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A Boy's Own Story
- A Novel
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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A Boy's Own Story
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Summary
Originally published in 1982 as the first of Edmund White's trilogy of autobiographical novels, A Boy's Own Story became an instant classic for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality. The audiobook's unnamed narrator, growing up during the 1950s, is beset by aloof parents, a cruel sister, and relentless mocking from his peers, compelling him to seek out works of art and literature as solace-and to uncover new relationships in the struggle to embrace his own sexuality. Lyrical and poignant, with powerful evocations of shame and yearning, this is an American literary treasure.
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What listeners say about A Boy's Own Story
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Tom
- 04-04-17
Good Book, Poor Performance
Where does A Boy's Own Story rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It's got probably the worst performance of all the audiobooks I've listened to.
Would you be willing to try another book from Edmund White? Why or why not?
Yes, if it has a different narrator.
Would you be willing to try another one of George Backman’s performances?
No.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Difficult to say, considering the performance was so off.
Any additional comments?
George Blackman read as if the narrator was a wheezy and overly camp kid. This is true to an extent of what Edmend White was portraying. But the story is also supposed to be funny. If you listen to Edmund White read extracts from the novel, you can see he plays it for laughs, especially some of the sex scenes. However George Blackman doesn't convey this humour. Instead from his performance everything seems to feed back into the main protagonist's insecurity and overt sensitivity. This way of reading makes the main character sound like a caricature of a young gay teen instead of the actual well-rounded character, which is what you get when you read the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- steve london
- 02-10-20
One of the best audible narrators
George Bachman's reading is so arch and camp it makes listening to the story so enjoyable. Normally with audible I alternate between the audible recordings and the actual book - but not in this case - the reading is just so good I listened to it in its entirety in sound. He seems to perfectly render the kind of "curl" of an Edmund White sentence. The readers in audible seem to vary so much - the only other reading performance of comparable level is that given by the reader of the Mark Lewisohn history of the Beatles book (sorry I cant remember the title).
George Bachman is just a fantastic reader and I totally recommend this.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hugh M. Clarke
- 07-09-17
More Than Meets The Eye
Written from the perspective of a developing adolescent, this is a very sharp and entertaining book. Lots of humour and a skilful use of language with an astute portrayal of masculinity. George Backman reads well, catching the uncertain tone of the key character. Deserves a wide audience.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- alex
- 17-08-15
awful
I have no idea who George backman is but he is rubbish at reading
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Antom
- 10-12-22
Dull
Dreadful reading and couldn’t get in to the story. Couldn’t bear to listen to it
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- A. D. Orchard
- 04-09-23
Couldn’t listen to it
I got to chapter 3. Starting falling asleep in the car.
So boring. The reading is awful
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