Man and Boy by Tony Parsons is the story of how a man becomes a father to his son, and a son to a father. The affection Harry feels for his family, all of it, is obvious from the first page. As evident is Harry’s sense of self. He comes to realise that what he feels isn’t always enough, though. Approaching his thirtieth birthday, Harry is lost in between. He is no longer a child, but does not feel properly mature. He is married, but is unsure what that means. He loves his family, but isn’t quite sure why.
But, Harry knows himself, even if ‘himself’ baffles him, and that thread is what makes this story so brilliant: Harry’s utter honesty. He makes mistakes and owns up to them. He feels and is ready to share that fact. He loves unconditionally, which is both uplifting and heartbreaking all at once.
A month before his birthday, full of BIG questions and doubts, Harry makes a mistake. Then, within the course of thirty days, he loses everything he considered important. Over the next six months, he gains it all back, but not necessarily in the same form. Harry learns to be a father, not just a man with a young boy. He begins to understand his own father. He figures out what is important, and who, and he learns what love is.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Harry’s voice was so real. At times, his observations were funny, at others, wrenching. I forgave him his mistake. I hated his wife. I cheered Harry’s successes and secretly plotted Gina’s failure. I loved that none of the characters were heroes (except for the possible exception of Harry’s dad). They were all ordinary people and could be wholly uncompromising. Not a one of them changed their mind for the sake of the plot or story; they were all themselves to the end. Even Harry—though he grew. At the end of the book, he was still Harry, still ‘himself’, but a much more content version.
There is a sequel, Man and Wife. I am not sure if I want to continue the story, however, as I was satisfied with who Harry was at the end of this chapter.
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《男人与男孩》热门书评
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挺好看的
4有用 1无用 黎黎小叶子 2009-08-27
此处是废话,可跳过(与这个小说的缘分源于赫敏封面的《淑媛》,由于在机场的时候在10元的赫敏和5元的杰克逊封面的《外滩画报》之间纠结了一下之后选择了MJ,所以直到前天按原价买回了这本赫敏感觉就像离开了很久的孩子终于回家了那种遗憾被弥补的满足。这期《淑媛》的女编辑介绍了《男人与男孩》这本小说,我突然想起...
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今天,我成了男人,我二十五岁。
1有用 0无用 苏摩 2012-01-18
本来我以为会是主人公跟吉娜复合,又幸福的跟父母妻子儿子生活在一起的完美结局。其实最后是父亲癌症去世了,妻子跟了别人,主动放弃了儿子的抚养权,一切都看起来很糟糕,不过,他找到了爱的真意。其实早几年看的话,我可能真不明白为什么会是这样的一个结局,我也曾期盼着曾经伤害过的人能够原谅我,然后大家幸福的在一起...
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男孩的故事
0有用 0无用 seven 2009-09-19
刚开始看到书的扉页上写着:销量只有同一时期的《哈利波特》可以比拟, 我就冲着这话借了这本书,想看看到底什么书可以和被我认定为我未来孩子的睡前读物相比。刚看前二十页时我不得不说我非常失望,净是些琐事……我借这本书可不是为了了解一个男人的中年危机的!我想如...
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好似村里某隔壁邻居家发生的事,这就是生活
0有用 0无用 旋律 2009-10-06
一个很典型的描写中年危机的故事。中年,可能有点说早了。但是就是在结婚后的家庭生活。我想起了很久以前看过的一本“小人物日记”也是某一英国作家写的。一样,没有华丽的语言,没有扣人心弦的情节,但是很写实。好似在说某个邻居家...
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帕森斯系列
0有用 0无用 向日葵 2009-12-12
因为先看了<男人和妻子>很不错, 所以又买来了第一本<男人和男孩>, 刚看了1/3, 不过感觉不如第二本好看. 但是他的文笔很生活化, 不晦涩. 我推荐不论是男人还是女人都可以看看, 会对两性和婚姻有比较真实的认识. 作者的序言说书的内容来自他自己的生活, 我信, 因为想法确...
书名: 男人与男孩
作者: [英] 托尼·帕森斯
出版社: 人民文学出版社
译者: 严忠志
出版年: 2009年1月
页数: 317页
定价: 25.00元
装帧: 平装
ISBN: 9787020069156