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Alva's Boy : An Unsentimental Memoir

by Alan Collins
Alva's Boy : An Unsentimental Memoir - Thryft
Alva's Boy : An Unsentimental Memoir - Thryft

Immersive memoir of a Jewish childhood.

This book would be a great read for someone interested in raw and honest memoirs. Alan Collins' writing is unapologetically truthful and presents life events without unnecessary sugar-coating. The author's ability to capture the humor in even the darkest of situations is both astonishing and uplifting. Readers looking for an immersive and moving childhood memoir will enjoy Alva's Boy.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Alva's Boy : An Unsentimental Memoir

by Alan Collins
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

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ISBN: 9781876462666
Authors: Alan Collins
Publisher: Hybrid Publishers
Date of Publication: 2008-01-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Biographies & Memoirs, History, Sociology
Related Topics: Biography, Memoir, Social Issues, History, Memoir
Goodreads rating: 4.2
(rated by 5 readers)

Description

'I weighed up these women in my life and decided that none of them would fill the role of a mother. But then, what did I know about mothers anyway? ... The short answer was nothing – bugger-all.'' Sydney in 1928 and Alva, a young Jewish wife, dies in childbirth. No family member is allowed to care for the baby, so ''Alva's boy'' is sent from one children's home to another. His father weds for the fourth time but young Alan finds his dreams of a real home shattered amid the ruins of this disastrous marriage. He navigates his way through childhood as a street-smart survivor, and not even the archetypal wicked stepmother, her terrible Ma or his own foolish father can rob him of hope. With a keen ear for authentic dialogue and a wry humour, Alan Collins tells a poignant story with vitality and a remarkable lack of sentimentality. The adult author reconstructs his childhood through the memory of vivid sensory experiences and presents a cast of unforgettable characters. He has an unerring sense of time and place, and through his eyes we glimpse Australia, and especially Jewish-Australian society, as it was in the 1930s and early 1940s. He shows us a community caught up in the Great Depression, anticipating and then experiencing war, coping with poverty, ill-prepared for the ''reffos'' who were coming from Europe. It is a memoir that is so Jewish and at the same time so Australian.
 

Immersive memoir of a Jewish childhood.

This book would be a great read for someone interested in raw and honest memoirs. Alan Collins' writing is unapologetically truthful and presents life events without unnecessary sugar-coating. The author's ability to capture the humor in even the darkest of situations is both astonishing and uplifting. Readers looking for an immersive and moving childhood memoir will enjoy Alva's Boy.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.