About the book
Tobias Wolff's memoir of growing up in 1950s America follows young Toby and his mother, who keep on the move after a divorce separates them from his father and brother. Mother and son grow close, almost telepathically so, while Toby struggles to win self-respect and a sense of who he is under a hostile new stepfather. The story takes in paper routes, scouting, whiskey, fistfights, friendship and betrayal, along with schemes such as forging checks, stealing cars and running away to Alaska. Wolff recreates the cruelty and frustration of adolescence, and Toby's experiences read as both poignant and comic. The memoir was later adapted into a film directed by Michael Caton-Jones, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin.
Ryan Holiday picked it for his list of books every young and ambitious man should read, calling it a far better pick than Catcher in the Rye for a young man still working out his identity and his ambitions.
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This book has 1 recommendation
Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)
If you wanted to read a book to become a successful, well-adjusted person, you probably could not do worse than Catcher in the Rye. Tobias Wolff’s memoir is a far better choice for the young man struggling with who he is and who he wants to be.
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