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A Boy's Own Story

A Novel

Author Edmund White
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Paperback
$17.00 US
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
On sale Feb 24, 2009 | 208 Pages | 9780143114840
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The “extraordinary novel” (The New York Times Book Review) about one boy’s coming-of-age during the 1950s—and one of the most groundbreaking portrayals of gay life in American fiction

“The best American narrative of sexual awakening since Catcher in the Rye.” —Chicago Sun-Times

Ridiculed by his classmates and beset by aloof parents and a cruel sister, the unnamed narrator of Edmund White’s first autobiographical novel finds solace in literature, works of art, and his own fantastic imagination. But as he strives to forge new friendships, his yearning to be loved by the men in his life evokes a crushing sense of shame and a struggle to accept who he is. Lyrical and poignant, A Boy’s Own Story—the first of a trilogy, followed by The Beautiful Room Is Empty and The Farewell Symphony—is an American literary treasure that became an instant classic upon publication for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality.
Edmund White was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1940. His fiction includes the autobiographical trilogy A Boy’s Own Story, The Beautiful Room Is Empty, and The Farewell Symphony, as well as Caracole, Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples, and Skinned Alive, a collection of short stories. He is also the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Jean Genet, a short study of Proust, a travel book about gay America—States of Desire—and Our Paris. He is an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and teaches at Princeton University. He lives in New York City. View titles by Edmund White

About

The “extraordinary novel” (The New York Times Book Review) about one boy’s coming-of-age during the 1950s—and one of the most groundbreaking portrayals of gay life in American fiction

“The best American narrative of sexual awakening since Catcher in the Rye.” —Chicago Sun-Times

Ridiculed by his classmates and beset by aloof parents and a cruel sister, the unnamed narrator of Edmund White’s first autobiographical novel finds solace in literature, works of art, and his own fantastic imagination. But as he strives to forge new friendships, his yearning to be loved by the men in his life evokes a crushing sense of shame and a struggle to accept who he is. Lyrical and poignant, A Boy’s Own Story—the first of a trilogy, followed by The Beautiful Room Is Empty and The Farewell Symphony—is an American literary treasure that became an instant classic upon publication for its pioneering portrayal of homosexuality.

Author

Edmund White was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1940. His fiction includes the autobiographical trilogy A Boy’s Own Story, The Beautiful Room Is Empty, and The Farewell Symphony, as well as Caracole, Forgetting Elena, Nocturnes for the King of Naples, and Skinned Alive, a collection of short stories. He is also the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Jean Genet, a short study of Proust, a travel book about gay America—States of Desire—and Our Paris. He is an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and teaches at Princeton University. He lives in New York City. View titles by Edmund White

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