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Upon its original publication, A Boy’s Own Story is the first of Edmund White’s trilogy of autobiographical novels that evoke a young man's coming of age and document American gay life through the last forty years. The nameless narrator in this deeply affecting work reminisces about growing up in the 1950s with emotionally aloof, divorced parents, an unrelenting sister, and the schoolmates who taunt him. He finds consolation in literature and his fantastic imagination. Eager to cultivate intimate, enduring friendships, he becomes aware of his yearning to be loved by men, and struggles with the guilt and shame of accepting who he is. Written with lyrical delicacy and extraordinary power, A Boy’s Own Story is a triumph.