Boyhood by John M. Coetzee

I liked Boyhood, because it was a very truthful memoir that talked about the struggles in life in a flowing manner without making me depressed or bored. At times I didn't understand what may have been going through the author's head, but I could tell that it was something crucial to his life just by the tone in which he chose to express it.

Even though I enjoyed the book, it was very odd. I didn't find out the author's first name until the middle of the book, and I didn't find out his father's name until the end of the book. Not only that, but there were a lot of frustrating thoughts going through my mind because of the things the author had thought as a child. But that is what a book is supposed to make you do; it's supposed to make you feel the emotion of the sentence, paragraph, etc. Even if it is something small the author's main goal is to make you feel it and John M. Coetzee did a spectacular job of that.

This book took place in a povertized South Africa where young boys either wore over sized clothes or hand-me-downs. Sadly, John was not fortunate as a child; his father had no respect for women, his mother never stood up for herself, and John himself didn't particularly like either of them. John did love his mother, but who wants to be made fun of because they are a momma's boy? John was an excellent student; first in his class, but as soon as he came home he was moody and rude.

I would recommend this book to people that have been through a lot of tragedies in their lifetime, because this book will let them know that they are not alone; there are others out there dealing with the same problems as them. As for the age group, this is a very mature book that cannot be taken lightly and has to be taken seriously. This memoir includes some heavy stuff that most middle schoolers are not mature enough to completely understand. I say ages 14-17 are reasonable ages because adults would think this book to be too childish, and middle schoolers wouldn't take it seriously.

I liked the storyline, because it talks about how a spoiled young boy grows up to be a cold-hearted and strong-minded young man. I do believe that at times the book was much too confusing and weird for me, but I greatly enjoyed it. I hope more people read this remarkable story.