A Boy's Own Story

By Edmund White

The young narrator of this story (who never reveals his name) is not very comfortable with himself. In his early teens, he finds that his sexual fantasies all center on men, even on his own father. Growing up in the 1950s, being homosexual is not what he wants to be. His dad earns a good living but he is a cold and distant father and eventually leaves his family to take up with a young woman.
Trying to cope with his homosexuality, the boy turns to religion, he turns to psychiatry, he even falls for a girl but he still finds himself yearning for a male lover. He has several trysts with other males but doesn't find that lover, that one special guy. By the end of the story he turns out to be a manipulative little bitch.

Supposedly this is based on the author's own life. Many readers have really loved this book, finding the author's writing wonderful. I saw it was on one of those "1000 books you must read before you die" lists. I don't know why, though, unless the list compilers feel that you shouldn't die without reading about how homosexual men have sex. I actually found it pretty gross. But I must admit I am not one who enjoys reading explicit descriptions of sexual acts, gay or straight. But never mind that. Forget the sex. I just found the whole story to be a big yawn. It never really touched me. The boy was creepy, his dad was creepy, his mom was creepy, his shrink was creepy and he closes the story with a creepy sex act with a creepy teacher at his creepy school. It was all pretty repulsive.