Boy on a Wire

Jon Doust

• Publisher: Fremantle Press
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9781921696183
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Depicting the full spectrum of adolescent alienation, this engaging, coming-of-age narrative is a humorous blend of novel and memoir. A sensitive, quick-witted boy from a small town, Jack Muir adores his mother, yearns for affection from his father, and lives in the shadow of his accomplished brother. Sent to a boarding school at a young age, Jack must quickly decide what sort of person he will be—the type that succumbs to the pressure of bullies and the school system or the type that fights back, using clever banter and intellect to get by. With a unique and authentic voice, this darkly humorous tale portrays the road to depression as seen through the naiveté of youth.

Table of contents

• Praise for Boy on a Wire
• My brother’s fist
• My brother’s head
• One final spit before Grammar School
• The cupboard on the wall
• Grammar School
• Short sheet
• Wankers
• The woodheap
• A vacuum in the brain
• The new boy
• Jonesy hits the road
• Tamas Nemet
• The Fez
• The Ice-cream Eating Champion of the World
• The fire
• Briggsy
• A grommet in the surf
• Cry-baby
• A cavity in the brain
• Hallowed be thy name
• Chopped liver
• Spit
• Melting moment in a house of prayer
• Sack
• The Honourable the Premier
• Naked wrestling
• Atticus
• All locked up
• How to be a man
• Sherry
• Return of the Flashman
• Lollies from a stranger
• The old man and the sea
• A real man racks his cane
• James Lock refuses to bend
• Fuck rush
• Eggs
• Avenging hero
• Thomas
• The last report
• Where they are now
• Acknowledgements
• About the author