Boy's Life

Rating:
Summary: Formulaic and disappointing
Review: "Boy's Life" is a pleasant but rather disappointing book. I enjoyed hearing the familiar voices of small-town life as I read but was unimpressed beyond that.The story was too formulaic -- about midway through it strips itself naked: you begin to see a wonderful story about a boy and his town that has been sold out to a bloodthirsty public who needs "a mystery." Even the mystery is diluted and predictable. Additionally, I found the prose rather sophomoric and lacking much of the "poetry" one might find in Pat Conroy or Larry McMurtry.I can't totally tear it down, though. The characters (or caricatures) are stunningly real to anyone who grew up in Zephyr, Alabama or (as the case may be) Luling, Texas. McCammon does a fine job painting a picture of the characters, setting, and dialogue one would expect in Zephyr. The prose is also imbued with the native humor of the South some find so irresistable. The chapter "Wasps at Easter" is humor of Twain proportion.While it's an undemanding read, it's rather mediocre in its presentation. It's neither outstanding as a coming of age story nor particularly clever as a mystery. It's no "The Body" by Stephen King

Rating:
Summary: Boy's Life- Bad
Review: This book has it all. It was a real thrill to read. The author has a great ability to give depth to his characters without spending volumes of time describing them. Throughout the book I kept thinking to myself that it would be great if they came out with a movie but realized it wouldn't do the book justice. There are stories within the story about monsters, magic, religion, civil rights, science fiction, animal cruelty, war criminals, rural vs. urban, and many more. I found myself going through some great emotions like laughter, anticipation, fear, depression, sadness, relief, joy, and wonder. It was great stepping back in time to read about growing up and the most touching part is that you can see your own childhood for a brief moment again.

Rating:
Summary: One of the TOP thriller/horrors I've EVER read!
Review: Boy's Life is downright EXCELLENT. I've enjoyed it so much that it has become a personal tradition to read it during the summer! The story is a great thriller and extremely gory at times, but at the same time will have you right there remembering your own summers off from school as a kid making forts, catching frogs and riding your bike everywhere. It kind of combines "Stand by Me" with "Tremors," tosses in a taste of "It" and a great creepy school... great stuff!
I have to agree with prior comments that it should be called a "classic" of the genre - absolutely excellent with no other books in it's league. HIGHLY recommended - a must-read for any horror enthusiast.

Rating:
Summary: Boy's Life * * * * *
Review: Boy's Life,
Mr. McCammons prose flow like sweet melted butter. Robert McCammons writing is top notch. Head and shoulders above the rest. This is perhaps the best coming of age story I have ever read.
A murder in the small southern town of Zephyr is merely the canvas used to paint a much larger tale of a boy's life. The character's we engage along the way are sweet, innocent, mean, burly, soulless and soulful. All the colors of emotion wrapped into an elegant tale. This is an exciting and very moving novel. I laughed as well as cringed at the antics of all the players. I also felt the warmth and sadness of the love and loss that was encountered along the way.
To say this is simply a coming of age story would be like calling the Golden gate bridge "Just a bridge" This book is a true master piece, written by a master, a timeless classic, one that I shall always treasure.


Rating:
Summary: Boy's Life
Review: Boy's Life
He's just an average American boy ... in a small town overflowing with magic

Boy's Life

By Robert R. McCammon

First Edition 1991

580 pages




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Review by Kurtis Hogg
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t is early 1964 in the small town of Zephyr, Ala. As an 11-year-old boy named Cory Mackenson accompanies his milkman father on his daily rounds, man and boy see a runaway car crash into a bottomless lake. Dad dives in to save the driver and, before running out of air and returning to the surface, sees that the man has been murdered and handcuffed to the steering wheel.


Over the next few months, as Cory sees his dad deteriorate beneath the weight of ruinous nightmares, he dedicates himself to solving the mystery so he can restore his dad's peace of mind. But that's not all he has to deal with in Zephyr, a small town with more than its share of terror and magic. Some of the dangers are entirely human: a family of local gangsters, for instance. Others are reflections of the changes then overtaking American society: the local controversy about the alleged satanic influence of a new musical group known as the Beach Boys. Others are just plain sad, like the heartbreaking explanation for the peculiar madness that leads the son of the town's richest man to walk around in public totally naked.

But there's also darker and more wondrous magic: a river plays host to a giant reptilian monster the locals call Old Mose. A ghostly hot rod drag-races along the highway. A triceratops breaks away from a traveling carnival and head-butts passing automobiles. Cory himself acquires a sentient bicycle named Rocket, which helps him win a memorable encounter with local bullies. There are also ghosts, witches, a living-dead dog, a replay of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and an encounter with reasonable facsimiles of the Mummy, the Wolfman and the Frankenstein monster.

Throughout, Cory continues to piece together the mystery of the murdered man in the lake. He knows the killer is one of his neighbors. But will he find the killer before the killer finds him?

Triumph of a career cut too short
The genius of Boy's Life lies in the way it captures such moments of youthful transcendence. The murder mystery at its core is, like the depredations of Injun Joe in Tom Sawyer, just the barest excuse for a plot; the book lays it aside for long sections presenting a wealth of chapters and incidents that, printed in excerpt, function as world-class short stories.

Incidents along the way range from the aftermath of a showing of Invaders from Mars, which leads to Cory's discovery that not all parents are as nice as his own ... to a gentle horror story that results when Cory refuses to let death take his beloved but ailing dog. The murder mystery in the background is conventional stuff by comparison-it's there, and it works to provide Cory with a purpose, but the grand achievement of this book lies in the wealth of invention that surrounds it. The rich characterizations, the finely wrought detail and the fantastic elements that seem to confront the boy on a daily basis all work together to produce a novel with enough wonders to fill 20 lesser books.

Robert R. McCammon began his career as a popular horror novelist whose books echoed Stephen King's. His best works in that line included a wild B-movie alien invasion novel called Stinger, an epic end-of-the-world yarn called Swan's Song and a World War II novel called The Wolf's Hour, distinguished by a secret-agent hero who also happens to be a werewolf. They're all violent, and they're all effective pulpy reads. But Boy's Life was a quantum leap forward for him. With that book, he entered Ray Bradbury country and conquered it. For reasons of his own, he wrote only one more novel-the fun and eccentric Gone South-before falling silent. He has since officially declared his retirement from writing. But Boy's Life would have been enough to cement any author's reputation.

I have fallen into the expensive habit of buying and lending out copies of this book, knowing that they'll never be returned. Even the most trustworthy borrowers prefer to keep it. ...

Rating:
Summary: Similar to a 10 hour version of the movie, Stand By Me-good!
Review: This book describes the life of a 12 year old boy in a small town in Alabama in the mid-60's. This was a very enjoyable book. If you were to take the movie, Stand By Me, add more events such that it is more like a 10 hour flick, then make the movie into a book...you have got this novel. A great story of friends, family, society, mystery, and murder with a small, sweet touch of the mystical.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!
Review: I first read this book when I was in sixth grade, after my father and sister had both read and adored it. Now, twelve years later, I pick this book up, at least, once every other year to relive the magic that McCammon creates. I have owned several copies of this book, due to the fact that whenever I lend it out, it never comes back!! I recommend buying two copies, one to lend and one to love!!!

Rating:
Summary: Still Holds Up After a Decade!
Review: I first read "Boy's Life" when it was first published over 10 years ago. I was still a young'un in college and could really relate to Cory's tale of childhood chills & thrills. I always thought "Boy's Life" was McCammon's best novel. I have often thought of this book and now with a son of my own I wanted to re-read "Boy's Life" and to capture again it's magic of youth and boyhood fantasy. I was worried though, because I began wondering if when I read again, a book that I remember so fondly, would I still view it the same and would it still have the same impact on me? I would have hated to find "Boy's Life" was something I had outgrown, or found the memory of the story and the story itself we completely different. The great news is that "Boy's Life" is still fantastic and is simply one of the greatest coming of age stories available. The magic and mystery of the novel are wonderful, and I found myself caught up once again in the goings on in the town of Zephyr. If you haven't read "Boy's Life" or were hesitant based on it being written by a "horror" writer, give this wonderful novel a chance. It is unlike anything McCammon has written, and most likely, even coming out of his semi-retirement, will remain unlike anything he will write. Also, if you have read this novel and enjoyed it, make sure you pick up Dan Simmons' "Summer of Night". "Summer of Night" is stronger in the horror department, but the feel and flow of the book is very similar to "Boy's Life".

Rating:
Summary: Pure, delightful enchantment!
Review: It's 1964, a time of racism and turmoil. Zephyr, Alabama, is a small town, but it's caught up in the events of the world, too. There's no escaping reality, as one boy, Cory Mackenson, is about to find out.

It begins when Cory and his father witness a car disappearing into a lake rumored to be bottomless. Cory's father dives in, and before the car goes completely under, he witnesses something terrifying: a man, handcuffed to the wheel, with copper wire around his throat. Murdered.

But summer is coming. A summer filled with wonder, mystery, magic, and tragedy. It is a summer where Cody will realize that magic can really happen; where he will witnesses a creature that should've been extinct millions of years ago; where he will discover the power and love of family, and the unbreakable bond of friendship; where he will know terror as no one ever has.

Robert R. McCammon's writing is not always consistent. Some of his novels, such as "Mystery Walk," have been almost unreadable; others, such as "Stinger" and "Swan Song," have been enjoyable but forgettable; others, such as "Wolf's Hour," have been masterpieces. "Boy's Life" belongs in this latter category.

A comparison to Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine" is unavoidable; however, McCammon manages to throw something into his tale that even Bradbury could not: suspense. This is a suspense novel, set aound a young boy and his quest for the truth, no matter what the cost.

"Boy's Life" is completely enchanting and thoroughly unforgettable. It is a novel for fans of any literay genre. It is, plain and simple, a masterpiece.