an odd boy: volume one

by doc togden

Volume one of an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure, both surreal and innocent, humorous and poignant, depicting an era when the Arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. The author’s life is a rare roulette wheel of childhood wonder and tragic debacles; a debilitating stammer and a powerful singing voice; bad luck and fierce good fortune. At 16 he’s travelled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12.

325 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Sengchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the tide-rising cliff hanging end of volume one, I can hardly say I am finished with this book, nor that it is finished with me. I can say that if you even wonder if you are an artist, and are not sure you know how exactly that defines you, you definitely want to read this inspiring song of realization about Poetry, Blues and an uncanny appreciation of the Art in everyday ordinary life.

It may be of interest to some that beyond the art and poetry scope of this book, this odd boy eventually goes on to Nepal to discover his future as a lineage holder in a rare Tibetan category of vajrayana teachings known as the Aro gTér. I found knowing that exceedingly valuable in appreciating the perspectives of this young odd boy . . .

[Nor'dzin Pamo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual book that approaches the topic of Life as Art. I like the early chapters in particular as the author describes from the viewpoint of a child well and it took me back to my own childhood in the 1950s. The punctuation is unorthodox and takes a little getting used to, but does give a feeling for the emphasis and flow of the conversation once it is understood. The hardships of his childhood are understated and there is humour in the writing. As the first of four volumes this book has a quality of setting the scene and building up to a larger story. I look forward to reading volume 2.

[Druk-tsal Pawo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best book I ever read. In this book I find the inspiration to be an artist, even though I work as an engineer. I highly recomend it.

[Lisa Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read. I'm looking forward to getting a copy of Vol 2.

[Joy Mutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this remarkable first volume of Doc Togden’s, aka Victor Simmerson’s autobiography, smiling right to the end. An Odd Boy is scintillating, informative, and magnificent. Doc Togden is a highly talented, remarkable Renaissance man who’s turned his masterful hand to music, art, poetry, to name but a few, so it was no surprise to discover he writes books like an angel. It’s one of those books I’d happily read again because it’s packed with valuable, relatable, inspiring goodies.

The author is roughly my age, so I loved discovering how much we had in common during the first sixteen years of our lives. We both had extremely difficult fathers, a love for music, books, writing, and art, and no time for mathematics. I didn’t have his passion for Blues and playing guitars, but I respect him for his life-long dedication. Blues got into his blood at an unusually early age. His bond with Mr. Love, a neighbour who introduced the precocious, stammering child to Blues music, was heart-warming. I relished the author’s constant references to musicians, writers, and artists who’ve also added flavour to my life as well as his. I applauded each time he linked an event in his early life story to a perfectly apt music lyric.
To my shame, I don’t usually read a book’s footnotes, but Doc Todgen’s footnotes are packed with worthwhile information, often humour, and I read each one as eagerly as the well-crafted main text. This Odd Girl can’t wait to read the next books in An Odd Boy series to find out, among other things, what happened to the author and the other teenage Savage Cabbage group members. I wholeheartedly recommend An Odd Boy: Volume One, Doc Togden’s tour de force.

[Jig-zèd · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up much too late to experience the artistic outpouring of the 1960s and early 70s first hand, this is like a back stage pass to the show. As an artist, I feel great kinship to these four volumes of "an odd boy". In some respects, this story of a young Englishman setting out for nothing less than a life immersed in the Arts, is a coming-of-age story that rings true across generations of seekers. But what makes it so mesmerizing is the completely individual revelation of this particular story. Doc Togden's life is certainly one for the books and it makes compelling reading. I often found myself aghast at how such bad luck and good fortune could go hand in hand. There is a sense of never knowing what might possibly come next in this wild ride down musical backstreets, romantic encounters and artistic crossroads. It's a performance that leaves you hanging on and stakes out an inspiring roadmap of artistic expression along the way. I found myself jumping down rabbit hole after delightful rabbit hole searching out bands, bluesman, visual artists, plays, songs, poets and performers, the individuals and outposts touched upon along the way. These four volumes pay tribute to the many sources that made the heralded 60s such a rampant time of exploration and discovery as the odd boy navigates his way through them adding his own contributions. And maybe the most lasting, is the culmination that reveling in this world is an artistry all its own. Long live "an odd boy." It lives with me. It lives with all those who let the arts pervade every aspect of experience.

[Damien Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could I have approached a book with more trepidation? From a publishing house that seems to specialise in faux-Buddhist philosophy, I expected to be lectured at for three hundred odd pages, but the autobiographical account of the eponymous odd boy was charming.[return][return]Set in the south of England in the late fifties and early sixties, an odd boy describes the journey from childhood to adolescence of a boy that's different from all of his peers and will strike a chord with anyone who has felt like they didn't belong. Told through his twin obsessions of blues music and art, it describes a cold upbringing tempered by the friends and delta blues musicians who became his real family.[return][return]It's far from perfect, however, the author seems to obsess about explaining every minute detail through a use of footnotes that the late Flann O'Brien savaged in The Third Policeman. Nothing is left to the reader, with the narrative rudely interrupted to explain such esoterica as the BBC or skiffle. We have Wikipedia, we don't need to understand every detail.[return][return]But apart from that, the first volume in what I suspect will be a long series is an interesting, if light, diversion. Perfect for lying on a rock beach during the Easter heatwave.[return][return]http://bit.ly/hg8sB6

[Valentina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this ebook through the Librarything Giveaway program and although it started off with in an interesting fashion, it soon lost some of its shine.
There's nothing wrong with the writing itself. No huge issues, grmmatical or otherwise. It's just (there's no nice way of saying it) quite dull. I hate to stick those words to its tail, but I have no other way of describing its faults. The main character shows no real spark of life, and he just glides through the reader's imagination without leaving real, lasting mark.
There are some pretty tedious descriptions of guitar names nd technicalities that add nothing to the story, actually taking away the reader's already thinning interest.
I don't want to keep harping on the same thing, so I won't. If you've got time and patience, you might enjoys this book. It didn't do much for me.