Out: A Schoolboy's Tale

The idea for this story was great and there were parts that were really enjoyable. Unfortunately this was let down by the confusing time setting and the large amount of unnecessary detail included. It felt a little like a first draft that was in need of editing.

Forget the details. This story goes straight to your heart! Ok we can all agree Brining got lots of minutiae wrong. Nuking the Germans in WWII? Out is set mostly in the 1980s but some details are off. A picky editor could have done some useful pruning.It's the kind of story I wish I'd have lived back in the late 50s. As others here have rightly pointed out, the --sanctioned, socially-approved-- beatings and bullying was just life as we lived it then. Brining is exactly right when he says this bo

It comes alive, and I am envious of the charactersI loved the second half. For me it comes alive there. The characters have three dimensions, even the ones I dislike. The plot is real, the setting is of its time. I watched our young hero mature, felt pride in his achievements.One star dropped because the start of the book made me read with determination rather than the enjoyment of the end chapters. Finally I knew why I was reading it, but the beginning almost made me put it down. I’m glad I per