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Boy's Life
Robert McCammon delivers “a tour de force of storytelling” ( BookPage ) in this award-winning masterpiece, a novel of Southern boyhood, growing up in the 1960s, that reaches far beyond that evocative landscape to touch readers universally.
Boy’s Life is a richly imagined, spellbinding portrait of the magical worldview of the young—and of innocence lost.
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson—a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake—and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father’s pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown—for his father’s sanity and his own life hang in the balance…
Boy’s Life is a richly imagined, spellbinding portrait of the magical worldview of the young—and of innocence lost.
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson—a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake—and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible, haunting vision of death. As Cory struggles to understand his father’s pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that surround him. From an ancient mystic who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown—for his father’s sanity and his own life hang in the balance…
610 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1991
About the author
Robert McCammon
158 books5,331 followersPseudonyms: Robert R. McCammon; Robert Rick McCammon
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
Robert McCammon was a full-time horror writer for many years. Among his many popular novels were the classics Boy's Life and Swan Song. After taking a hiatus for his family, he returned to writing with an interest in historical fiction.
His newest book, Leviathan, is the tenth and final book in the Matthew Corbett series. It was published in trade hardcover (Lividian Publications), ebook (Open Road), and audiobook (Audible) formats on December 3, 2024.
McCammon resides in Birmingham, Alabama.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,551 reviews
June 17, 2023
EDIT: I think enough time has passed to confidently say that this is the best book I have ever read in my life - my pick for if I am stranded alone on an island with only one book.
I have neither the words nor the talent to adequately describe what this book did to me. It should be on your bucket list, no matter who you are.
On the surface, this book is a murder mystery. Forget the minimal supernatural elements, it plays a much smaller part than you might think.
It's a coming-of-age story about a twelve year old boy, Cory Mackenson, growing up in a town called Zephyr in the early sixties. And the story begins with him and his father, witnessing the aftermath of a murder and the killer's attempt to hide it.
And, BAM, you find yourself in a different world.
It takes an exceptional writer to tell this story in 600 pages without boring the reader. This book is truly a masterpiece of literature - simply because of the feelings it invokes in the reader.
So, what happens in this story?
Everything! Absolutely EVERYTHING!
Allow me to explain.
I was 17 years old when I read IT by Stephen King - a daunting task with a book of more than a thousand pages. King managed to take me back a few years, to connect with a younger, freer and naiver me. Those memories were still fresh in my mind and I had no difficulty going along with the ride. Not only could I relate with those characters, I could connect to them on a personal level.
Twenty five years later I read BOY'S LIFE, and, for the life of me, I can't believe I'd forgotten so much about those feelings I had as a young man. But during these last two weeks, I've felt things I didn't know still existed inside me. For the last two weeks, I felt that magic again - I'm certain it's to a much lesser extent than in my youth, but this is the closest I have come to it in my adult life.
This story covers all the important stuff:
Ignorance vs. Tolerance
Love vs. Hate
Anger vs. Fear
Hope vs. Pessimism
Grief vs. Acceptance
Grudges vs. Forgiveness
Bullies vs. Victims
Loss vs. Grace
There were so many situations in this book which transformed me back to my youth. Times have changed, as they always will...I have changed, as any adult does.
It also saddens me a little, to look at my son (almost 4), and to think about the things he will never know in his life. He is growing up in a different world than I did, especially if you look at the age gap, will he be able to relate to this book when he is older?
I'm a bit emotional as I write this, I might change this review in the future. For now, this is one of the best books I've ever read, it will rate in my top 5 for sure. I hope that everybody will grant themselves the chance to go on this journey.
*****
I have neither the words nor the talent to adequately describe what this book did to me. It should be on your bucket list, no matter who you are.
On the surface, this book is a murder mystery. Forget the minimal supernatural elements, it plays a much smaller part than you might think.
It's a coming-of-age story about a twelve year old boy, Cory Mackenson, growing up in a town called Zephyr in the early sixties. And the story begins with him and his father, witnessing the aftermath of a murder and the killer's attempt to hide it.
And, BAM, you find yourself in a different world.
It takes an exceptional writer to tell this story in 600 pages without boring the reader. This book is truly a masterpiece of literature - simply because of the feelings it invokes in the reader.
So, what happens in this story?
Everything! Absolutely EVERYTHING!
Allow me to explain.
I was 17 years old when I read IT by Stephen King - a daunting task with a book of more than a thousand pages. King managed to take me back a few years, to connect with a younger, freer and naiver me. Those memories were still fresh in my mind and I had no difficulty going along with the ride. Not only could I relate with those characters, I could connect to them on a personal level.
Twenty five years later I read BOY'S LIFE, and, for the life of me, I can't believe I'd forgotten so much about those feelings I had as a young man. But during these last two weeks, I've felt things I didn't know still existed inside me. For the last two weeks, I felt that magic again - I'm certain it's to a much lesser extent than in my youth, but this is the closest I have come to it in my adult life.
This story covers all the important stuff:
Ignorance vs. Tolerance
Love vs. Hate
Anger vs. Fear
Hope vs. Pessimism
Grief vs. Acceptance
Grudges vs. Forgiveness
Bullies vs. Victims
Loss vs. Grace
There were so many situations in this book which transformed me back to my youth. Times have changed, as they always will...I have changed, as any adult does.
It also saddens me a little, to look at my son (almost 4), and to think about the things he will never know in his life. He is growing up in a different world than I did, especially if you look at the age gap, will he be able to relate to this book when he is older?
I'm a bit emotional as I write this, I might change this review in the future. For now, this is one of the best books I've ever read, it will rate in my top 5 for sure. I hope that everybody will grant themselves the chance to go on this journey.
*****
September 15, 2023
There is no way that any review could live up to this book. It is utterly fabulous. It reels you in and never lets you go. It will bring back every good memory that you had while growing up. The feeling of freedom you experienced riding your bike, exploring wooded areas and just generally being a kid.
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book:
We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves.
Do yourself a favor. Read this book. Get a little of that magic back.
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book:
We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves.
Do yourself a favor. Read this book. Get a little of that magic back.
January 25, 2024
A totally magnificent coming-of-age standalone.
Fantasy and sci-fi will always be my favorite genres to read. I’m not ashamed to say that I haven’t read a lot of novels outside SFF; mainly because I found the popular and highly acclaimed non-SFF books that I've read so far to be mostly disappointing or just not satisfying enough. However, there will always be that rare occurrence where I pick up a random book outside of my favorite genre and realized that I have been transported by a magical portal. Boy’s Life was that kind of book; it grabbed my full attention from the prologue and it still dazzled me after I finished it.
Picture: Boy’s Life by David Ho
I’m almost 30 years old now and reading this book as an adult simply hit my feelings on all front. I was transported to my childhood for a while. Maybe I should’ve read this book when I was young to understand the importance of childhood and growing up; to appreciate the fleeting and short moment of that time.
But I also know that I was just a boy. I know that I wouldn’t be able to appreciate how incredible and impactful this book if I’ve read it as a kid instead of now. Childhood to me is a period of time that shine the brightest in contemplation. Except for homework and exams, freedom was given in abundance, I just didn’t know it back then. It’s only through the telescope of adulthood, age, and restriction from the invisible chains of responsibilities that the gravitas and happiness of childhood became meaningful; the constant accumulation of experience and hardship growing up made reading this book an irreplaceable experience. I have forgotten a lot of events from my childhood, some still stand out. The one that stands out was the simple things done in repetition. Sleeping over at friends’ or cousin’s house, learning and riding a bicycle, caring for your pets, being late to school, just the simple things. When we’re kids, we're most likely to be protected by our parents from the burden and brutality of the world that exist; adulthood means we’re the one who does the protecting.
What’s the point of me saying all this? Here’s why. Boy’s Life made me lived that period of time while retaining the knowledge and experience I have accumulated to understand the importance and beauty of childhood. For ten hours, I was back to being a boy. The book was so beautifully written and the characters really get under my skin. Our eyes were lenses that reflected magic and wonder in everything we saw, we allowed our imagination to wonder and came up with an impossible situation that if we talk about it as an adult, we’ll most likely be called insane.
Boy’s Life was published in 1991 and yet it still managed to resonate easily with me, a reader who read it for the first time in 2018. It has won many awards but it should’ve won more. I don’t know if this book can be classified as a classic but it should be. It’s a timeless lesson on life, death, hardship, racism, reality, appreciation, faith, and growing up.
Magic, horror, mystery were evident but they’re not really the main focus of the book. The main driving force was the wonder of childhood that can be found in almost every paragraph. It was a beautifully well-told story full of poignancy; a classic and a new addition to one of my favorite standalone (that’s not part of a series) books of all time.
If you want to regain the forgotten magic in you, Boy’s Life is a magical portal that will transport you to the past even if you're reading this for the first time. And if you’re still not sure about giving this book a go, I’ll close this review with a passage from the prologue. It’s a long one but if you find this passage heartwarming or lovely to read, trust me that it’s very probable that you will have a wonderful and magical time with this book.
Read this absolutely amazing book! It is the best non-SFF standalone novel I've ever read. That’s all.
You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
Fantasy and sci-fi will always be my favorite genres to read. I’m not ashamed to say that I haven’t read a lot of novels outside SFF; mainly because I found the popular and highly acclaimed non-SFF books that I've read so far to be mostly disappointing or just not satisfying enough. However, there will always be that rare occurrence where I pick up a random book outside of my favorite genre and realized that I have been transported by a magical portal. Boy’s Life was that kind of book; it grabbed my full attention from the prologue and it still dazzled me after I finished it.
Picture: Boy’s Life by David Ho
I’m almost 30 years old now and reading this book as an adult simply hit my feelings on all front. I was transported to my childhood for a while. Maybe I should’ve read this book when I was young to understand the importance of childhood and growing up; to appreciate the fleeting and short moment of that time.
“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. Hold on to being a boy as long as you can, because once you lose that magic, you’re always begging to find it again.”
But I also know that I was just a boy. I know that I wouldn’t be able to appreciate how incredible and impactful this book if I’ve read it as a kid instead of now. Childhood to me is a period of time that shine the brightest in contemplation. Except for homework and exams, freedom was given in abundance, I just didn’t know it back then. It’s only through the telescope of adulthood, age, and restriction from the invisible chains of responsibilities that the gravitas and happiness of childhood became meaningful; the constant accumulation of experience and hardship growing up made reading this book an irreplaceable experience. I have forgotten a lot of events from my childhood, some still stand out. The one that stands out was the simple things done in repetition. Sleeping over at friends’ or cousin’s house, learning and riding a bicycle, caring for your pets, being late to school, just the simple things. When we’re kids, we're most likely to be protected by our parents from the burden and brutality of the world that exist; adulthood means we’re the one who does the protecting.
What’s the point of me saying all this? Here’s why. Boy’s Life made me lived that period of time while retaining the knowledge and experience I have accumulated to understand the importance and beauty of childhood. For ten hours, I was back to being a boy. The book was so beautifully written and the characters really get under my skin. Our eyes were lenses that reflected magic and wonder in everything we saw, we allowed our imagination to wonder and came up with an impossible situation that if we talk about it as an adult, we’ll most likely be called insane.
“Maybe crazy is what they call anybody who's got magic in them after they're no longer a child.”
Boy’s Life was published in 1991 and yet it still managed to resonate easily with me, a reader who read it for the first time in 2018. It has won many awards but it should’ve won more. I don’t know if this book can be classified as a classic but it should be. It’s a timeless lesson on life, death, hardship, racism, reality, appreciation, faith, and growing up.
“No one ever grows up. They may look grown-up, but it's just the clay of time. Men and women are still children deep in their hearts."
Magic, horror, mystery were evident but they’re not really the main focus of the book. The main driving force was the wonder of childhood that can be found in almost every paragraph. It was a beautifully well-told story full of poignancy; a classic and a new addition to one of my favorite standalone (that’s not part of a series) books of all time.
If you want to regain the forgotten magic in you, Boy’s Life is a magical portal that will transport you to the past even if you're reading this for the first time. And if you’re still not sure about giving this book a go, I’ll close this review with a passage from the prologue. It’s a long one but if you find this passage heartwarming or lovely to read, trust me that it’s very probable that you will have a wonderful and magical time with this book.
“You know, I do believe in magic. I was born and raised in a magic time, in a magic town, among magicians. Oh, most everybody else didn’t realize we lived in that web of magic, connected by silver filaments of chance and circumstance. But I knew it all along. When I was twelve years old, the world was my magic lantern, and by its green spirit glow I saw the past, the present and into the future. You probably did too; you just don’t recall it. See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God’s sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they’d allowed to wither in themselves.
After you go so far away from it, though, you can’t really get it back. You can have seconds of it. Just seconds of knowing and remembering. When people get weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust turning in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.
That’s what I believe.
The truth of life is that every year we get farther away from the essence that is born within us. We get shouldered with burdens, some of them good, some of them not so good. Things happen to us. Loved ones die. People get in wrecks and get crippled. People lose their way, for one reason or another. It’s not hard to do, in this world of crazy mazes. Life itself does its best to take that memory of magic away from us. You don’t know it’s happening until one day you feel you’ve lost something but you’re not sure what it is. It’s like smiling at a pretty girl and she calls you “sir.” It just happens.
These memories of who I was and where I lived are important to me. They make up a large part of who I’m going to be when my journey winds down. I need the memory of magic if I am ever going to conjure magic again. I need to know and remember, and I want to tell you.”
Read this absolutely amazing book! It is the best non-SFF standalone novel I've ever read. That’s all.
You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions
March 13, 2024
⛧⛧⛧⛧⛧
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘺'𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘔𝘤𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬," said the Twerk. His recommendation came with a warning: "𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴."
Naturally, hearing one of my favorite humans raving about 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 made me pick it up without hesitation. While part of me wanted to dislike the book, as the idea of the 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 hijack amused me to no end, I found myself wholly immersed in 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. This stunningly written novel revealed itself to be more than a sheer towering coming-of-age masterpiece, but also as a portal into my own childhood; as if rising from a subterrestrial maze, memories and a sense of nostalgia blew free out of the pages right through my skull.
Told through the eyes of young Cory Mackenson, 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 takes place in Zephyr, a small town in Alabama during th 60s. This is a tale about murder and mystery, about magic, friendships, family, falling in and out of love with people, music, realizations, and even monsters. Mostly, it's a tale about you. Well, about your inner child, tucked away deep under the clay of time. 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 is a reminder of the magic that is out there, waiting to crawl upon us like phantom limbs and make our soul tremble if we only choose to see it. A reminder of the magic hidden in primal experiences, even when they bend us down. In going to the woods without expecting to be given answers or find peace, but to become one with the forest and explore it with childish curiosity and courage. A reminder for those who allowed the calamities of a rapidly declining age and the mystery of life to distress and frighten them to a point they forgot about the beauty hidden in simplicity and in the untamed. In putting the phone down and forgetting about Wi-Fi for a while, in riding your bicycle while feeling the breeze blowing through your hair and through the veil of your consciousness.
It is rare that a book manages to move me so deeply to the point of tears. I couldn't put it down, and at the same time, I didn't want it to end. Like in some kind of powerful ceremonial invocation, Robert McCammon's superior writing speaks directly to the heart's unfettered youth, ever luring you back.
𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: "𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸? 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨."
𝐌𝐞: "𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴? 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯."
"...𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞..."
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘺'𝘴 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘔𝘤𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬," said the Twerk. His recommendation came with a warning: "𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴."
Naturally, hearing one of my favorite humans raving about 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 made me pick it up without hesitation. While part of me wanted to dislike the book, as the idea of the 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 hijack amused me to no end, I found myself wholly immersed in 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞. This stunningly written novel revealed itself to be more than a sheer towering coming-of-age masterpiece, but also as a portal into my own childhood; as if rising from a subterrestrial maze, memories and a sense of nostalgia blew free out of the pages right through my skull.
Told through the eyes of young Cory Mackenson, 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 takes place in Zephyr, a small town in Alabama during th 60s. This is a tale about murder and mystery, about magic, friendships, family, falling in and out of love with people, music, realizations, and even monsters. Mostly, it's a tale about you. Well, about your inner child, tucked away deep under the clay of time. 𝐁𝐨𝐲'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 is a reminder of the magic that is out there, waiting to crawl upon us like phantom limbs and make our soul tremble if we only choose to see it. A reminder of the magic hidden in primal experiences, even when they bend us down. In going to the woods without expecting to be given answers or find peace, but to become one with the forest and explore it with childish curiosity and courage. A reminder for those who allowed the calamities of a rapidly declining age and the mystery of life to distress and frighten them to a point they forgot about the beauty hidden in simplicity and in the untamed. In putting the phone down and forgetting about Wi-Fi for a while, in riding your bicycle while feeling the breeze blowing through your hair and through the veil of your consciousness.
It is rare that a book manages to move me so deeply to the point of tears. I couldn't put it down, and at the same time, I didn't want it to end. Like in some kind of powerful ceremonial invocation, Robert McCammon's superior writing speaks directly to the heart's unfettered youth, ever luring you back.
𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: "𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸? 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨."
𝐌𝐞: "𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴? 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯."
"...𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐌𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞, 𝐢𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞..."
September 21, 2019
Update: $1.99 Kindle US 9/21/19
I am almost at a loss of words about this book. It is one of my favorites now. I thought it was going to be just about a mystery of who murdered someone and and father and son trying to find out the mystery!
Even though it was a little before my time all of the things that happened in Corys childhood is so familiar growing up hearing all of the stories from family. Granted a lot of the same things were in my childhood but I digress.
I loved the mystery that went on throughout the book and finally getting to the end game of it all.
I have laughed and cried during this book. Some parts even made my heart soar and also plummet at the atrocities of evil people.
This book has a little of so many things. I recommend it to every one.
I am almost at a loss of words about this book. It is one of my favorites now. I thought it was going to be just about a mystery of who murdered someone and and father and son trying to find out the mystery!
Even though it was a little before my time all of the things that happened in Corys childhood is so familiar growing up hearing all of the stories from family. Granted a lot of the same things were in my childhood but I digress.
I loved the mystery that went on throughout the book and finally getting to the end game of it all.
I have laughed and cried during this book. Some parts even made my heart soar and also plummet at the atrocities of evil people.
This book has a little of so many things. I recommend it to every one.
March 7, 2018
You know, it's a weighty thing when you've read as many books as I have over my 41 years of life and you finish a book that becomes your new favorite of all time.
I never thought I'd read anything that impressed me as much as a Stephen King book. I mean, for a long time Salem's Lot was the gold standard, then it was The Shining, then IT. My favorite book for many, many years was IT. Until just now.
Boy's Life is my new favorite, standalone novel.
It's literally everything.
It's an adventure, it's a mystery, it's a thriller, it's paranormal, it's supernatural, it's a coming of age tale, it's nostalgic and modern at the same time. It's personal and intimate but it's also a book for everyone. The protagonist, Cory and his dad, remind me of the father/son relationship in Roald Dahl's Danny, the Champion of the World, one of my most beloved stories.
There are so many memorable scenes and lovable characters. There are quotes for DAYS! I couldn't keep up with them all. There were times when I laughed out loud and I'd tell my family what happened.
There was one time where my hubby was making dinner in the kitchen and I was sobbing, reading a scene that near killed me--it just stopped my heart and I was bursting. My husband came in and was like, "Oh no, what's wrong, what happened"...I told him and he let me cry on his shoulder while he laughed at me for crying over fictional characters.
I kept stopping after like 50 pages because I knew the more that I read, the closer I would be to finishing and I never wanted it to end.
But it won't end will it? Not for me, because I'll read this one a dozen more times and cherish it always. A beloved favorite story of all time. Thank you Mr. McCammon.
I never thought I'd read anything that impressed me as much as a Stephen King book. I mean, for a long time Salem's Lot was the gold standard, then it was The Shining, then IT. My favorite book for many, many years was IT. Until just now.
Boy's Life is my new favorite, standalone novel.
It's literally everything.
It's an adventure, it's a mystery, it's a thriller, it's paranormal, it's supernatural, it's a coming of age tale, it's nostalgic and modern at the same time. It's personal and intimate but it's also a book for everyone. The protagonist, Cory and his dad, remind me of the father/son relationship in Roald Dahl's Danny, the Champion of the World, one of my most beloved stories.
There are so many memorable scenes and lovable characters. There are quotes for DAYS! I couldn't keep up with them all. There were times when I laughed out loud and I'd tell my family what happened.
There was one time where my hubby was making dinner in the kitchen and I was sobbing, reading a scene that near killed me--it just stopped my heart and I was bursting. My husband came in and was like, "Oh no, what's wrong, what happened"...I told him and he let me cry on his shoulder while he laughed at me for crying over fictional characters.
I kept stopping after like 50 pages because I knew the more that I read, the closer I would be to finishing and I never wanted it to end.
But it won't end will it? Not for me, because I'll read this one a dozen more times and cherish it always. A beloved favorite story of all time. Thank you Mr. McCammon.
November 8, 2016
I QUIT!!!
I can't stand this book any longer! I mean ....I REALLY can't stand it!!!!!
After about 4 hours of my time listening to the Audiobook...I'm DONE!!!
I don't care what the hell happens -- I can't remember when I've completely disliked a book more
The guys voice on the Audiobook sounds condescending to me most of the time.
Other times the writing itself is too syrupy sweet.
I was bored to death -- I felt everything was OVER-DESCRIBED. My God....I didn't care if the door was shiny. If the damn door was dull it would have been ok with me. Better yet, I was getting resentful with all this boys interpretation about every piece of furniture-his mother's or father's differences.....
( and his fricken wisdom about how his parents differences made for a good marriage).
I could have cared less about the spots of turtles ( as a metaphor for the truth)....
OMG.... and there were TOO MANY metaphors in this book. I was starting to get physically sick...and pissed off!!!
I didn't care about his bike riding or his going to the movies to eat candy and popcorn...
And I HATED the whimsical magical Philosophy of life from this 12-year-old kid.
Boring - long- tedious - pretentious descriptions-
NOT FOR ME!!!!
I can't stand this book any longer! I mean ....I REALLY can't stand it!!!!!
After about 4 hours of my time listening to the Audiobook...I'm DONE!!!
I don't care what the hell happens -- I can't remember when I've completely disliked a book more
The guys voice on the Audiobook sounds condescending to me most of the time.
Other times the writing itself is too syrupy sweet.
I was bored to death -- I felt everything was OVER-DESCRIBED. My God....I didn't care if the door was shiny. If the damn door was dull it would have been ok with me. Better yet, I was getting resentful with all this boys interpretation about every piece of furniture-his mother's or father's differences.....
( and his fricken wisdom about how his parents differences made for a good marriage).
I could have cared less about the spots of turtles ( as a metaphor for the truth)....
OMG.... and there were TOO MANY metaphors in this book. I was starting to get physically sick...and pissed off!!!
I didn't care about his bike riding or his going to the movies to eat candy and popcorn...
And I HATED the whimsical magical Philosophy of life from this 12-year-old kid.
Boring - long- tedious - pretentious descriptions-
NOT FOR ME!!!!
July 4, 2015
This is one of those books that I've beat myself over the head with how to rate it.
I'm going with five stars because it's a book I will remember. I think some of the story felt familiar to me because other author's have been influenced by this writing. And there is not a thing wrong with that, because this was superb.
It follows eleven year old Cory for a full year in his life. The 1960's growing up in a small town. A town that magic existed in. I had some trouble I do admit with some parts of the story.
Cory is helping his father early one morning on his milk delivery and a car races across in front of them almost causing them to wreck. The car goes off into the local lake and his dad jumps in to try and help the driver of the car. The driver is past his help though, he had been brutally murdered and the killer was dumping him so that no one would ever find him or know what happened.
That seems like such a simple basis for a story. Then Robert McCammon takes that story and builds on it. He takes this boy's life and makes it come alive.
The Demon.
The Lady.
The backwoods moonshiners
Moon Man
The local crazy man that walks around naked.
A monkey with a bowel problem
Midnight Mona and her deadly ride.
Rocket the bike
And Old Moose....
Holy crap. I loved this book. Even with the few problems I had with it. After sitting here thinking about it as I wrote this review. I must have my own copy of it. Because I'm going to want to go back again.
I'm going with five stars because it's a book I will remember. I think some of the story felt familiar to me because other author's have been influenced by this writing. And there is not a thing wrong with that, because this was superb.
It follows eleven year old Cory for a full year in his life. The 1960's growing up in a small town. A town that magic existed in. I had some trouble I do admit with some parts of the story.
Cory is helping his father early one morning on his milk delivery and a car races across in front of them almost causing them to wreck. The car goes off into the local lake and his dad jumps in to try and help the driver of the car. The driver is past his help though, he had been brutally murdered and the killer was dumping him so that no one would ever find him or know what happened.
That seems like such a simple basis for a story. Then Robert McCammon takes that story and builds on it. He takes this boy's life and makes it come alive.
The Demon.
The Lady.
The backwoods moonshiners
Moon Man
The local crazy man that walks around naked.
A monkey with a bowel problem
Midnight Mona and her deadly ride.
Rocket the bike
And Old Moose....
Holy crap. I loved this book. Even with the few problems I had with it. After sitting here thinking about it as I wrote this review. I must have my own copy of it. Because I'm going to want to go back again.
April 16, 2021
Think Something Wicked This Way Comes without a focused antagonistic plot line. Think Alice Hoffman. Think of something slow, and winding, with just a trace of the unreal. Think of stories from your southern grandpa, told from the perspective of a master storyteller.
Think slooooow.
Boy’s Life is very evocative, an atmospheric picture of Cory Mackenson, a young man growing up in a small Alabama town during the 1960s. One early morning, he’s with his father making milk deliveries when they witness a car speeding into a lake of endless depth. His father attempts to rescue the driver only to discover he is already dead, savagely beaten and strangled. It becomes a transformative moment for his father, and perhaps for Cory as well. The chapters that follow often refer to it, but not in any plot-moving way. There is a sleep-over at a friend’s house. There is the death of the boy’s bike and a junkman. A church service with wasps. A town flood. An elderly black woman. A bike. The last day of school. A new boy moving into town. A cross burning on a lawn. His first typewriter. An overnight in the woods. All the sort of things that one might look back on one’s life and say, “I remember when,” when thinking of those moments that encapsulate a feeling, a change, a pivotal experience. Intertwined through them is a strain of magic, but not ‘magic’ in the sense that we usually use the word in modern literature, but life magic from the perspective of an imaginative child.
While the storytelling was masterful, there is no clear sense of plot beyond ‘day-in-the-life’ and self-discovery, leaving the conflict-focused reader searching for a connection between chapters. Since both the book blurb and the first chapter hint that the lake experience was the harbinger of something strange, it is an understandable confusion. There are dribbles and moments that contribute to the puzzle of the dead man, as well as the reverberating effect on the father, but truly, serious plot development and resolution is left until the last 80 pages of an over 500-page book. The murder bookends this section of the boy’s life, but does not drive his experiences.
The writing is lyrical and beautiful:
“When people get weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust turning in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.”
I think if one heads into it expecting more of a Faulkner-esque short story collection, the read is more likely to be successful and satisfying. The writing is lovely. The characters are well developed, and McCammon even manages to imply the real at the same time the narrator is interpreting the fantastic. I also appreciate the contextualizing and gentle exploration of racism during a transformative time in the south. He also nicely captures the feeling of impending adulthood shadowing the edges of the tales, as well as those inklings when one starts to realize adults are people with their own foibles and may even have been young once.
“He lifted his face to me. In the hard, cold light he looked terribly old. I thought I could see his skull beneath the thin flesh, and this sight frightened me. It was like looking at someone you loved very much, slowly dying… I saw all too clearly that my father–not a mythic hero, not a superman, but just a good man–was a solitary traveler in the wilderness of anguish.”
Ultimately, be prepared to go slow. I often read it before bed, as it was usually soothing, not action driven, and each chapter encapsulated. Normally, I wouldn’t give a book I fell asleep on four stars, but the characterization as well as overall writing really are impressive. Highly recommended–for the right mood.
“There is something about nature out of control that touches a primal terror. We are used to believing that we’re the masters of our domain, and that God has given us this earth to rule over. We need this illusion like a good night0light. The truth is more fearsome: we are as frail as young trees in tornadoes, and our beloved homes are one flood away from driftwood. We plant our roots in trembling earth, we live where mountains rose and fell and prehistoric seas burned away in mist. We and the towns we have built are not permanent; the earth itself is a passing train. When you stand in muddy water that is rising toward your waist and you hear people shouting against the darkness and see their figures struggling to hold back the currents that will not be denies, you realize the truth of it: we will not win, but we cannot give up.”
Think slooooow.
Boy’s Life is very evocative, an atmospheric picture of Cory Mackenson, a young man growing up in a small Alabama town during the 1960s. One early morning, he’s with his father making milk deliveries when they witness a car speeding into a lake of endless depth. His father attempts to rescue the driver only to discover he is already dead, savagely beaten and strangled. It becomes a transformative moment for his father, and perhaps for Cory as well. The chapters that follow often refer to it, but not in any plot-moving way. There is a sleep-over at a friend’s house. There is the death of the boy’s bike and a junkman. A church service with wasps. A town flood. An elderly black woman. A bike. The last day of school. A new boy moving into town. A cross burning on a lawn. His first typewriter. An overnight in the woods. All the sort of things that one might look back on one’s life and say, “I remember when,” when thinking of those moments that encapsulate a feeling, a change, a pivotal experience. Intertwined through them is a strain of magic, but not ‘magic’ in the sense that we usually use the word in modern literature, but life magic from the perspective of an imaginative child.
While the storytelling was masterful, there is no clear sense of plot beyond ‘day-in-the-life’ and self-discovery, leaving the conflict-focused reader searching for a connection between chapters. Since both the book blurb and the first chapter hint that the lake experience was the harbinger of something strange, it is an understandable confusion. There are dribbles and moments that contribute to the puzzle of the dead man, as well as the reverberating effect on the father, but truly, serious plot development and resolution is left until the last 80 pages of an over 500-page book. The murder bookends this section of the boy’s life, but does not drive his experiences.
The writing is lyrical and beautiful:
“When people get weepy at movies, it’s because in that dark theater the golden pool of magic is touched, just briefly. Then they come out into the hard sun of logic and reason again and it dries up, and they’re left feeling a little heartsad and not knowing why. When a song stirs a memory, when motes of dust turning in a shaft of light takes your attention from the world, when you listen to a train passing on a track at night in the distance and wonder where it might be going, you step beyond who you are and where you are. For the briefest of instants, you have stepped into the magic realm.”
I think if one heads into it expecting more of a Faulkner-esque short story collection, the read is more likely to be successful and satisfying. The writing is lovely. The characters are well developed, and McCammon even manages to imply the real at the same time the narrator is interpreting the fantastic. I also appreciate the contextualizing and gentle exploration of racism during a transformative time in the south. He also nicely captures the feeling of impending adulthood shadowing the edges of the tales, as well as those inklings when one starts to realize adults are people with their own foibles and may even have been young once.
“He lifted his face to me. In the hard, cold light he looked terribly old. I thought I could see his skull beneath the thin flesh, and this sight frightened me. It was like looking at someone you loved very much, slowly dying… I saw all too clearly that my father–not a mythic hero, not a superman, but just a good man–was a solitary traveler in the wilderness of anguish.”
Ultimately, be prepared to go slow. I often read it before bed, as it was usually soothing, not action driven, and each chapter encapsulated. Normally, I wouldn’t give a book I fell asleep on four stars, but the characterization as well as overall writing really are impressive. Highly recommended–for the right mood.
“There is something about nature out of control that touches a primal terror. We are used to believing that we’re the masters of our domain, and that God has given us this earth to rule over. We need this illusion like a good night0light. The truth is more fearsome: we are as frail as young trees in tornadoes, and our beloved homes are one flood away from driftwood. We plant our roots in trembling earth, we live where mountains rose and fell and prehistoric seas burned away in mist. We and the towns we have built are not permanent; the earth itself is a passing train. When you stand in muddy water that is rising toward your waist and you hear people shouting against the darkness and see their figures struggling to hold back the currents that will not be denies, you realize the truth of it: we will not win, but we cannot give up.”
March 13, 2017
This was a very good book with two main plot lines and a separate smaller plot in almost every chapter. It reminded me of, and I have read this comparison elsewhere as well, Different Seasons era Stephen King.
One of the great things about this book is that it perfectly embodies pre-pubecent innocence and coming of age. I was discussing this in one of my book clubs and we talked about how the main characters had yet to reach the the point of disenchanted teenagers driven by angst and hormones while at the same time having to step up and accept the realities of adulthood.
Another oddity of this book is that every few pages something mystical and wild happens and it is never hinted at as being part of the narrator's imagination; it is completely integrated into the story. It leads to some very interesting questions and blows the mind.
While this is a long book, it may read quickly for some. If you are a fan of early King and/or character study books, this should be right up your alley.
One of the great things about this book is that it perfectly embodies pre-pubecent innocence and coming of age. I was discussing this in one of my book clubs and we talked about how the main characters had yet to reach the the point of disenchanted teenagers driven by angst and hormones while at the same time having to step up and accept the realities of adulthood.
Another oddity of this book is that every few pages something mystical and wild happens and it is never hinted at as being part of the narrator's imagination; it is completely integrated into the story. It leads to some very interesting questions and blows the mind.
While this is a long book, it may read quickly for some. If you are a fan of early King and/or character study books, this should be right up your alley.
January 17, 2022
A beautifully written account of a boy's life through the lens of the narrator looking back to the past. An intriguing and compelling mystery holds the book together; the recollecting starts with a father, and son Cory (the narrator), finding a tortured murdered victim; we get to to look back the ensuing year with Cory, his family and friends, just living their lives with the mystery mostly on the periphery.
What unfolds is a compelling take on small town America in the 1960s, which includes NOT steering away from the rampant intolerance and inequality. Overall this is a heart warming and at times heart rending look at family life for the rural white poor; in addition this book has one of the most uplifting and beautifully written epilogues I've ever read. A spell binding tale of boyhood, family, mystery, supernatural, secrets and lies set in the poor rural America of the 1960s. A strong 8 from 12 from me :)
2018 read
What unfolds is a compelling take on small town America in the 1960s, which includes NOT steering away from the rampant intolerance and inequality. Overall this is a heart warming and at times heart rending look at family life for the rural white poor; in addition this book has one of the most uplifting and beautifully written epilogues I've ever read. A spell binding tale of boyhood, family, mystery, supernatural, secrets and lies set in the poor rural America of the 1960s. A strong 8 from 12 from me :)
2018 read
October 1, 2015
While riding with his father on the milk route, Cory Mackenson witnesses a car plunging into a bottomless lake with a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel. Will they figure out who the man was before the memory destroys them?
Yeah, that's not a great teaser for this. How do you summarize a couple years in the life of a young boy?
I tried hard not to like this book. For the first quarter of it, it wasn't hard. Boy's Life feels overwritten for what it is and Robert McCammon was trying so hard to write like Stephen King that you could taste it. I thought about tossing it back on the to-read mountain. Then it grabbed me. I wolfed it down in less than 24 hours.
While it has some crime and horror elements, Boy's Life is a coming of age tale more than anything else. It reminded me of Stephen King's The Body (aka Stand by Me) at first, but it's a lot more than that.
Cory is eleven when the story begins, growing up in a small Alabama town called Zephyr. While the mysterious dead man in Saxon Lake kicks off the tale, it's really about Cory getting older and world-weary in Zephyr. Since the story takes place in the early 1960's, the civil rights movement and Vietnam are lurking in the background, as are the rise of corporations.
Cory's adventures with his pals were a lot of fun but also harrowing at times. I loved the beast from the lost word and Nemo Curliss. For a twelve year old, Cory was sure in the middle of a lot of weirdness, though. The bit with Rebel added this book to my man-tears shelf. Was Vernon Thaxter a stand-in for McCammon himself?
I thought about giving this a five but couldn't. While I enjoyed the book immensely, I felt like parts of it were cobbled together from various Stephen King tales, like The Body, Christine, Pet Semetery, and others. Also, it seemed excessively wordy for what it was at times, like I mentioned at the beginning.
All things considered, Boy's Life was a great read. Four out of five stars.
Yeah, that's not a great teaser for this. How do you summarize a couple years in the life of a young boy?
I tried hard not to like this book. For the first quarter of it, it wasn't hard. Boy's Life feels overwritten for what it is and Robert McCammon was trying so hard to write like Stephen King that you could taste it. I thought about tossing it back on the to-read mountain. Then it grabbed me. I wolfed it down in less than 24 hours.
While it has some crime and horror elements, Boy's Life is a coming of age tale more than anything else. It reminded me of Stephen King's The Body (aka Stand by Me) at first, but it's a lot more than that.
Cory is eleven when the story begins, growing up in a small Alabama town called Zephyr. While the mysterious dead man in Saxon Lake kicks off the tale, it's really about Cory getting older and world-weary in Zephyr. Since the story takes place in the early 1960's, the civil rights movement and Vietnam are lurking in the background, as are the rise of corporations.
Cory's adventures with his pals were a lot of fun but also harrowing at times. I loved the beast from the lost word and Nemo Curliss. For a twelve year old, Cory was sure in the middle of a lot of weirdness, though. The bit with Rebel added this book to my man-tears shelf. Was Vernon Thaxter a stand-in for McCammon himself?
I thought about giving this a five but couldn't. While I enjoyed the book immensely, I felt like parts of it were cobbled together from various Stephen King tales, like The Body, Christine, Pet Semetery, and others. Also, it seemed excessively wordy for what it was at times, like I mentioned at the beginning.
All things considered, Boy's Life was a great read. Four out of five stars.
March 28, 2020
This was the monthly read of a group that I am a member of. This is also the first book that I completed under my resolution of reading atleast one book of the monthly read of my groups. I was a little hesitant reading it (specially after the disaster of The Ocean at the End of the Lane). But this book was nothing like that. In every sense it is better than that. It just left me spellbound.
Story captures a whole year of a boy's life named Cory Mackerson. While reading the book I couldn't help but going back to my own memories of class room, stupid chatter with friends, that excitement before the summer vacations and bicycle adventures. If you'll read this I am sure you will relate yourself to Cory in one way or other.
This story so beautifully shows emotions for a 12 year old. Be it love, happiness, elation, thrill, mystery, nightmares, pain or death.
Even after all these beautiful things this book remains a murder mystery to be solved. Solving the mystery from a 12 year's POV was amazing.
This sure is going to my favorite and re-read shelf.
So just go ahead and read this beautiful story.
Story captures a whole year of a boy's life named Cory Mackerson. While reading the book I couldn't help but going back to my own memories of class room, stupid chatter with friends, that excitement before the summer vacations and bicycle adventures. If you'll read this I am sure you will relate yourself to Cory in one way or other.
This story so beautifully shows emotions for a 12 year old. Be it love, happiness, elation, thrill, mystery, nightmares, pain or death.
Even after all these beautiful things this book remains a murder mystery to be solved. Solving the mystery from a 12 year's POV was amazing.
This sure is going to my favorite and re-read shelf.
So just go ahead and read this beautiful story.
April 18, 2021
Tiptoes gingerly across hallowed ground, drops this, and runs away before the arrows start slinging…
Boy’s Life is a revered 1991 novel by Robert McCammon set in 1964 small-town Alabama. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
The story spans one year in a 12-year-old boy’s life and at various times feels reminiscent of King’s The Body (1982) and Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989). It’s shelved primarily as horror, though I didn’t find many aspects to be scary. It’s a bit of a mishmash of a coming-of-age tale with sprinklings of fantasy and paranormal elements, which for this reader made it seem a little uneven.
What is consistent though is the graphic destruction of animals. Two dogs meet horrific, drawn-out ends. Two cats are violently killed, a circus monkey (seriously) is abused, and a dinosaur (???) is tortured before running amuck. If somebody told me this beforehand, I would have known this modern classic was never going to make it onto my personal favorites shelf.
I can understand why others adore Boy’s Life for the childhood nostalgia it must conjure, but I have serious regrets about the images I now have in my head after reading it.
Sorry, friends.
Boy’s Life is a revered 1991 novel by Robert McCammon set in 1964 small-town Alabama. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.
The story spans one year in a 12-year-old boy’s life and at various times feels reminiscent of King’s The Body (1982) and Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989). It’s shelved primarily as horror, though I didn’t find many aspects to be scary. It’s a bit of a mishmash of a coming-of-age tale with sprinklings of fantasy and paranormal elements, which for this reader made it seem a little uneven.
What is consistent though is the graphic destruction of animals. Two dogs meet horrific, drawn-out ends. Two cats are violently killed, a circus monkey (seriously) is abused, and a dinosaur (???) is tortured before running amuck. If somebody told me this beforehand, I would have known this modern classic was never going to make it onto my personal favorites shelf.
I can understand why others adore Boy’s Life for the childhood nostalgia it must conjure, but I have serious regrets about the images I now have in my head after reading it.
Sorry, friends.
June 23, 2015
Wow! To say that I loved this book is an understatement. I don't know why it took me so many years to decide to read it. Perhaps it was the length that put me off; the book is over 600 pages. I shouldn't have let that stop me. Once I got started, the story flowed and kept my attention until the very end.
The book begins with the narrator prefacing his story as an adult. He tells us that he believes in magic, and then he proceeds to tell us about the year when he was twelve years old in a little town called Zephyr.
It's the story of Zephyr and it's assortment of colorful characters. It's a murder mystery, a story about monsters (both human and otherwise), love and prejudice, ignorance and the grace of making good decisions. It's about a boy who can fly with his friends. It's about dreams that meld with life to provide answers. Most of all, it's about growing up and never losing the magic.
Many thanks to the person who bought me this book. It's a treasure.
The book begins with the narrator prefacing his story as an adult. He tells us that he believes in magic, and then he proceeds to tell us about the year when he was twelve years old in a little town called Zephyr.
It's the story of Zephyr and it's assortment of colorful characters. It's a murder mystery, a story about monsters (both human and otherwise), love and prejudice, ignorance and the grace of making good decisions. It's about a boy who can fly with his friends. It's about dreams that meld with life to provide answers. Most of all, it's about growing up and never losing the magic.
Many thanks to the person who bought me this book. It's a treasure.
June 30, 2018
"See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our ages. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old, Cory Mackenson - a place where monsters swim the river and friends are forever.
If you haven't read Boy's Life yet, if you don't even have a copy, drop everything you're doing and get a copy and read it. It's not everyday when a book comes along and burrows itself into your heart and soul. Stephen King couldn't have put it better when he said "Books are a uniquely portable magic" and this book IS magic. It's right in there, glittering between the pages.
Nothing I have read has so accurately and poignantly portrayed growing up. There's (hopefully) lots of joy and happiness and magic dispersed throughout your younger years, but unfortunately there can also be some heartbreak and loss, and McCammon beautifully presents all these different emotions seamlessly.
Cory's coming-of-age tale is intertwined with the unravelling of the mystery of a dead body in his small town. The two different threads are woven together so intricately and McCammon does an incredible job of moving both storylines along at a pace that feels natural. Boy's Life is not ABOUT the mystery, but it's about Cory as an adult looking back at the magical place where he grew up. McCammon's writing itself is some of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and he manages to cover so many themes with such ease - childhood, realism, racism, fantasy, death - I am truly in awe.
You will laugh and you will undoubtedly cry (unless you have a cold black stone residing in your chest instead of a heart). And when I say cry, I mean UGLY cry. There's no beautiful solitary tear rolling down the cheek. There is full-on sobbing. There was a particular scene towards the end involving Cory's father that was really personal for me and what I took away from it will stay with me forever.
Not only one of my favourite books of 2018, but one of the best books I've read in my life.
ALL. THE. STARS.
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old, Cory Mackenson - a place where monsters swim the river and friends are forever.
If you haven't read Boy's Life yet, if you don't even have a copy, drop everything you're doing and get a copy and read it. It's not everyday when a book comes along and burrows itself into your heart and soul. Stephen King couldn't have put it better when he said "Books are a uniquely portable magic" and this book IS magic. It's right in there, glittering between the pages.
Nothing I have read has so accurately and poignantly portrayed growing up. There's (hopefully) lots of joy and happiness and magic dispersed throughout your younger years, but unfortunately there can also be some heartbreak and loss, and McCammon beautifully presents all these different emotions seamlessly.
Cory's coming-of-age tale is intertwined with the unravelling of the mystery of a dead body in his small town. The two different threads are woven together so intricately and McCammon does an incredible job of moving both storylines along at a pace that feels natural. Boy's Life is not ABOUT the mystery, but it's about Cory as an adult looking back at the magical place where he grew up. McCammon's writing itself is some of the best I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and he manages to cover so many themes with such ease - childhood, realism, racism, fantasy, death - I am truly in awe.
You will laugh and you will undoubtedly cry (unless you have a cold black stone residing in your chest instead of a heart). And when I say cry, I mean UGLY cry. There's no beautiful solitary tear rolling down the cheek. There is full-on sobbing. There was a particular scene towards the end involving Cory's father that was really personal for me and what I took away from it will stay with me forever.
Not only one of my favourite books of 2018, but one of the best books I've read in my life.
ALL. THE. STARS.
July 24, 2008
If I had to pick JUST ONE book that was my favorite (with a gun to my head, obviously, which is the only way I could ever choose between my favorite books) I would choose this one. It blew me away the first time I read it, and it continues to blow me away each and every time I pick it up. I'm getting all shivery right now, just thinking of reading it.
My favorite quote -- "We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get it the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."
My favorite quote -- "We all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get it the magic educated right out of our souls. We get it churched out, spanked out, washed out, and combed out. We get put on the straight and narrow and told to be responsible. Told to act our age. Told to grow up, for God's sake. And you know why we were told that? Because the people doing the telling were afraid of our wildness and youth, and because the magic we knew made them ashamed and sad of what they'd allowed to wither in themselves."
October 25, 2016
5 stars because nothing else will do. 5 stars for the writing, the characters, the plot, the magic. For letting me be inside the mind of a 12 year old boy who is all of us at 12. For the town of Zephyr, Alabama. For Old Moses, The Lady, Mona and Little Stevie Cauley. For 600 pages of sheer entertainment and good writing.
I dedicate this review to Mike Sullivan, moderator of the group ON THE SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL. He assigned this one as his October moderator's choice, and I sighed and thought to myself: "Well, I'll give it a try, but it is classified as science fiction, so probably not for me." That's the same thing I thought when other people recommended it over the years, when I saw it on lists of books one must read. So, forty lashes to me for being so stubborn and opinionated about genres. I should be thrown into the murky depths of Saxon's Lake, or, even worse, made to spend a week with Grandaddy Jaybird.
In my defense, however, and for others who may be thinking the same thing, this book is NOT science fiction. Unless the magic in the world around us can be counted as such.
Oh, and 5 stars for what has to be the best acknowledgments page I have ever read.
I dedicate this review to Mike Sullivan, moderator of the group ON THE SOUTHERN LITERARY TRAIL. He assigned this one as his October moderator's choice, and I sighed and thought to myself: "Well, I'll give it a try, but it is classified as science fiction, so probably not for me." That's the same thing I thought when other people recommended it over the years, when I saw it on lists of books one must read. So, forty lashes to me for being so stubborn and opinionated about genres. I should be thrown into the murky depths of Saxon's Lake, or, even worse, made to spend a week with Grandaddy Jaybird.
In my defense, however, and for others who may be thinking the same thing, this book is NOT science fiction. Unless the magic in the world around us can be counted as such.
Oh, and 5 stars for what has to be the best acknowledgments page I have ever read.
April 27, 2022
This is my third or fourth read, but my first time listening. The narrator is fabulous! My favorite book of all time still holds up. ALL THE STARS.
Here's a link to my original review of this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Here's a link to my original review of this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 16, 2022
It’s 1964 and Cory Mackenson is a 12-year old boy living in a town and time where boys that age are fairly free of supervision to wander about town together, playing freely through their summers and Saturdays – Sundays are for church. Aside from Cory’s Dad, a milkman, and his Mom, there are Cory’s buddies, his classmates, and a cast of characters in this town, including the neighboring town of Bruton, where The Lady lives.
This captivating coming-of-age tale is magical work of art, a masterfully narrated glimpse into a different era through the eyes of Cory Mackenson. Robert McCammon doesn’t overlook the negatives of that time in a place like Zephyr, Alabama.
There are so many wonderful things in this story, it’s beautifully written, brilliant, authentically narrated by a engaging young boy on the edge of maturity, learning some of life’s lessons.
The only negative, for me, is that it had to end.
Read this book, it is a treasure that will magically transport you to those years of wonder.
May 17, 2017
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. Hold on to being a boy as long as you can, because once you lose that magic, you’re always begging to find it again.”
Boy’s Life is a selection I’ve actively avoided ever since it first popped up on my radar due to its unprecedented 4.55 rating amongst my Goodreads’ friends. (If you aren’t familiar with them, let’s just say they aren’t a real forgiving group of readers and leave it with that so they don’t slit my throat.) If you’re of the ilk to take a gander at shelf names, you’ll see this one now sits prominently on the “Like This Or We Can’t Be Friends” option. Approximately 99.999998% of the time that shelf title is for used merely for shits and giggles . . . . but this go ‘round it might be true. You see, I just can’t picture the person who couldn’t find a way to give this story at least 3 Stars and, although I'm well aware they are out there, I'm pretty confident I wouldn't want to associate with them.
If you are someone who interacts with me regularly, you are well aware of the fact that I don’t fancy myself as any sort of wordsmith. I tend to ramble and meander around rather producing anything of actual substance in my review spacequite regularly all the time. This time words fail me because there aren’t any that could even come close to describing this story. In fact, there’s only one that won’t leave my mind - MAGIC.
Boy’s Life is a story about just that . . . . a boy’s life, told as a reflection by said boy who has since grown up. The boy in question is Corey Mackenson. The year? 1964. A new sound had just hit the radiowaves and Corey and his buddies were feeling the vibe of The Beach Boys and couldn’t wait to be old enough to “get a round round around I get around.”
From here maybe I’ll let the book do the talking . . . .
“He wrote this book about the town, and the people in it who made it what it was. And maybe there wasn’t a real plot to it, maybe there wasn’t anything that grabbed you by the throat and tried to shake you until your bones rattled, but the book was about life. It was the flow and the voices, the little day-to-day things that make up the memory of the living. It meandered like the river, and you never knew where you were going until you got there, but the journey was sweet and left you wishing for more.”
Because really, it’s all about the writing. Like when a young boy experiences his first crush . . . . .
“If you were my girlfriend I would give you a hundred lightning bugs in a green glass jar, so you could always see your way. I would give you a meadow full of wildflowers, where no two blooms would ever be alike. I would give you my bicycle, with its golden eye to protect you. I would write a story for you, and make you a princess who lived in a white marble castle. If you would only like me, I would give you magic. If you would only like me. If you would only –”
Or death . . . .
“Death cannot be known. It cannot be befriended. If Death were a boy, he would be a lonely figure, standing at the playground’s edge while the air rippled with other children’s laughter. If Death were a boy, he would walk alone. He would speak in a whisper and his eyes would be haunted by knowledge no human can bear.”
As I said before - MAGIC.
A little bit coming of age story like The Body, a little bit of learning the ugly truths of the civil rights era like To Kill A Mockingbird, a cast of eccentric townsfolk like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with a touch of a “whodunit” thrown in for good measure, Boy’s Life is a true genre bender. If you’re a parent lucky enough to be raising a voracious reader, this one could be offered to those as young as middle-grade – and is one that should not be skipped by any adult if given the opportunity to read it. I recommend you experience Boy's Life during summertime if at all possible. Find a nice shady spot, preferably somewhere you can hear the wind blowing through the trees and, if you’re lucky, a little creek flowing in the background. Somewhere like my backyard. Grab a pitcher of tea, take a seat in an Adirondack chair and settle in for the day. You won’t regret it.
Looky there. No gifs!
“Don’t be in a hurry to grow up. Hold on to being a boy as long as you can, because once you lose that magic, you’re always begging to find it again.”
Boy’s Life is a selection I’ve actively avoided ever since it first popped up on my radar due to its unprecedented 4.55 rating amongst my Goodreads’ friends. (If you aren’t familiar with them, let’s just say they aren’t a real forgiving group of readers and leave it with that so they don’t slit my throat.) If you’re of the ilk to take a gander at shelf names, you’ll see this one now sits prominently on the “Like This Or We Can’t Be Friends” option. Approximately 99.999998% of the time that shelf title is for used merely for shits and giggles . . . . but this go ‘round it might be true. You see, I just can’t picture the person who couldn’t find a way to give this story at least 3 Stars and, although I'm well aware they are out there, I'm pretty confident I wouldn't want to associate with them.
If you are someone who interacts with me regularly, you are well aware of the fact that I don’t fancy myself as any sort of wordsmith. I tend to ramble and meander around rather producing anything of actual substance in my review space
Boy’s Life is a story about just that . . . . a boy’s life, told as a reflection by said boy who has since grown up. The boy in question is Corey Mackenson. The year? 1964. A new sound had just hit the radiowaves and Corey and his buddies were feeling the vibe of The Beach Boys and couldn’t wait to be old enough to “get a round round around I get around.”
From here maybe I’ll let the book do the talking . . . .
“He wrote this book about the town, and the people in it who made it what it was. And maybe there wasn’t a real plot to it, maybe there wasn’t anything that grabbed you by the throat and tried to shake you until your bones rattled, but the book was about life. It was the flow and the voices, the little day-to-day things that make up the memory of the living. It meandered like the river, and you never knew where you were going until you got there, but the journey was sweet and left you wishing for more.”
Because really, it’s all about the writing. Like when a young boy experiences his first crush . . . . .
“If you were my girlfriend I would give you a hundred lightning bugs in a green glass jar, so you could always see your way. I would give you a meadow full of wildflowers, where no two blooms would ever be alike. I would give you my bicycle, with its golden eye to protect you. I would write a story for you, and make you a princess who lived in a white marble castle. If you would only like me, I would give you magic. If you would only like me. If you would only –”
Or death . . . .
“Death cannot be known. It cannot be befriended. If Death were a boy, he would be a lonely figure, standing at the playground’s edge while the air rippled with other children’s laughter. If Death were a boy, he would walk alone. He would speak in a whisper and his eyes would be haunted by knowledge no human can bear.”
As I said before - MAGIC.
A little bit coming of age story like The Body, a little bit of learning the ugly truths of the civil rights era like To Kill A Mockingbird, a cast of eccentric townsfolk like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with a touch of a “whodunit” thrown in for good measure, Boy’s Life is a true genre bender. If you’re a parent lucky enough to be raising a voracious reader, this one could be offered to those as young as middle-grade – and is one that should not be skipped by any adult if given the opportunity to read it. I recommend you experience Boy's Life during summertime if at all possible. Find a nice shady spot, preferably somewhere you can hear the wind blowing through the trees and, if you’re lucky, a little creek flowing in the background. Somewhere like my backyard. Grab a pitcher of tea, take a seat in an Adirondack chair and settle in for the day. You won’t regret it.
Looky there. No gifs!
June 27, 2019
Do you know the feeling of eating some fresh-fresh-from-the-oven cornbread drizzled with some honey butter?
That's this entire novel.
A 12-year-old boy getting out of school, enjoying summer, then going back to school, in 60's Alabama. Sounds simple, right? But this is charming in not just a nostalgic kind of way a-la Stephen King's IT, but full of love, consideration, adventure, magical realism, murder, mystery, courage, and some of the best Coming-Of-Age writing I've ever come across.
It's more than a horror or a YA or an in-depth real piece of homegrown Southern American Literature.
It's genuine. It deals honestly about racism and jerks and the Normal Rockwell way of life in a way that never comes off preachy or overwritten. But it deals with all of this and much more, including large swamp creatures and mythical stags in the forest, bootleggers and organized crime, and even the KKK and the new neo-nazi movement. But at no point did this diverge very far from the Boy's Life. :)
Trust me. If you love writing like fresh cornbread, this novel will be like coming home.
After all these years, I've just found a new favorite. I wasn't even close to being born when these events happened, but damn, I feel like I was THERE. :) Easily one of the very best novels of its kind.
That's this entire novel.
A 12-year-old boy getting out of school, enjoying summer, then going back to school, in 60's Alabama. Sounds simple, right? But this is charming in not just a nostalgic kind of way a-la Stephen King's IT, but full of love, consideration, adventure, magical realism, murder, mystery, courage, and some of the best Coming-Of-Age writing I've ever come across.
It's more than a horror or a YA or an in-depth real piece of homegrown Southern American Literature.
It's genuine. It deals honestly about racism and jerks and the Normal Rockwell way of life in a way that never comes off preachy or overwritten. But it deals with all of this and much more, including large swamp creatures and mythical stags in the forest, bootleggers and organized crime, and even the KKK and the new neo-nazi movement. But at no point did this diverge very far from the Boy's Life. :)
Trust me. If you love writing like fresh cornbread, this novel will be like coming home.
After all these years, I've just found a new favorite. I wasn't even close to being born when these events happened, but damn, I feel like I was THERE. :) Easily one of the very best novels of its kind.
April 22, 2015
“Lyric” it said: “Melodic. Suitable for singing. A lyric poem. Of the lyre.” That didn’t seem to make much sense in regards to a movie theatre, until I continued following "lyre" in my dictionary. "Lyre" took me into the story-poems sung by travelling minstrels back when there were castles and kings. Which took me back to that wonderful word; story. It seemed to me at an early age that all human communication- whether it’s TV, movies, or books- begins with somebody wanting to tell a story. That need to tell, to plug in to a universal socket, is probably one of our grandest desires. And the need to hear stories, to live lives other than our own for even the briefest moment, is the key to the magic that was born in our bones.
This is McCammon’s song.
Meet near twelve year old Cory Mackenson, awake before the crack of dawn, helping his Dad, deliver milk ( in glass bottles) before school, when suddenly a brown car jumped out of the forest right in front of them, swerved and plunged off the embankment and down into the very deep and dark depths of Saxon’s Lake. When Cory’s dad dives down hoping to assist the man behind the wheel, what he witnesses is a severely beaten, dead man, with a copper wire knotted deep in his throat, who is handcuffed to the steering wheel. This vision will continue to haunt him and Cory, in the days, weeks and months to come, while the car is not recovered from those inky depths and no information can be secured concerning the identity of the dead man cuffed to the wheel.
And therein lay the bed rock of this story but there is so much more depth here. It is also a trip back to those wonder years, in the fall of your childhood, when you still believed in magic, when the slate was clean and all that seemed possible was possible: back when the power of belief itself, was your daily fuel. It’s all here: murder and mystery, monsters and myths, good and evil, joyful abandon, adrenaline soaked danger and villainous deceit: bound by the carefree days of summer, fresh baked pie and that very special relationship between a boy and his bike. And oh my, my, my, the
Is this a perfect book? No. I am pretty certain most readers will see the flaws but in the end, does it really matter? No.
Step back to 1964, before superstores and cell phones, when fresh air, home cooking, job security and yes service (be it your gas pumped, your oil checked, or your groceries bagged) were still abundant and expected. Know it was also a time of deep unrest and profound loss among the people, not only those in the southern states but in the world at large.
I have never been a boy or for that matter, a rabbit either. Doesn‘t matter, McCammon took me there, in spades.
After all, it’s a girl’s life too!
Go on, pick this one up.
This is McCammon’s song.
Meet near twelve year old Cory Mackenson, awake before the crack of dawn, helping his Dad, deliver milk ( in glass bottles) before school, when suddenly a brown car jumped out of the forest right in front of them, swerved and plunged off the embankment and down into the very deep and dark depths of Saxon’s Lake. When Cory’s dad dives down hoping to assist the man behind the wheel, what he witnesses is a severely beaten, dead man, with a copper wire knotted deep in his throat, who is handcuffed to the steering wheel. This vision will continue to haunt him and Cory, in the days, weeks and months to come, while the car is not recovered from those inky depths and no information can be secured concerning the identity of the dead man cuffed to the wheel.
And therein lay the bed rock of this story but there is so much more depth here. It is also a trip back to those wonder years, in the fall of your childhood, when you still believed in magic, when the slate was clean and all that seemed possible was possible: back when the power of belief itself, was your daily fuel. It’s all here: murder and mystery, monsters and myths, good and evil, joyful abandon, adrenaline soaked danger and villainous deceit: bound by the carefree days of summer, fresh baked pie and that very special relationship between a boy and his bike. And oh my, my, my, the
Is this a perfect book? No. I am pretty certain most readers will see the flaws but in the end, does it really matter? No.
Step back to 1964, before superstores and cell phones, when fresh air, home cooking, job security and yes service (be it your gas pumped, your oil checked, or your groceries bagged) were still abundant and expected. Know it was also a time of deep unrest and profound loss among the people, not only those in the southern states but in the world at large.
Come gather ‘round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept that it soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
For the times they are a - changin’
I have never been a boy or for that matter, a rabbit either. Doesn‘t matter, McCammon took me there, in spades.
After all, it’s a girl’s life too!
Go on, pick this one up.
February 4, 2024
Did I just read my favorite book of the year with 11 more months to go?! Absolutely.
I’m going to have a book hangover after this one.
I laughed. I cried. I felt all the emotions while getting lost while reading a Boy's Life.
On this journey with Corey Mackenson, I felt the magic, the whimsy, and the adventure.
In my opinion, this book had perfect pacing, excellent writing, and characters to love forever.
Just one of the best books out there!!
I’m going to have a book hangover after this one.
I laughed. I cried. I felt all the emotions while getting lost while reading a Boy's Life.
On this journey with Corey Mackenson, I felt the magic, the whimsy, and the adventure.
In my opinion, this book had perfect pacing, excellent writing, and characters to love forever.
Just one of the best books out there!!
August 31, 2016
The year is 1964. The place, small town Zephyr, Alabama. Back when there was something magical about a summer just starting. Childhood buddies Cory, Davy Ray, Ben, and Johnny are twelve years old.
It was impossible not to wax nostalgic while reading this coming of age story, as I, too, was twelve years old in the summer of 1964. No cell phones, no cable TV, no PCs. A simpler time, to be sure. Time was spent riding your bicycles, exploring, playing hard, and learning life's lessons, one by one. Milk was still delivered to your front porch in the wee small hours of the morning by the neighborhood milkman, oxygen tents were used in hospitals, and Moon Pies were the cat's pajamas. School teachers all seemed ancient, seating was boy, girl, boy, girl. Long division was being taught, with nary a calculator to be had. No superstores on the horizon, but there were Piggly-Wiggly grocery stores and Woolworth's 5 & 10 stores. Baseball games were broadcast on the radio.
Love the parallel between youthful school yard bullies, Gordo and Gotha Branlin, who are simply mean-stupid, and the Blaylock clan, thugs who are said to be 'meaner 'n horny rattlers'. Nothing but grown-up bullies.
Kid humor is spread throughout, including the observation of farts, silent but deadly. It was all right on the money, if my recollection is correct. I was struck by something that Cory's dad noted to his son, that being when it rains while the sun is shining, it means the devil is beating his wife. My very own father shared the same reference with me, the only variation being that the devil was spanking his wife when this phenomenon occurred.
This is the first time I have read Robert McCammon. What a storyteller! Boy's Life is going on my top 10 all-time favorites shelf. Stellar read!
It was impossible not to wax nostalgic while reading this coming of age story, as I, too, was twelve years old in the summer of 1964. No cell phones, no cable TV, no PCs. A simpler time, to be sure. Time was spent riding your bicycles, exploring, playing hard, and learning life's lessons, one by one. Milk was still delivered to your front porch in the wee small hours of the morning by the neighborhood milkman, oxygen tents were used in hospitals, and Moon Pies were the cat's pajamas. School teachers all seemed ancient, seating was boy, girl, boy, girl. Long division was being taught, with nary a calculator to be had. No superstores on the horizon, but there were Piggly-Wiggly grocery stores and Woolworth's 5 & 10 stores. Baseball games were broadcast on the radio.
Love the parallel between youthful school yard bullies, Gordo and Gotha Branlin, who are simply mean-stupid, and the Blaylock clan, thugs who are said to be 'meaner 'n horny rattlers'. Nothing but grown-up bullies.
Kid humor is spread throughout, including the observation of farts, silent but deadly. It was all right on the money, if my recollection is correct. I was struck by something that Cory's dad noted to his son, that being when it rains while the sun is shining, it means the devil is beating his wife. My very own father shared the same reference with me, the only variation being that the devil was spanking his wife when this phenomenon occurred.
This is the first time I have read Robert McCammon. What a storyteller! Boy's Life is going on my top 10 all-time favorites shelf. Stellar read!
August 6, 2010
Boy's Life is one of those books you do not want to end.A beautiful coming of age story that takes place in Zephyr, Alabama. The time is the early 60's; men still work as milkmen and women devote much of their time to baking, though it has its bad sides: racial prejudices and segregation are still actual problems.
The protagonist is a 12 yar old boy, named Cory Mackenson. Cory doesn't have TV and video games; but he has no problem living to the fullest without these. After all, there are bikes, dogs and baseball; there is the theater, school and friends.
And magic. Magic of childhood; Cory still has what most adult people have long lost. There is a monster in the river, an eldelry black lady who is more mysterious than she looks, and mr. Vernon Thaxter, a man of bizarre personal conduct.
Boy's Life is an extremely bittersweet novel; it doesn't matter whether or not we were born in the 60's or later, in Alabama or someplace else. It reminds us of the wonders of youth; there is a certain poetic beauty in the sense of not understanding everything, of having missed a piece of the full meaning of things. There is great beauty not only in wisdom, but in this blissful, dazed ignorance, where summers are endless, bikes can take you anywhere, and there are always parents and home to return to.
Boy's Life might have its problems, but it doesn't diminish the warm and fuzzy feeling that accompanies the reading. It's sad when we do see them, actually: McCammon's novel reminded me that we all lose a part of this dramatic ignoracne, the thing which made us children. What would you do to take seriously the science fiction movies seriously? To believe that the monster in the river might snatch you if you aren't careful? To know that your bike might take you anywhere...if you trust it?
Just read the book. It's a great, gorgeous story. McCammon invites you on a journey which is worthwile and rewarding. And remember: the garden is infinitely more beautiful if there are fairies at the bottom of it.
The protagonist is a 12 yar old boy, named Cory Mackenson. Cory doesn't have TV and video games; but he has no problem living to the fullest without these. After all, there are bikes, dogs and baseball; there is the theater, school and friends.
And magic. Magic of childhood; Cory still has what most adult people have long lost. There is a monster in the river, an eldelry black lady who is more mysterious than she looks, and mr. Vernon Thaxter, a man of bizarre personal conduct.
Boy's Life is an extremely bittersweet novel; it doesn't matter whether or not we were born in the 60's or later, in Alabama or someplace else. It reminds us of the wonders of youth; there is a certain poetic beauty in the sense of not understanding everything, of having missed a piece of the full meaning of things. There is great beauty not only in wisdom, but in this blissful, dazed ignorance, where summers are endless, bikes can take you anywhere, and there are always parents and home to return to.
Boy's Life might have its problems, but it doesn't diminish the warm and fuzzy feeling that accompanies the reading. It's sad when we do see them, actually: McCammon's novel reminded me that we all lose a part of this dramatic ignoracne, the thing which made us children. What would you do to take seriously the science fiction movies seriously? To believe that the monster in the river might snatch you if you aren't careful? To know that your bike might take you anywhere...if you trust it?
Just read the book. It's a great, gorgeous story. McCammon invites you on a journey which is worthwile and rewarding. And remember: the garden is infinitely more beautiful if there are fairies at the bottom of it.
October 17, 2023
If you remember riding your bike with your friends, the feeling on the last day of school, the magic of summer vacation, the dread of a new school year, or the carnival coming to town this is definitely the book for you. A coming of age novel wrapped in a murder mystery and sprinkled with some magic. McCammon's ability to draw the reader in and hold them tight for the next 600 pages is nothing short of amazing. It brings you back to a simpler time when your life revolved around your friends and your bike. An epic that is comparable to Stephen King's IT, Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove, or Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides.
We follow our young hero, Cory Mackenson, and his friends as the town of Zephyr is poised to be torn apart by violence and racism. A seemingly sleepy little town that has more secrets than the bottom of Saxon's lake. The KKK, neo nazis, river monsters, a 100-year-old lady that might know magic, a creature from the lost world, and good old racist southern boys make for a mystery that will leave you hanging until the very last chapter.
I really liked this book and would highly recommend it. It's long but goes quickly and keeps you entertained the whole way.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
We follow our young hero, Cory Mackenson, and his friends as the town of Zephyr is poised to be torn apart by violence and racism. A seemingly sleepy little town that has more secrets than the bottom of Saxon's lake. The KKK, neo nazis, river monsters, a 100-year-old lady that might know magic, a creature from the lost world, and good old racist southern boys make for a mystery that will leave you hanging until the very last chapter.
I really liked this book and would highly recommend it. It's long but goes quickly and keeps you entertained the whole way.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
January 13, 2018
Boy's Life is about Cory Mackenson, the southern town of Zephyr and the magic of every day life.
We had a monster in the river, and a secret in the lake. We had a ghost that haunted the road behind the wheel of a black dragster with flames on the hood. We had a Gabriel and a Lucifer, and a rebel that rose from the dead. We had an alien invader, a boy with a perfect arm, and we had a dinosaur loose on Merchants Street. It was a magic place." pg 10, ebook.
The story begins with a death and a mystery. "On that morning before the sun, as I sat eating my breakfast with my dad and mom in our house on Hilltop Street, the year was 1964. There were great changes in the winds of earth, things of which I was unaware." pg 15.
After witnessing something terrible sinking into the lake, Cory sets about discovering what or who put it there.
The trauma is almost too much for Cory's father to bear. "Whoever did it had to be a local. Had to be. ... It might be somebody who sits on our pew at church. Somebody we buy groceries or clothes from. Somebody we've known all our lives... or thought we knew. That scares me like I've never been scared before." pg 35, ebook.
But this book is about more than just the central mystery. It is also about the community of Zephyr and the relationships between the people who live there.
There is a racial divide in the town. When the river overflows its banks, the white and black communities come together to prevent disaster. "There is something about nature out of control that touches a primal terror. We are used to believing that we're the masters of our domain, and that God has given us this earth to rule over. ... The truth is more fearsome: we are as frail as young trees in tornadoes, and our beloved homes are one flood away from driftwood." pg 97, ebook.
Boy's Life also examines coming-of-age issues like bullies, over-bearing parents, and accepting the realities of old age and death. "But I'll tell you a secret, Cory. Want to hear it?" I nodded. "No one," Mrs. Neville whispered, "ever grows up. ... They may look grown-up but it's a disguise. It's just the clay of time. Men and women are still children deep in their hearts." pg 221, ebook.
I loved this book. It is a far-reaching tale made for winter nights, to be read with a hot drink in your hand and a warm blanket on your lap.
It vaguely reminded me of The Help because of its southern location, the racial issues and some of the mystery elements. But really, Boy's Life stands on its own.
Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of magic and mystery.
We had a monster in the river, and a secret in the lake. We had a ghost that haunted the road behind the wheel of a black dragster with flames on the hood. We had a Gabriel and a Lucifer, and a rebel that rose from the dead. We had an alien invader, a boy with a perfect arm, and we had a dinosaur loose on Merchants Street. It was a magic place." pg 10, ebook.
The story begins with a death and a mystery. "On that morning before the sun, as I sat eating my breakfast with my dad and mom in our house on Hilltop Street, the year was 1964. There were great changes in the winds of earth, things of which I was unaware." pg 15.
After witnessing something terrible sinking into the lake, Cory sets about discovering what or who put it there.
The trauma is almost too much for Cory's father to bear. "Whoever did it had to be a local. Had to be. ... It might be somebody who sits on our pew at church. Somebody we buy groceries or clothes from. Somebody we've known all our lives... or thought we knew. That scares me like I've never been scared before." pg 35, ebook.
But this book is about more than just the central mystery. It is also about the community of Zephyr and the relationships between the people who live there.
There is a racial divide in the town. When the river overflows its banks, the white and black communities come together to prevent disaster. "There is something about nature out of control that touches a primal terror. We are used to believing that we're the masters of our domain, and that God has given us this earth to rule over. ... The truth is more fearsome: we are as frail as young trees in tornadoes, and our beloved homes are one flood away from driftwood." pg 97, ebook.
Boy's Life also examines coming-of-age issues like bullies, over-bearing parents, and accepting the realities of old age and death. "But I'll tell you a secret, Cory. Want to hear it?" I nodded. "No one," Mrs. Neville whispered, "ever grows up. ... They may look grown-up but it's a disguise. It's just the clay of time. Men and women are still children deep in their hearts." pg 221, ebook.
I loved this book. It is a far-reaching tale made for winter nights, to be read with a hot drink in your hand and a warm blanket on your lap.
It vaguely reminded me of The Help because of its southern location, the racial issues and some of the mystery elements. But really, Boy's Life stands on its own.
Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of magic and mystery.
August 13, 2024
Страхотен роман! В него се разказва за необикновеното детство на 11-годишния Кори, който обича да пише, а и мечтае да си има колело. Обаче, тъкмо в началото на дългоочакваното лято със своя баща стават свидетели на загадъчно убийство, в тяхното градче Зефир се случва голямо наводнение, а и започват да се появяват мистериозни създания...
„Момчешки живот“ е смесица между приключенски роман, фентъзи и хорър, но също така засяга и сериозни обществени проблеми. Написан е от Робърт Маккамън страшно увлекателно, както и по страхотен начин потапя читателите в атмосферата от 60-те години на миналия век. Силно препоръчвам книгата на всички, които искат отново да се докоснат до магията на детството!
„Момчешки живот“ е смесица между приключенски роман, фентъзи и хорър, но също така засяга и сериозни обществени проблеми. Написан е от Робърт Маккамън страшно увлекателно, както и по страхотен начин потапя читателите в атмосферата от 60-те години на миналия век. Силно препоръчвам книгата на всички, които искат отново да се докоснат до магията на детството!
November 29, 2017
Look, up in the sky!! Is that Lil' Nemo’s baseball hurtling to Earth with such an impact that it’ll wipe out all of mankind?
Sucker! Made you look.
I almost gave this three stars!
Oh, the inhumanity!!
I wasn’t quite as smitten by this book as some of my more learned friends – you know who you are.
McCammon is a fine writer; he creates some evocative characters; he lays out some of the most remarkable scenes that I have ever read; some of his passages threw me back to my own youth; he can turn a phrase…
…But…
For the first one hundred and fifty pages or so I was lulled into thinking this was going to be a straight up narrative about growing up in the Deep South with a dead body thrown in for kicks. A blurb on the cover compared it to “Prince of Tides”, yet no main character was twisted by repressed, deep seated anger or shame, no Barbara Streisand reference or escaped-convicts-gone-amok scene could I find – sweet, lyrical passages about being a boy, the book is laden with them for sure.
This one starts off like gangbusters. Murder and quaint childhood memories for the win! Then, McCammon starts tossing in one fantasy element after another. I was reeling, my head was spinning and after I sobered up I was still a tad confused and disenchanted. Nobody likes crazy nude characters or booger eating red heads or poo flinging monkeys or literary brothels more than me. If the evil, prancing monkey had been dressed up like Stonewall Jackson…. or had worn a Beatles wig I wouldn’t have hesitated to give this tome a solid four stars.
That said, as McCammon added on each bizarre plot element, it felt like watching Jackson Pollack gone amok with his finger paint set – my enthusiasm took another hit and my desire to continue reading diminished just a bit.
What would be next? Aliens anal-probing the mayor? The Demon red-head creates a killer robot? The Branlin brothers open up a House of Strawberry Pancakes Satan down the street? Cory’s mom pulls a plus one on Sweeny Todd and starts packing her pies with hillbilly meat?
Four stars for some fine writing and out-of-the-box plotting that someone smarter than me can appreciate. Plus, it took me back to my own misbegotten childhood.
This was a buddy read with the crème de la crème of Pantless folk – they know who they are.
Sucker! Made you look.
I almost gave this three stars!
Oh, the inhumanity!!
I wasn’t quite as smitten by this book as some of my more learned friends – you know who you are.
McCammon is a fine writer; he creates some evocative characters; he lays out some of the most remarkable scenes that I have ever read; some of his passages threw me back to my own youth; he can turn a phrase…
…But…
For the first one hundred and fifty pages or so I was lulled into thinking this was going to be a straight up narrative about growing up in the Deep South with a dead body thrown in for kicks. A blurb on the cover compared it to “Prince of Tides”, yet no main character was twisted by repressed, deep seated anger or shame, no Barbara Streisand reference or escaped-convicts-gone-amok scene could I find – sweet, lyrical passages about being a boy, the book is laden with them for sure.
This one starts off like gangbusters. Murder and quaint childhood memories for the win! Then, McCammon starts tossing in one fantasy element after another. I was reeling, my head was spinning and after I sobered up I was still a tad confused and disenchanted. Nobody likes crazy nude characters or booger eating red heads or poo flinging monkeys or literary brothels more than me. If the evil, prancing monkey had been dressed up like Stonewall Jackson…. or had worn a Beatles wig I wouldn’t have hesitated to give this tome a solid four stars.
That said, as McCammon added on each bizarre plot element, it felt like watching Jackson Pollack gone amok with his finger paint set – my enthusiasm took another hit and my desire to continue reading diminished just a bit.
What would be next? Aliens anal-probing the mayor? The Demon red-head creates a killer robot? The Branlin brothers open up a House of
Four stars for some fine writing and out-of-the-box plotting that someone smarter than me can appreciate. Plus, it took me back to my own misbegotten childhood.
This was a buddy read with the crème de la crème of Pantless folk – they know who they are.
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