Boy A
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Watch the author talk about this book in Windows Media Player format:
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"'Boy A impressed us on many levels: as a compelling narrative, a beautifully structured piece of writing, and as a thought-provoking novel of ideas. It's a wonderful debut' Sarah Waters, author and chair of the Judges of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize 'A shocker of a first novel... told with extraordinary restraint' New York Times '[A] modern day immorality tale about the attempted rehabilitation of a child implicated in murder... delivered with a horrific sense of foreboding' Arena 'A frankly amazing achievement from young Mr Trigell' FHM 'A fine and moving debut novel... compulsively readable... a rare treat' The Independent 'Trigell masterfully builds sympathy for Jack' Entertainment Weekly"
FHM
`A frankly amazing achievement from young Mr Trigell'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
He's seen noses broken over less: the fag butts on the pavement have been carelessly tossed, five drags left in them. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
He's seen noses broken over less: the fag butts on the pavement have been carelessly tossed, five drags left in them. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was very surprised to find that this is the first novel from Jonathan Trigell, Boy A is a very powerful & hard-hitting book, written in a very easy to read style and totally unputtdownable!
Boy A, or Jack as he is now called, is a young man released from prison after being locked up for most of his life. The book charts his release in to the real world and how he deals with everyday situations that we all take for granted. He also has to learn to cope with the aftermath of the horrific act that got him sentenced. One minute a monster, one minute a boy who just did something very bad when he was young, Jack really gets under your skin and causes you to think – what if?
Totally different to any other book that I have read recently it is also very refreshing to read a book where the ending did not disappoint! I can not recommend this enough.
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Reading the publisher's blurb gives you an idea of the plot but reading the book is something different. Boy A is "reborn" following a spell in various prison establishments and is let free. This is his story - but as we go through the chapters of the novel, each one starting with a letter of the alphabet, his backstory is revealed - it seems that Boy A can never escape his past, despite having done the time for his crime.
The reader is made to feel something of a voyeur - because the shame of Boy A (now called Jack) is so deep. There are indications that Boy A is in the same position as one of the killers of Jamie Bulger - of being described by the media as a monster who has done something unforgiveable and inhuman. The reader is put in the position, frequently, of the public. There are allusions to the publicity surrounding the crime in the tabloids, and the role of the media in Jack's life is fundamental to the plot: despite the theory of crime and punishment, it seems that there can be no redemption, and no new rebirth.
The author intends us to feel not only pity for the protagonist, but also to explain how he has come to be this way - exploring through the medium of the old case files and the history of Boy A how he has never received the love and attention that would have led him to grow up as a socially responsible member of society, and thus how Boy A has lacked the appropriate stimuli to develop properly. There is even the possibility that Boy A was the accomplice to the crime committed by the other boy, and that he was unaware of the extent of the crime caused. As a child he has been tried in an adult court, and both prior and post sentence, he has never really been cared for by adults. Only his cell mate and his probation officer have a link with him.
Above all, this is a story about love and the lack of it, and of innocence and corruption - Jack's probation officer has formed more of a close relationship with Jack than with his own son, from whom he is estranged following his divorce from his wife. The denouement centres around jealousy and envy - Zed being the complete opposite of Boy A, yet someone who lives within the law as it is understood by the media.
If I were to summarize the obvious about this book it would be "hug a hoodie". But this misses out the way that the book plays to the reader - rather carefully manipulating the reader throughout, so we are put through a mixture of responses (voyeurism, shock, horror, sympathy, empathy, distaste and judgement) as we work through the alphabet of who Jack is: Jack the lad, Jack of all trades, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy - and who he might, with a bit of luck, become.
This is an excellent novel, and worth spending time on, if only to explore your own reactions to the situations described.
The reader is made to feel something of a voyeur - because the shame of Boy A (now called Jack) is so deep. There are indications that Boy A is in the same position as one of the killers of Jamie Bulger - of being described by the media as a monster who has done something unforgiveable and inhuman. The reader is put in the position, frequently, of the public. There are allusions to the publicity surrounding the crime in the tabloids, and the role of the media in Jack's life is fundamental to the plot: despite the theory of crime and punishment, it seems that there can be no redemption, and no new rebirth.
The author intends us to feel not only pity for the protagonist, but also to explain how he has come to be this way - exploring through the medium of the old case files and the history of Boy A how he has never received the love and attention that would have led him to grow up as a socially responsible member of society, and thus how Boy A has lacked the appropriate stimuli to develop properly. There is even the possibility that Boy A was the accomplice to the crime committed by the other boy, and that he was unaware of the extent of the crime caused. As a child he has been tried in an adult court, and both prior and post sentence, he has never really been cared for by adults. Only his cell mate and his probation officer have a link with him.
Above all, this is a story about love and the lack of it, and of innocence and corruption - Jack's probation officer has formed more of a close relationship with Jack than with his own son, from whom he is estranged following his divorce from his wife. The denouement centres around jealousy and envy - Zed being the complete opposite of Boy A, yet someone who lives within the law as it is understood by the media.
If I were to summarize the obvious about this book it would be "hug a hoodie". But this misses out the way that the book plays to the reader - rather carefully manipulating the reader throughout, so we are put through a mixture of responses (voyeurism, shock, horror, sympathy, empathy, distaste and judgement) as we work through the alphabet of who Jack is: Jack the lad, Jack of all trades, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy - and who he might, with a bit of luck, become.
This is an excellent novel, and worth spending time on, if only to explore your own reactions to the situations described.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I didn't want to enjoy reading this book due to its subject matter - I didn't want to admit that I could empathise with someone who was capable of doing such an awful act, but I did - particularly because he was only ten when 'it' happened.
Having to start afresh when released into a world of which he has no experience requires courage and the guiding hand of 'Uncle Terry' - Jack's surrogate father. Jack's doing well, trying hard at working, making friends, and getting a girlfriend, but the media continually keeps nibbling away at the fact that a (child) child-killer is lose in the community - surely it can't end happily ever after?
The author cleverly builds up the tension, interweaving layers of the Boy A's neglected childhood and the crime itself, with life in prison, and life outside in the real world. Told mainly from Jack's PoV, but also from his friends, case-worker Terry and girlfriend Michelle. Things are never black and white, just different shades of grey... A really thought-provoking book that I'm glad I read.
Having to start afresh when released into a world of which he has no experience requires courage and the guiding hand of 'Uncle Terry' - Jack's surrogate father. Jack's doing well, trying hard at working, making friends, and getting a girlfriend, but the media continually keeps nibbling away at the fact that a (child) child-killer is lose in the community - surely it can't end happily ever after?
The author cleverly builds up the tension, interweaving layers of the Boy A's neglected childhood and the crime itself, with life in prison, and life outside in the real world. Told mainly from Jack's PoV, but also from his friends, case-worker Terry and girlfriend Michelle. Things are never black and white, just different shades of grey... A really thought-provoking book that I'm glad I read.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Thought provoking look at serious moral dilemma
On the last day of last year I read and was thrilled by Jonathan Trigell's latest novel Genus, a work of speculative fiction about the future of "designer babies". Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. A. Davison
Stark, unmissable
I actually found this book really sad. I couldn't get my head around people actually deserving a second chance in this type of situation. Read more
Published 4 months ago by F. Postlethwaite
Fab to read
I thoroughly enjoyed reading `Boy A' as much as I enjoyed watching the film adaptation for television a number of years ago. Read more
Published 6 months ago by SJSmith
Hard Hitting and Thought Provoking
At long last, I've finally gotten around to reading Boy A. I really enjoyed the film adaptation of this novel some years ago and wanted to leave a good while before reading the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Lincs Reader
Bleak but sympathetic
This book made me very sad. I thought I could see where it was going and hoped that this would be the case but the careful development of characters eventually ended with no-one... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Louiseog
Opportunistic and badly written
I read this book because it was chosen for my reading group, so I freely admit that it isn't a book I would have chosen for myself and I wasn't particularly fascinated by the... Read more
Published 21 months ago by H. Ashford
read and think
A very good book for anybody who is open minded and willing to discuss various sterio types. Both me and my partner were able to discuss this book for seberal hours after reading... Read more
Published 23 months ago by M. W. J. Powell
A disappointing read focusing on the wrong character
I bought and read this book as, like many others, I am fascinated by the Bulger case and the motivations of his child-killers. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2010 by Mrs. N. Fricker
Missed Opportunity
I read this book as the Bulger case has fascinated me from the day it happened. I was only a year or so older than the 'Boy A and Boy B' Venables and Thompson when it all happened... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by Moony
A genuine, thought provoking read
Reading the blurb on this book, I wasn't sure how I would feel about reading this. In a plot that clearly takes its influence from the Jamie Bolger murder, it is bound to be a... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2010 by Ceci
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
