The Only Living Boy

Lovely flow! Beautiful written!

Wow! Your character description in the second paragraph describes the epitome of humanism. What a guy! Good writing and I really look forward to reading on. Hope we become friends.

Jack E. Dunning

Hi Aubrey,
I enjoyed this, it is well written and flows along. Noah is a wonderful MC, he is strong and convincing. There's plenty going on in your book to keep me interested. I think this is an intriguing story and I would like to read further to see how it all unfolds. Shelved and I wish you the best of luck with it ;-)
Best wishes,
Annabelle
(Would love your thoughts on Adelaide if you can ;-))

The Only Living Boy

Hi Aubrey, Here because you came highly recommended and I am so glad I came. You are writing a biography here, but it reads like fiction, the metaphors are wonderfully original, the pace is fantastic, you really build the tension in the first chapter, but you also do something as wonderful and clever - you describe this glorious, accident prone man so well, the righting turtles thing is such a wonderful device, true I am sure, but it works brilliantly as a physical metaphor (I am from the UK and am wondering idly if Turtle for you guys is actually what we would recognise as a tortoise, for us a turtle is a marine tortoise, with flippers!).

I will be back to read on, but the story is so well constructed and so well written...so very well done, in awe and very impressed, best wishes and best of luck - Andrew W.

Very different from Wife Seeking Wife, but not bad at all.

Jeez this kid is like a cat how many lives does he have? four pages in and the writing has really impressed me. Easy to follow, nice clear prose. I think this deserves a spin on the shelf.
Good luck with this, it has great potential.
Sue

original pitch, and a great couple of opening lines, which soon turn into a thrill a minute story with descriptive yet snappy writing that made me feel part of the adventure.

haven't found a nitpick so far-great stuff-shelved-TJ

Hi,

I got to this as promised. It is very good and has a very distinctive voice. I chugged through 4 chapters without realsing it. Noah fascinates from the start - a real larger than life character who adventures you want to follow. You writing is vivid and the pace is perfect. This is a roller coaster ride and the changing pov's work well.

Congratulations. I have to shelve this.

Mike (Darymon's Quest)

I've only read a few pages and find it very moreish. It's now on my watchlist and I look forward to returning to it tomorrow, when I've mastered a few more tricks of the trade. Best of luck. Terry.

This is a wonderful read full of evocative language. The residents of a home 'Curled like leaves' the scene in the store where Noah returns the stolen horse. The idea that someone born 'by accident' really shouldn't be here and has to work harder at life as a result , had a real resonance for me and it was beautifully stated. This is a book found on a shelf in an idle moment which has to be bought because the store is closing. It simply cannot be put back and it is certainly on my shelf now. A real immersion by a natural story-teller. Patrick Barrett, (Shakespeares Cuthbert)

This is a wonderful read full of evocative language. The residents of a home 'Curled like leaves' the scene in the store where Noah returns the stolen horse. The idea that someone born 'by accident' really shouldn't be here and has to work harder at life as a result , had a real resonance for me and it was beautifully stated. This is a book found on a shelf in an idle moment which has to be bought because the store is closing. It simply cannot be put back and it is certainly on my shelf now. A real immersion by a natural story-teller. Patrick Barrett, (Shakespeares Cuthbert)

I have just placed The only living boy on my watchlist, I am fascinated by this and will come back to read more.
Well done, Patrick Barrett (Shakespeares Cuthbert)

Fantastic. Whenever I can't come up with any helpful suggestions I know the read is worthy of a shelving! This is well-written, paced nicely, and the voice is engaging. I like jumping from the first person narrative of the wife to the flashback. The on thing I might say is would the KICK ME not be funnier as KILL ME? Otherwise, this is practically perfect!

Aubrey,

Even though you were already "shelved" I had to go back and read on. This is such a well-written story, and it deserves to go far.

The love you have for your children and for life is so evident in your synopsis, and that depth of emotion comes across in TOLB.

When I was fourteen, I "lived in" with a family who had a ten-year-old deaf daughter, and it was my job to take care of her while her parents worked away. That was such an awesome experience-- and an awesome responsibility! :o) Sadly, in the thirty years since, I've forgotten a good part of the sign language I'd learned...

Anyway...please accept my best wishes for you in your writing career, and enjoy those four little ones.

My best,
Karen

just dropped by to say this is so good - up to chapter six and already worried as only a few chapters left. Darn it girl, get this stuff published - please!

Interesting I look forward to spending more time with this...J

so far only read the first couple of chapters, but loving it - you are fantastic writer - have plugged you on recommend and i hope it brings some peeps your way. Will be back to read more. On my shelf.

Aubrey,

Wow, this is powerful stuff! I'm so glad you found me so I could find you! Onto my shelf, and proud to have you there!

My best
Karen

Hello Aubrey,

I saw that Pierre had given you his all-out support, so I just had to take a few minutes to read. (Pierre has won my respect, even though he scoffs at the thought!)

I can see that he once again knows what he is talking about. Very well-written, intriguing... I am slipping out of order, and WLing you for a read in the next day or two.. hoping that the snowstorm due on Thursday gives me an excuse not to go in to the office! :o)

Anticipating!
Karen

Dear Aubrey, Jennifer and FourEars,


Non-fiction, wow. Only realized that now. Non-fiction outsells fiction two one. The Only Living Boy is on my bookshelf.

Pitch. Intriguing. I want to read more. Crossed paths or crossed swords? Hee, hee.

Likewise your synopsis. I’m thinking this story is one-of-a-kind. Very different to anything else on Authonomy. I’m drawn by the presentation.

Oh, this writing is good. It’s in a world of its own. On the one hand it’s powerful. Tough-minded for a woman. On the other, it has a rhythm and reads poetically.

I’m seeing verbs and nouns that are quite unexpected but oh, so appropriate.

This writing is alive. Nothing overstated. Nothing sensational. But vibrant with energy. I can see it all happening. Don’t think I’m not noticing the one-word or two-word statements. The short, tight sentences meant to stun. Very effective. Accomplished.

Jesus, you write tough. I reckon you were a tom-boy as a girl. Must have delighted your father.

Very, very good. I am stunned by this writing. And the funny thing, it is never over the top.

I have read more and I don’t change my views. But now, I see you call it fiction based on fact. Doesn’t matter which. Whether it’s non-fiction that reads like fiction. Or fiction that reads like non-fiction. It is among the best on Authonomy.

Go well with your writing. Will get to Wife Seeking Wife in a day or two.

Have fun,


Pierre.

Hi there,

This is such a beautifully written book with depth and such pace. The descriptions are perfect and fresh. Noah's existence is painfully real and I'm rooting for him of course. The chapters zipped by and the poetic narrative would stand another read, purely for its form.

I am in awe of your writing and of course this is going on my shelf. I expect it will be on Ed's desk soon and I wish you all the very best of luck.

Kat

Well, fourears, you had already made me blub by Ch. 3 and like everyone else, I have sprinted along madly. You're such a great raconteur. One is not to know how much the Noah of the book resembles your husband, but one can't help but assume that you are a lucky gal. And he is so lucky too, to have someone to love and understand him so well as to create this wonderful book around his experiences. I can easily imagine this being taught in a middle-school English class. It takes on such difficult and painful themes in such a gentle, accepting way.

You're an unusual and really gifted writer, fourears. On my shelf. Also--I'd love to see your Gallaudet poem sometime! Please message me back with a link if it's online anywhere. Very best of luck with this touching book, Maria.

Jennifer,

There is some beautiful writing here. I really loved the description of Noah in chapter 1.I feel I know men just like that. I do think, I would have liked a better feel for what Noah does, or who he is in relation to the I characters. I would also have liked to know who the I character is.

I think you might want to give more details (not everything, just a bit more) about what sort of incident we're talking about when Lisa rings up. This baffled me too much.

Chapter 2 continues in the same emotional way. I'm not sure what the timeline is between chapter 1 and chapter 2. I think I would have preferred knowing Noah and Mike were in a speeding car before Noah started yelling at Mike. The Mr Mendenhall section at the end lost me completely. Absolutely no idea what that was about - or the POV shift to the toddler boy.

Overall, though, there is a lot of strong writing here. I feel some carefully-placed sentences will make it just a tad clearer.

Wow. I love this. It's one the few things I'll actually come back to (I'm such a book snob, considering...*grin*). Only chapter one and I already agree that Noah is hot. I also really...empathize...with your phraseology. The voice resonates with a sliver of my own.

Definitely up. I'll probably have more, actually contructive things to say after reading more, but I wanted to get this down, now.

Take care,
Amethyst

Hi, Jennifer,

Just letting you know I'm watchlisting this for sometime this week.

Take care,
Amethyst

Hi Jennifer,
This is great.
I expected to read a couple of chapters but have become so involved that i have stayed for the whole section which you have posted. I think the way you build the picture of Noah's childhood is very clever indeed because you just identify and then develop fully the salient points. The fact that you move through time effortlessly is just jaw-droppingly accomplished.
There's some beautiful phrasing: i particularly admired - 'curled up like autumn leaves', 'the girls were only good for breaking hearts' 'Brilliance of gemstones held up to the sun' and 'hazy days of Camelot'

I'm certainly shelving 'The Only Living Boy' Could you let me know if you post more?

This is good, great prose and Noah's absorbing story. I think HC might find this, they are on the look-out for high quality books and non-fiction sells well. I haven't room on my bookshelf at the moment, just popped one on before coming here but will show "The Only Living Boy' off for awhile by the end of the week.

Hi Jennifer. Max left me a note saying I really wanted to come read TOLB, and now I see what he was so excited about!

One of the most painful themes in Noah's life (so far) is that any little slip-up has disastrous and disproportionate ramifications, whether in reality or just in Noah's perception. I would have agonized the same way over the shattered little frozen scorpion, but it is probably not THAT big a deal in the real world -- forgetting the time or weather and having his hiding-places ferreted out by his father is a little more serious -- and of course deciding to give the finger to a guy who rammed his car by (careless) accident but then turns out to be violent and unhinged has absolutely terrible consequences. That's part, I think, of what makes Mendenhall so important (and why Mendenhall comes to mind at the fatal juncture). Mendenhall didn't just believe in Noah as a person (though that was certainly nice). Mendenhall believed Noah could take a risk and come out fine on the other side -- and he seems to be just about the ONLY person so far who believes and acts on this! Until Noah's desperate plea in the ER.

Although we know from chapter 1 (and we clearly see at the end of the excerpt) that Noah survives the gutting shot, we *also* know from chapter 1 that there is more to this particular story than just the shooting itself. A reporter is looking for Noah after more than two decades, and his mother "blames" him for something about it. This makes a nice hook. When Libby finds out that it's the son of the King of the Gypsies who shot Noah, I could tell by her reaction that this was a bad thing somehow, but the name itself didn't mean a thing to me until I looked it up -- so you might want to put in a little more explanation than just the reference to the Peter Maas book. (I take it that the son in question is the crazy Carranza? It didn't look like anyone else mentioned in the synopsis was REMOTELY psychopathic enough to be involved in a shooting like that.)

The writing was consistently engaging, descriptive, and fast-moving -- I think it must have been reworked a couple times because it is very fluid and seems to contain no typos! Sections that must have been hard to put on paper, like Noah's lifting his own intestines off the ground, are related in a matter-of-fact manner that diminishes none of the emotion and only emphasizes the horror of it. (And in that particular scene, we're reminded of course once again that, so far in his life, NO ONE HELPS NOAH IN THE CRUNCH -- he even has to pick up his own spilled viscera.)

Nicely done -- I definitely owe Max a favor for this tip!! I hope you'll drop me a line if you post more -- and good luck!

Hoo hoo hoo!!
Now here's a surprise; another one of those I-was-just-bumbling-round-and-bumbled-into-this sort of things!
Jennifer, this is brilliant.
Four in and I'm backing it and coming back for more when my eyes have calmed down a bit!
Go plug this wildly; I know a great number of people who will adore this!
Max.

Hi Jennifer

This looks interesting, so i have watchlisted it to read more - I'd be pleased if you'd take a look at Ashes of Roses - it's a story (based on some true stuff) of family secrets....

Frankie

Jennifer, this is captivating and it's going straight onto my bookshelf. I love the quotes at the beginning of the chapters and the musical references that help us identify with the people, places and times. and above all I love the distinctive voice that's present from the first sentence.
you might want to look at the second paragraph, where you change tenses, and pull it all into one tense, sorry, can't page back to quote it without losing the comment.
but overall I love it.
please take a look at the Girl on the Swing which I think you will enjoy in a less impact sort of way! Ali.

Hi . Computer glitch so Im locked out but crept in through hubbies name!!! Im AJK (Hobgoblet) Once Im back on I will take a look..Enjoy!!!

Oh what a funny day, I get to be the first to tell you this is watchlisted as of now. This is the 2nd book I pop today.

Cheers,

Heikki