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Chargement... The Boys: A Novelpar Katie Hafner
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. In the hands of a lesser writer this would have been trite and absurd, but Hafner pulls it off. Briefly, the book centers on Ethan, a gifted programmer who launched a successful startup (not billionaire success, but comfortable life without having to work much success.) He had serious childhood trauma, and perhaps as a result is very introverted. He is lovable but unquestionably a bit odd. When he meets Barb his life changes but his unexamined dormant trauma response takes a complicated turn in part 2 of the book and then we either are hateful and give up on him or root for him to find a path to healing. This is a book about giving people space without abandoning them, practicing empathy while also setting boundaries. These are tall orders. Living with someone with serious OCD is so hard and often thankless - it is made worse when that person refuses to seen meaningful help or solutions. (I speak from experience.) The beauty of Barb's and Izzy's response to Ethan, their non-judgmental gaze and their ability to find the beauty in Ethan's skewed perspective, really moved me. This book is not perfect, but it is very good and for me empathy building, and I was absorbed all the way through. So glad I read this. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
"When introverted Ethan Fawcett marries Barb, he has every reason to believe he will be delivered from a lifetime of solitude. She fills his world with a sense of adventure, expanding his horizons beyond his comfortable routine. Because Ethan fears becoming a father, one day Barb brings home two young brothers, Tommy and Sam, for them to foster, and Ethan immediately falls in love with the two boys. When the pandemic hits, he becomes obsessed with providing a perfect life for them. But instead of bringing Barb and Ethan closer together, the boys become a wedge in their relationship, as Ethan is unable to share with Barb a secret that has been haunting him since childhood. Then Ethan takes Tommy and Sam on a biking trip in Italy, and it becomes clear just how unusual Ethan and his children are. This hauntingly beautiful debut novel--a bold and original high-wire feat--is 'a treat with a surprise inside'"-- Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion avec l'auteurKatie Hafner a discuté avec les utilisateurs de LibraryThing du Aug 12, 2013 au Aug 16, 2013. Lire la discussion. Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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There's the twist, of course, which I won't reveal here, but "The Boys" also features another elephant in the room. Hafner's prose is observant, but the tone throughout remains straightforward and informative, and, for the most part, rather bright. This isn't to say that Ethan's life has been one long afternoon of happiness -- far from it! -- but his confidence, his nuts-and-bolts approach to life, and his relative success can make his emotional life seem a bit featureless. It only takes a few small changes for things to change drastically, and, to the author's credit, she skillfully shows how quickly a meticulously constructed existence such as Ethan and Barb's can come apart. Hafner's authorial voice never wavers, though: there's no indirect third person here. And there you have it: though the author chooses not to, you might call this one "The Curious Incident of the Coder in the Night-Time". Many of the topics that "The Boys" touches on -- such as the necessity for personal courage when faced with one's own limitations, or the continuing evolution of a marriage -- are universal, while other parts of the book seem particular as Ethan himself. I can't say that "The Boys" is a classic-in-waiting, I think that it's a fine example of neurodivergent lit, and that's a category that might grow more interesting as we learn more about the complexities of the neuroatypical human mind and how it interactions with the emotions of those who live on the spectrum. Recommended to those with a special interest in these subjects. ( )