This Boy's Life
Toby Wolff and his mother Rosemary flee his violent biological father in Florida, drift west across Utah, Salt Lake City, and the Cascades, and settle in the timber town of Concrete, Washington. There, Rosemary marries Dwight, a mechanic whose initial kindness curdles into a slow campaign of meanness. Toby invents himself in the gap, forging report cards, lying about his name, and trying on identities to escape Dwight's house. Wolff's 1989 memoir tracks the years from age ten to seventeen and is widely read as one of the foundational texts of the modern American dysfunctional-family memoir, alongside Mary Karr and Frank McCourt.
Where This Boy's Life keeps showing up
One of our editors' lists features this novel.
What you might want to know about This Boy's Life
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A boy and his mother flee his violent father, drift west, and land with a cruel stepfather in a timber town, where the boy invents himself to survive.
Yes. This Boy's Life is Tobias Wolff's 1989 memoir of his abusive stepfather and turbulent childhood in 1950s Pacific Northwest. It is widely cited as a foundational work in the modern memoir tradition.
Yes. Michael Caton-Jones directed a 1993 film adaptation starring Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, and a young Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is widely considered a faithful adaptation.
This Boy's Life was written by Tobias Wolff, published in 1989 by Harper Audio.
This Boy's Life is 288 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, This Boy's Life takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
This Boy's Life is a standalone novel by Tobias Wolff, not part of a series.
This Boy's Life is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
