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Jim the Boy A Novel Tony Earley 9780316198950 Books

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Jim the Boy A Novel Tony Earley 9780316198950 Books

I picked up Jim the Boy after seeing it on one of the earlier NY Times Notable Books lists from several years ago and am super happy I did. It is the perfect crossover book---kids, young adults, and adults can all read it and get something meaningful out of it. The story is about a young boy named Jim who lives in what seems to be close to poverty conditions in a city called Aliceville in North Carolina in the 1930s. His father has since passed on but his 3 uncles and mom raise him and give him plenty of love and learnings about how to get on in the world. The book is not really a story so much as it is a series of loosely collected anecdotes that all seem to have a key message that one can take away. How to act towards friends. How to behave in school. Really how to get on in the world. The pace of the book was fast. It was interesting and heartbreaking at times. I will definitely plan to read the sequel in the near term. I highly recommend it to all young men and women age 12 and up.


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Jim the Boy A Novel Tony Earley 9780316198950 Books Reviews

This is a story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I looked forward to spending time with the characters each evening during my reading time, and I can't say that about some of the books I've read. It's a gentle story, with characters that care about each other and are kind to each other. The area it is set in came alive for me, which was a bonus, since I'll probably never get to that part of the country. I only wish I could have spent more time with Jim-Boy and his family.
It's hard to explain why this book is so good. It's not about the plot, which is barely existent--Jim simply grows up a little. It's not about the philosophy; it's not a pretentious book in any way, and the thoughts that run through it are neither deep nor shallow. It's not about the characters, who are beautifully portrayed yet nothing unusual. And it's not even the writing, which although flawless, doesn't feel showy or inspired. What makes this book so good is that every part of it comes together like an intricate three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, completing a picture so fulfilling, so total, so lifelike, that you enter a new world in way that few authors allow their readers to do--it's a world as clear and distinct as your own. And when done, you've made friends with a young man whom you won't forget for years.
Highly recommended for anyone who was born in, came from, or has relatives in a small town, particularly a small town in western NC or SC. Extra points if you're from around Rutherford, Gaffney, Shelby, or points thereby.
Imagine "Catcher in the Rye" written from the point of view of a child who actually wants to catch baseballs, and who may be growing up on a farm that COULD be growing rye, and is as Southern rural as you can get without stomping on any politically correct toes.
Tony Earley's first "novel" isn't so much a novel as it is a humorous and melancholy episodal remembrance of pre-adolescence in a small Southern town. Since Earley's date of birth comes much later than the setting in the novel (and Earley was born a scant few years before my birth), and since the small town in question is (apparently) about 30 miles from my small town of birth, I have a soft spot for his prose. The reader will NOT find a great novel here; however, the reader will find a tender and nuanced piece of fiction that will bring back memories to anyone born in the South sometime before the 1970's. Indeed, those born in ANY small town with any knowledge of their childhood-town's history will wince and nod knowingly, assuming that Earley was really writing about their town. Jim's coming of age has no rude points, but suggests the pre-adolescent angst.
The book is concise--you can easily read it in one sitting, probably in a few hours. If the milieu and memories dredged up resound with you, the reader will probably want to go back and re-read some of the sections, just for the nostalgia. And, all that aside, the last section of the book, indeed, the last 3 or 4 pages of the book, are perhaps the best writing to come out of the South in decades. Earley has pieced together vignettes that border upon "young adult" fiction, along with a style that reminds one of Faulkner at his wittiest and Welty at her tenderest, and topped it off with a heart-wrenching finale that should make you cry.
I should reiterate "witty"--there are some belly laughs in this book. The "lights on" section is laugh-out-loud, and the acerbic humor of the uncles deserves more chapters, or at least a re-visitation by Earley. The understated humor, even in the dramatic passages, suggest that Earley is holding back on us--he could become this generation's version of Jean Shepherd, if he chose to.
The main drawback to the book is that it's too short. I gave it less than 5 stars mainly because of that, and partly because it sometimes reads as if some of the sections were meant as "young adult" prose but then changed into a "real adult" novel. I've been a fan of Earley even before his short stories were collected in "Here We Are in Paradise", and had hoped that his first novel would be a massive neo-Faulkner/Percy/Welty revival. I was disappointed with "Jim the Boy" for the first few tens of pages due to that expectation. Then, I got into the flow of the writing, and changed my expectations. The book reads in many places like a "young adult" work, and that's OK--I'd recommend it for teenagers. Then again, the nuances and beauty of the writing are obviously a bit more sophisticated than most "young adult" offerings, so it must be a real adult book.
Of course, "As I Lay Dying" reads like a "young adult" book, and look what's in there. And, as I suggested earlier, IF you're from a small town and latch onto the protagonists in the first 20 or so pages, you'll bawl like a baby on the last page.
Jim Earley is a wonderful, descriptive writer. His descriptive language let's you see in your head exactly what he's talking about. He gives one a real feel for life in the South in the 30's. I would have liked to have had Jim's mother, Cissy, to have been featured more in the book, but I loved reading the relationship Jim had with his uncles.
The only thing I didn't like was the ending. It just...ended. The book only portrayed one year in Jim's life and ended with him meeting his grandfather, who was dying and didn't even know Jim was there. It was like Mr Earley had written all he could think of about this character, Jim, so he just stopped. Kind of a disappointing let down.
Tony Earley has crafted a novel that is simple, yet complex at the same time. Its not written in overly descriptive, flowery language that seems to plague so many novels that are currently being produced.
It hearkens back to a time that was more idyllic and colorful.
I havent lived in the south, heck- I havent even visited. So, I couldn't tell you how the novel takes on that particular region and culture, and whether or not it is authentic and all that jazz.
But I can tell you this Reading this book (and the sequel, THE BLUE STAR) reminds me a great deal of the stage production "Our Town."
For me, it captures brief moments in time that are frozen and almost crystalized. Moments that are written with humanity and that have an underlying sadness to them, but still make you want more.
I felt that this book was brilliantly written, the style was easy to get in touch with, I liked the characters and had in my mind pictures of them and the little town of Aliceville. A great read and I am so happy that I was able to stumble across this little gem. Wonderful, simply amazing.
I picked up Jim the Boy after seeing it on one of the earlier NY Times Notable Books lists from several years ago and am super happy I did. It is the perfect crossover book---kids, young adults, and adults can all read it and get something meaningful out of it. The story is about a young boy named Jim who lives in what seems to be close to poverty conditions in a city called Aliceville in North Carolina in the 1930s. His father has since passed on but his 3 uncles and mom raise him and give him plenty of love and learnings about how to get on in the world. The book is not really a story so much as it is a series of loosely collected anecdotes that all seem to have a key message that one can take away. How to act towards friends. How to behave in school. Really how to get on in the world. The pace of the book was fast. It was interesting and heartbreaking at times. I will definitely plan to read the sequel in the near term. I highly recommend it to all young men and women age 12 and up.