The Boy He Left Behind |
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In this extraordinary real-life detective story, the author takes us on a search for the father who abandoned him – a journey that will change the course of his life forever. An exploration of morality and identity, The Boy He Left Behind is about coming to terms with the uncertainties of life, the tenacious bonds of family, and the high, sometimes heartbreaking, cost of love. |
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Praise for The Boy He Left Behind
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"Mark Matousek's memoir The Boy He Left Behind begins with
the gripping sentence, 'I was four years old when my father
came back to kidnap.' Part reminiscence, part detective
story, part spiritual musing, the book is more than the
story of one man's search for his father, it is also a look
at the meaning of life and how fathers contribute to that
meaning." The New York Times Book Review "This thoughtful and lovingly rendered portrait of an
American childhood is a refreshing addition to the genre.
Matousek not only tells his own story but brilliantly evokes
the troubled lives of his mother and sisters with humor,
honesty, and above all, compassion." "A riveting story in the hands of a master
storyteller. Mark Matousek has
written a family memoir that is tight and revealing.
This is one fine book." "A gripping memoir that reads like a novel, with
eccentric characters, snappy dialogue, surprising plot
twists and stunning epiphanies. The read [The Boy He
Left Behind] is to touch something fiery and alive,
frightening but real." "[A] searing memoir....The writing is
exhilarating...deeply soulful, compassionate, and
self-scrutinizing. It is an explosive memoir filled
with prose that sings, one that provokes readers to question
where we come from and what our places are in this world.
Matousek...writes from the heart. Read this book" "Matousek's account of his search for the father he
hadn't seen since he was four [is] sharp and funny, thanks
to the punchy dialogue and dead-on character sketches." "Interweaving the frustrating suspenseful search for his long-lost father with unsparing recollections of a fatherless boyhood and his confrontation with a life-threatening disease, Mark Matousek expertly guides you through the particulars of his life into a harrowing meditation on the difficulties of becoming a man in a country without fathers. The Boy He Left Behind is beautifully crafted, artful and inspiring. It merits a place alongside the late Paul Monette's masterwork, Becoming a Man; Half a Life Story. Like Monette, Matousek's triumph is twofold' In the book he has written, and in the man he has become." "Matousek's probing memoir of lost childhood and found
history celebrates the power of manhood." "Matousek's perceptions are so keen and his prose so
sophisticated, the personal frequently ascends to the
universal in the best possible way." "Mark Matousek has produced [a] riveting account of his
search--at age thirty-eight, with the help of a private
detective--for the father who abandoned him at age four.
A searing meditation on the psychic harm suffered by men and
women without fathers, this wise odyssey wrestles with
questions of life and death and the search for the meaning
of one's existence." "A sensitive meditation on death, family and masculinity
that asks hard questions about a culture without fathers" |
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