This Boy’s Life is a memoir written by short-story writer Tobias Wolff. I stumbled upon a recommendation for the book somewhere, though I can’t recall the precise source, and was intrigued enough to purchase it.
A boy in the late 1950s United States lives alone with his mother after her divorce. They frequently move from place to place, with his mother consistently drawn to problematic men. Then, after settling in a boarding house at the edge of poverty, she meets Dwight. After moving in with Dwight, Jack discovers that Dwight epitomizes the toxic men to whom his mother is inexplicably attracted. He is a manipulative, deceitful, downright stupid, and self-serving alcoholic who despises Jack. Dwight exploits the boy, forcing him to work and stealing his hard-earned money. Despite being shaped by this harsh environment, Jack retains a moral compass and a sense of decency.
Even when not burdened by Dwight’s demands, Jack struggles. One afternoon, he gambles away the $100 he had painstakingly saved. He also manages to get himself expelled from school, further complicating his tumultuous youth.
Eventually, several pivotal events unfold. Jack’s father appears and helps extract him from Dwight’s toxic influence. Jack is admitted to a boarding school and the narrative gains speed. During his final year, he is expelled and subsequently decides to join the army.
This coming-of-age story resembles Charles Bukowski’s semi-autobiographical “Ham on Rye,” though it doesn’t quite reach the same literary depth. The narrative echoes themes from other contemporary novels about fractured families, such as John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” and Gabrielle Zevin’s “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.”
The book was adapted into a 1993 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro as Dwight. Though I haven’t seen the movie, De Niro’s reputation for portraying intense, complex characters suggests a compelling interpretation of the villainous Dwight.
I have never seen this before in a Wikipedia entry:
Home media
This Boy’s Life was released on VHS September 1, 1993; LaserDisc in November 1993;[12] and on DVD May 13, 2003.[13]
