Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon is a coming of age novel that takes place in 1964 Alabama. The book is a slice of life that dips into magical realism, mystery, and horror.
Boy’s Life is a modern classic, published in 1991, about life in the 1960s. It should be compared to the classic Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Both stories involve a boy witnessing something he should not. Both stories take place in the South. Both books are filled with quirky side characters. Race relations are also in the background. Tom Sawyer takes place with the Civil War approaching, while Boy’s Life takes place during the Civil Rights Movement and the fight to end segregation. Both books end with the boys having learned something and grown up a little.
The story is about the magic of childhood, where Corey, our main character, is caught between reality and the magic in the world. Boy’s Life is also a father and son story. Cory learns that his dad has weaknesses, is vulnerable, and can get things wrong.
This is Robert McCammon’s most personal book. You can feel the authenticity in the characters and setting. I do believe Robert McCammon is the best side character writer, with Stephen King a close second. The Lady, The Moon Man, the Candystick Kid, Nemo, and even the crocodile Old Moses are all so memorable, and there are many more.
The pacing is a little slow at times, but what you get in return are all those details that make everything feel so authentic and lived in. I was able to read this book in four days, reading an hour or two before and after bed. It is a hard book to put down, which definitely helps.
The book gave me all the emotions. I cried multiple times, I laughed, I tensed up, and I thought about my own life and how the past has impacted me.
The ending was great. The mystery of the book is solved in an interesting way. We get the magical realism aspect of, “Did that just happen?” Then we get the epilogue that puts everything in a bow twenty years later and brings a little of that childhood magic back.
Boy’s Life won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel in 1991.
Boy’s Life was first published on August 1, 1991, by Pocket Books.
Why did I read Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon?
Boy’s Life is a novel that I read 20 years ago and have been looking for an opportunity to revisit. I recently got my wife to read Boy’s Life, and she would talk to me about it while I would vaguely remember different parts. She really wanted to discuss it with me, so I read it as my Wifely read this month. She Rated the book 5 out of 5 stars and it is now one of her favorite books.
Robert McCammon is my favorite writer. I recently met him for the second time, and he signed my copy of Boy’s Life.
I also did a video celebrating reading over 1,000 books and put together a list of my top 50 reads. Robert McCammon took two spots: number 15 with The Wolf’s Hour and number 6 with Boy’s Life.
Plot Summary:
Corey is 12 years old when he witnesses a car with a passenger speeding into the lake. His dad jumps in with reckless abandon, but he is too late. Corey thinks he saw someone watching from the woods but isn’t sure. What he does find is a single green feather that could be a clue.
We spend a year with Corey as he watches his father become traumatized by the events. Corey also thinks about becoming a writer for the first time as he captures the events in his story. Cory has a lot of growing up to do in a year as we observe a boy’s life.
What I Liked:
The characters and locations feel so real. McCammon uses descriptions that you can’t help but picture. All the characters feel like real people.
The Candystick Kid story and then what happens later in the story with his character is perfect. We get the setup, and then we get a callback scene later that makes it even better.
The scenes with Rebel, the dog. One of the hardest lessons of the book is handled with such a gentle hand that you can’t help but shed a tear.
The Lady scenes were always great. I love her character and her views on segregation, civil rights, and community.
The missile scene could have been a farce, but instead it turns into a lesson and a connection.
The Old Moses scene in the house was incredible. The way McCammon built the tension in that scene is a masterstroke of writing.
What I Disliked:
I could have used one or two more scenes with Davey Ray. Of the friend group, he was the one I felt the least connected to.
The flying scene was the only chapter I felt was not needed, but it did fit very well with the other incidents of magical realism.
Recommendation:
Read this book immediately.
Boy’s Life works for everyone. Every kid has felt the same way Corey has felt, that there are things in this world that sometimes can’t be explained. Even if you fill those moments with magical imagination, there is a little truth there.
This book would be great to teach alongside The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and another Alabama classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. All three parallel race relations, young people having adventures, and observing the evil actions of grown-ups.
I need more people to read this book and discuss it.
Rating:
Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon
5 out of 5 stars
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