Man and Boy – Tony Parsons
I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I’d hoped. It was pretty good, I just found it rather depressing. I guess when a couple separates a happy ending is impossible, so what did I expect?
One or two other aspects of the story didn’t quite convince me. The man’s experience of primary school – or rather, his son’s – sounded a lot like my memory of primary school, but didn’t sound much like my experience of taking my son. Is that the difference between being 5 at school and being 10, I wonder?
I also wasn’t convinced by the character of the wife in particular. It felt to me like several of the main characters were made deliberately unsympathetic: the wife, her new boyfriend (semi-separated), and the main character’s new love interest’s ex-husband (and the father of her daughter). I guess if the premise starts with the main character committing adultery, you have to work a lot to make them sympathetic. But I don’t think it’s necessary to paint everyone else black in order to make him look better.
I also felt the book failed to answer the biggest question it asked. The main character sees from the example of his father-in-law what happens when a man drifts from failed relationship to failed relationship, leaving children behind each time. He sees it in himself, the desire for one more chance to do it right. And he then moves into another relationship. The book tries in many ways to make clear that this new relationship is different – but isn’t that what they always say?
Where the book works best is in the relationships between the main character, his son, and his dad. And of course that’s really the heart of the book. That much I can believe – the contrast between generations of the man and his dad, who fought in the war. It’s a great subject – what does it mean to be a man these days? Not what it meant a generation ago, for sure.
There were other parts of the book I enjoyed too. The relationship between the main character and his new girlfriend, for example, and the brief descriptions of his work. Some good themes; but somehow not quite as good as it could have been.
One or two other aspects of the story didn’t quite convince me. The man’s experience of primary school – or rather, his son’s – sounded a lot like my memory of primary school, but didn’t sound much like my experience of taking my son. Is that the difference between being 5 at school and being 10, I wonder?
I also wasn’t convinced by the character of the wife in particular. It felt to me like several of the main characters were made deliberately unsympathetic: the wife, her new boyfriend (semi-separated), and the main character’s new love interest’s ex-husband (and the father of her daughter). I guess if the premise starts with the main character committing adultery, you have to work a lot to make them sympathetic. But I don’t think it’s necessary to paint everyone else black in order to make him look better.
I also felt the book failed to answer the biggest question it asked. The main character sees from the example of his father-in-law what happens when a man drifts from failed relationship to failed relationship, leaving children behind each time. He sees it in himself, the desire for one more chance to do it right. And he then moves into another relationship. The book tries in many ways to make clear that this new relationship is different – but isn’t that what they always say?
Where the book works best is in the relationships between the main character, his son, and his dad. And of course that’s really the heart of the book. That much I can believe – the contrast between generations of the man and his dad, who fought in the war. It’s a great subject – what does it mean to be a man these days? Not what it meant a generation ago, for sure.
There were other parts of the book I enjoyed too. The relationship between the main character and his new girlfriend, for example, and the brief descriptions of his work. Some good themes; but somehow not quite as good as it could have been.
Labels: Reading
posted by tomdg at 12:04 PM
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