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This Boy (2013)

by Alan Johnson(Favorite Author)

4.24 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1448110483 (ISBN13: 9781448110483)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Transworld Digital

review 1: I may as well add to the general acclaim with which this book has been greeted. Alan Johnson is my generation, and lived within a few miles of me in London. It could have been another planet. We weren't at all well off, but compared with the wretched conditions under which he was raised, we were kings. His mother struggled with ill-heath, a feckless husband and truly dreadful housing, yet did a good job of raising Alan and his sister Linda, who was forced into an adult role long before her time. No self-pity here, just an upbeat account of a boyhood which, for all its many troubles, was in many ways a happy one. And best of all, it's not a political memoir.
review 2: I loved this book. It's a very down to earth and honest account of Alan Johnson's early l... moreife, finishing around the age of 18. With a backdrop of the poorest areas of Notting Hill/ Kensington in the 1950's, his story tells us much more about the characters of his sister and mother than his own - two determined and resilient women who reared him and were obviously a huge influence on him. The poverty and struggle to make ends meet, especially during his mother's increasing ill health is poignant and you can't help but make comparisons to the upbringings of other politicians of his generation. We learn about his passion for football, reading and music but there is no mention yet of politics or how he went from being a postie to an MP. There are some laugh out loud moments, but often it's a shocking reminder of the conditions that many people lived in at that time, no romanticising and plenty of very matter of fact accounts. What's also clever is the way he weaves historical events of the time AND the music of the time, through the book. Looking forward to reading his sequel.... less

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