enough and his writing is not compelling enough to make the reader care. . .about him or the outcome of his life. Even the writing was not particularly great. So, I would choose a different book for English classes, one that would resonate a bit more. I would choose one that would offer a bit more moral courage in the face of hardships, something that would show development in spite of a harsh environment. Mr. Wolff just played his cards the way they were dealt and cheated when he felt it would help him. I don't think that's commendable or anything to 'write home about'.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting perspective on early dysfunctional families
Review: In this memoir, author Tobias Wolff tells his story of growing up in the 1950s. He begins at age 10, five years after the breakup of his parents' marriage, when he and his mother are heading West to escape from one of her boyfriends and to start a new life. From this point on, the book details their struggles, which revolve around two main (and clearly related) themes: their financial difficulties and the conflicts which arise with the various men who appear in their lives.The majority of the book centers around a period when Tobias (or Jack, as he was known then) and his mother live with Dwight, a man his mother married in an attempt to keep Jack out of trouble. To some extent, Wolff attempts to portray Dwight as all-bad, but like all people, Dwight is simply flawed. His positive efforts to help Jack are often wiped out by his subsequent negative behavior--e.g., he helps Jack get a paper route but then spends Jack's money without his knowledge, he encourages Jack to become a Boy Scout but won't complete the paperwork to allow him to become an Eagle Scout, etc. Jack's family life was dysfunctional well before the term ever existed. I read this book after seeing a reference to it in another memoir, Alice Sebold's Lucky. Like Sebold, Wolff tells his own story with a largely dispassionate voice and very simple language, both of which dilute the impact of his words somewhat. His emotions more clearly shine through when he mentions what his past brought to his current life, but unfortunately, he does not do this very often. Furthermore, Wolff gives the reader only a small glimpse of what the future holds in store for Jack, which I found to be frustrating. Overall, this was a compelling memoir, but it left me wanting more than what Wolff offered.
Rating: 
Summary: ACCURATE TRUTH
Review: (...)
This is an accurately told book regarding the hard life that some children must go through. The lack of actually having a normal childhood. This is a great book, very emotional Also recommending: Nightmares Echo,Bastard Out Of Carolina,Running With Scissors
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Summary: This Boy's Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff
Review: This boy's life is memoir of a professor named Tobias Wolff at the Syracuse University. The story takes place in Salf lake city, Seattle, and Concrete, Washington. The story takes place in the 1950's. The story starts with a big truck and a trailer running off a cliff and blowing up. Reading the first paragraph one would think that it is one of those action - adventure novels where things blow up. But one was not idea how wrong he or she is. The novel starts out with a teenager (Toby) who is traveling with his mother (Rosemary who is a victim of black Friday) to Utah. Trying to escape an abusive relationship. Also traveling with them are their high hopes of starting a new life but all of that is smashed into to pieces when her abusive lover shows up in Salt Lake City. They flee again, this time to Seattle. Somehow Jack's mother always manages to find and love men who are abusive to her and who make Jack's life miserable. Toby, who changes his name to Jack after Jack London, and for the rest of the novel he is known as Jack. Separated from his father and older brother who is attending Princeton and living the money life Jack can only dream about. Jack never finds out what is a real family life like. He is also gripped with guns just like a normal young child is fascinated with guns would be. When Jack and his mother arrive in Seattle, where his mother meets Dwight. To her Dwight seems to be the perfect man for a husband for herself and a father for Jack. His character can be best described as cruel, antagonist or the villain of the story, the one who steals Jack's childhood, his only motivation is to humiliate and insult everyone and anyone he can. For every move Jack makes Dwight is there to criticize him. Dwight uses physical power to show everyone that he is the king of the castle. Throughout this book Jack raises the question to himself of who he is and struggles with his own identity as a man, and with less than good role models and even more he is looking in the wrong places at the wrong time. Jack is overcome by the power of his fantasies and is convinced that they are even more real than reality; his fantasies help him to overcome his pains and trouble in life which are mainly caused by Dwight. He finds himself becoming a master of deception, pretending to be whatever other people want from him, instead of who he himself is. For example his plans of running to Alaska, forges letters of recommendation from his teachers, and He tries to make his mother happy by becoming what he thinks she wants him to be, and by doing that he ruins a big part of his life. This story somehow seems similar to The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler. As both novels deal with self identity issues and family relations. This boy's life as a book is lacking something, like for all the abuse Jack apparently suffered from Dwight especially, one does not feel any rage or anger at the situation, when reading the novel it felt like reading a newspaper, one does feel towards the character, events and situation in the novel but the feeling is strong enough. The reader is just not encouraged enough to feel strongly about the characters, events and situation in the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Among the very best of memoirs
Review: It seems presumptuous to write a review of this book. It's capable of standing alone, selling forever, and being widely and deeply admired without anyone ever writing another review of it. Published in 1989, This Boy's Life is a memoir of Tobias Wolff's grim teenage years in which he is pitted in a battle of wills against his abusive stepfather. The intelligence and deception employed by the child prove a nearly equal match against the cruelty of the adult in this equation. In exquisite prose, Wolff leavens the grisly reality with dark humor, and readers are surprised, considering the subject matter, to find themselves not depressed overall, but uplifted.
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Summary: This Boy's Life: A Memior by Tobias Wolff
Review: The novel This Boy's Life may sound dull since it is a memoir of a teenager which doesn't catch too many readers attention. As they say, don't judge a book by it's cover(or title). This non-fictional narrative is a true life story about a rebellious boy's vitality in his teenage years. As people continue to read the novel, they will feel as if they are an actual part of the story. Most actually feel an emotional connection with the main character in the story.
Tobias Wolff, the main character, is the insubordinate character in the story. He is a violent teenager who tries to find his own sense of self, but has trouble accomplishing this goal. His insecurities aren't helped by the environment in which he inhabits in. Even though his habits are not the right habits to have, he is persistent in trying to become an alteration of his old self so he could grow out of his un-functional environment. His many efforts and attempts to become a picture perfect person are impossible because of his abusive step father Dwight and other events that always seemed to get in his way. Despite Tobias's stepfather, he manages with his schemes to get away from the life he hated and the person he hated with it.
Jack is the name that the main character Tobias Wolff went by. Jack always wanted to be different because he was always known as the screw up and the misfit in the isolated town Chinook. His mother, Rosemary, deals with her trails after being repeatedly being threatened by her most recent husband Dwight. Rosemary often gets bored with things easily which explains her sometimes odd behavior in the story. Before settling down with Dwight, she was a person who often searched for a new adventure. Dwight was the step father and husband of Jack and his mother. He had three children already with his former wife. It would seem that since Dwight has had experience raising children that his tactics didn't seem to be very well developed. He was abusive to his son and wife and never let anything go. The children weren't a key role in the story and aren't mentioned as much as other characters.
The question is whether or not Jack will ever get away of his home and find the person that he truly is in the real world. He has chances to leave and that's to be accepted by another school away from the west coast. He receives all his forms and does all the paper work and now he just has to wait and see what happens.
The ending of the book was a little disappointing. It happened fast and didn't elaborate enough on the finishing events. It turned out well and was very realistic. The thin novel could answer questions about other people's lives that may not have it as well as others do and can relate to many situations in people's lives. Overall, it was an exceptional book and would be recommended to many.
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Summary: Will he ever get out?
Review: Will he ever get out?
Jack, a young boy growing up in the 1950's, has a crazy and bizarre life. This Boy's Life, a memoir, by Tobias Wolff, is about the problems Jack encounters throughout his teen years. It tells about how he solves, and gets over these problems and moves on with his life.
As a young boy, Jack lived with his mother and father, later they divorce. Jack leaves his father and brother behind, to move to Utah with his mother, and her new boyfriend, Roy. Somewhere along the line things go wrong, and Rosemary, Jack's Mother, leaves Roy, and moves to Seattle and brings Jack with her. Rosemary met a man named Dwight, and were soon engaged to be married. Once they were married, Jack and his mother, moved to Chinook with Dwight. The abusive, drunk side of Dwight shone through once they moved in with him, and Jack made up his mind, he wanted out.
Dwight had three children of his own from a previous marriage. Two girls and a boy, the oldest was Skipper, then Norma, and the youngest was Pearl. Both Skipper and Norma were much older than Jack, so they never really paid any attention to him. Pearl on the other hand, was the same age as Jack. When Dwight would become abusive, Pearl was pretty much the only one that would stand up for Jack. Considering the Fact that Rosemary was laid back, and let Dwight do what he wanted to her son.
Jack's main goal was to get out of Chinook, and away from Dwight. Whenever Jack was home alone, he would go rummaging through everyone else's things. One day, when he was going through his mother's dresser, he found a letter from his uncle, and got an idea. That night, Jack wrote to his uncle, telling him of the tragic life he lead in Chinook, and asked for a way out. His uncle responded quickly, with a plan. Jack would move to Paris with him, and finish high school, and then Rosemary would follow when he graduates.
Do you think Jack will ever get out of Chinook? You will just have to read it to find out what happens to Jack.
Rating: 
Summary: Not "Leave it to Beaver"
Review: Tobias Wolff must have under gone many traumatic times in his life in order to write a book describing them. In this memoir, Tobias Wolff reenacts his childhood for all to witness. This Boy's Life is exactly what it is said to be, Tobias Wolff's Life. As a young teen growing up in the 1950's, life wasn't easy. Add in a divorce and being separated from the rest of his family, life could be near traitorous. That's how the life of Jack came to be like. Jack is forced to leave with his mother, leaving behind a life that he had been familiar with for so many years. They first drove to Utah, leaving everything in there shadow. From Utah, Jack and his mother, Rosemary, moved on to Washington where they spent many more years. In those coming years they had many challenges and met several different people. Some were positive in there lives and some were a threat to their well being. Could Jack make it through all of the hardships that he was going to face in his life? When first starting on his voyage to Utah, Jack was a well behaved kid. Soon after his move, he started hanging around with the wrong people and crowd. He got into smoking, and was soon vandalizing other people's property and often stealing things as well. Deep down, he always wanted a better life for his mother and himself. He was obviously not a true trouble maker at heart. He was determined to get out of his current situation, and wanted to bring his mother along as well. Jack finally decides to straighten up his act. As was said before, he wanted to get away from his life, more specifically Dwight, his mother's new husband, who was a terror to society. He was emotionally unstable and also abusive to the ones he "loved." After many years of moving around and trying to find his place in the world, he is finally accepted in to Hill, the school of his dreams. Although this is the high point of Jack's life at the time, his journey is far from over. He has many triumphs, but all come with many failures. This Boy's Life gives you, the reader, a quick look on how life was back in the 1950's for some people. As most think, it wasn't just the "Leave it to Beaver" era. While that was going, there was also the real world where everyone else was living.
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Summary: This Boy's life Rocks
Review: Tobias Wolff tells about his unstable childhood in his memoir, This Boys Life. He introduces and elaborates on all the different places, situations, and people that have affected him.
The book has all kinds of diverse well thought out characters. The main character, Jack, is a teenage going up in the 1950's. The book is told in the way that Jack sees it. Jack is a gawky ungraceful teenager looking for belonging; he looks for it in his friends and family. Jack is a mellow character; he looks at his life as a learning experience. He does not repeat the same mistakes over again. Jack will only listen and respect one person, and that is his mother. Jack's mom, Rosemary, has done what everyone told her or wanted her to do. She has never been fully happy in her life. When she got a divorce from Jack's father, it was just her Jack. She becomes close to Jack, they develop a bond that no one can break. Then Rosemary meets Dwight, Jack's future step-dad. Dwight is a simply man, all he needs is his beer, the TV, and a gun. Dwight has a very short temper, is easily jealous, and sometimes even abusive. He never really felt appreciated from his family, job, and friends.
The book gives great insight on how an insecure abuse victim handles dilemmas in his life. He turns towards his mother, Rosemary. Rosemary dedicates her life to her son. She wants the best for her son and she tries everything to make sure that he is always happy. Then Dwight enters their life. Dwight falls in love with Rosemary, soon his love turns unhealthy. He becomes obsessive and jealous. He wants all of Rosemary's love and attention, he becomes abusive towards Jack.
Tobias Wolff captures the confusion and frustration of being a teenager. The scenes in the story are places we have all been to and can picture easily. (For example, the Jack's run down high school, and Jack's the dirty home.) Each twist and turn in this story will have the reader wanting to read more to see what will happen next.
This Boys Life takes the reader on a ride with Jack Wolff through all his struggles and triumphs, from the very beginning to the unusual end. This Boys Life will move the reader.
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Summary: One Crazy Life
Review: If you ever thought your life or family was crazy, you must read This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff. It is a memoir that is written in an eventful narrative format.
Jack Wolff is a boy who has one unusual life. He smokes, drinks, vandalizes, and steals. That is, however, until he is forced to move from Seattle to Chinook, with his new step-father, Dwight. Dwight turns out to be an abusive drunk, who will change Jack's life forever.
Rosemary, Jacks mom, is constantly in and out of depression. She meets Dwight and they get married less than 5 months later. Dwight has three kids of his one, two daughters and a son, who are all the complete opposite of Jack. Jack likes to go out and cause trouble, while Dwight's kids have been brought up in a very strict environment.
Jack and his mom desperately want to get away from Dwight's abusive behavior. However, once Dwight finds out they want to leave, he threatens Rosemary with her life. He says that if she ever left him he would slit her throat.
This is where the fun begins. Jack starts to think of many different ways to get away from Dwight. He comes up with some crazy but sometimes very well thought out ideas. One of his crazy ideas was to run away to Alaska with his best friend Arthur. Once they get to Alaska and set up a "camp" he plans on sending for his mom to come and live with him. Another plan is to go to a prep school in California by himself. Once he graduates from this prep school he wants to have his mom run away from Dwight and start a new life with her first husband, Jack's dad. However, these ideas are very hard to do and he never does run away to Alaska. When he tries to get into Hill he runs into many problems that seem unsolvable.
Though Jack's life is tough, he finds ways to be happy at times. However, will he ever get away from Dwight.
This book will keep you reading. Though it is not suspenseful, it is very eventful with Jack running into new things every turn of the way.
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