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Mrs. Nicholson and I share an era. We were both born in the 1950s, and
we've lived through many tumultuous times. Boy's Life is about four
good boys living in an Alabama town called Zephyr, and about the era that
Mrs. Nicholson and I share.
These four boys over the course of a year come into contact with a changing
world. One does not survive, and all are drastically changed
themselves...but are made stronger and better for the changing.
I think Mrs. Nicholson remembers the era of heroes and villains. I
certainly do. The Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, Captain America, Captain
Kangaroo. The good guys. Crabby Appleton, Dr. Fu Manchu, the German
soldiers on the TV show Combat, any cowboy in a black hat. The bad
guys.
Many changes in our country have been for the better. One most certainly
has not.
The loss of the good guys. The blurring of white hats and black hats, until
all you get is a murky and unreliable gray.
Boy's Life sets out to show the difference between the good guys and
the bad guys. I suppose for that reason alone it is a hopelessly old
fashioned and nostalgic book. Does it have profanity? Indeed it does, and
actually more than I recall putting in there when I wrote it. Is some of it
tough, and nasty, and makes your skin crawl? Absolutely yes.
You might ask why I would write a book like that, for young people to read.
I would say that I did not write it for young readers. However, over the
course of this book's life, it has struck a chord with young readers. I
don't know why, since it's set in an era that was lost before they were
born. I think it must be something universal, something of yearning and
struggle and change and fitting into a world that is very often filled with
frightening shadows.
One thing that I believe Boy's Life does very well. Extremely well.
Is showing the difference between the good guys and the bad guys.
Every character who speaks a profanity in Boy's Life is a "bad
guy". In the illustrations that Mrs. Nicholson has offered, "Hold
still, you shithead!" is hollered by a wretched carnival worker to a
creature in his care. The creature is a dinosaur...a triceratops. A
wondrous creature, a unique last of its kind. And this wretched, soul-sick
man does not see the wonder, he only sees the garbage.
The second illustration that was made. "Where's the money, you
motherfucker?" was spoken by an equally wicked man in a dream sequence
that the hero of the book experiences. He is led to a big city by benign
characters representing the Mummy, Frankenstein and Count Dracula, and
shown the evil that waits for him out there, and that he must be strong
enough to recognize and resist.
In fact, the whole line reads, "Where's the money, you
motherfucker?" the first man said in a voice of quiet evil.
This book does have profanity. But it is not a profane book. You might ask
why did I use such graphic profanity, when I might have shown someone wore
a black hat by...wearing a black hat?
Well, every profanity they speak is a black hat. I wanted the bad
characters to have bad language, bad habits, and to be reaping the results
of bad choices. Is this a glorification of the "bad guy"? No. It
is a condemnation.
No good character in Boy's Life speaks a profanity. Now, having said
that, I do remember how young boys talk, and so there are a few
good-natured "Numbnuts" thrown about.
As I say, perhaps hopelessly nostalgic and old fashioned.
But this book marks a clear pathway. You go up, or you go down. The choices
you make stay with you forever, and you wear the color hat of your
decisions.
I always wanted to think of myself as "the good guy". Now we hear
in our popular media, "its wack to be a good guy," or "it's
a sucker's pose", or the old chestnut, "Good guys never
win."
In this book, they do win. And they win clearly and convincingly because
they have recognized which path leads up, and which leads down.
I wish I had time to read you some of the letters I've gotten from people,
including high school students, teachers, school counselors, pastors,
librarians, parents in Japan, Scotland, Texas, Hawaii and just about every
place between. I'd like to quickly read one letter, if I may:
Dear Mr. McCammon:
I am 15 years old and my name is Judy Gaver. I have wanted to write ever
since I could. I wrote my first story when I was 4 and it was really corny
but it shows who I am.
I have only read two of your books so far, Boy's Life and Swan Song,
but they are my favorite books and I own them both. Hove the way you use
details and the way you make language visual. I can always see the story
when I read your books and I really admire that. Right now, I'm doing a
novel which is probably pretty stupid because I'm so young and I've never
even had a short story published yet (which is what I've heard you are
supposed to do first). My dream is to see my book in a store. I just
sometimes fantasize about it (no wonder I have no boyfriend).
I wanted to ask you a few questions. What kind of things inspired you as a
child? For me it is my mother and other books and "The X-Files "
(the coolest show on the air!). What should I do to prepare to be an
author? What should I take in college and, if you know, what colleges are
really good for creative writing? Finally, what should I do in in order to
be able to write like you? (Once when I was writing, I read a piece of one
of your books and when I went back to my writing, I got depressed because I
felt I could not write well. I didn't write anymore that day). Have you
ever felt like that? Who were your favorite writers as a child or teen?
Mine is you.
I'm sorry if I took up too much of your time but I felt compelled to tell
you how much I enjoy your works. I've read Boy's Life three times
now, first when I was 13. Will you be writing any more books soon? Please
do. I really like them. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule
to read this letter. If you could, please, please, please write back!
Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Judy Gaver
Baltimore, Maryland
To finish, there are so many young people who might read Boy's Life
and see their own creativity take flight, and possibly their own dreams of
writing come true.
And one thing they will take from Boy's Life into the future is a
clear understanding of the difference between the "good guys" and
the "bad".
Thank you.
Copyright © 2006 by Robert McCammon. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the author and Judy Gaver.
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