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American Boy
The author of the acclaimed Montana 1948 “spins charm and melancholy” in this novel of youth and romantic rivalry in 1960s rural Minnesota ( Denver Post ). Willow Falls, Minnesota, 1962 . The shooting of a young woman on Thanksgiving Day sets off a chain of unsettling events in the life of seventeen-year-old Matthew Garth. A close friend of the prosperous Dunbar family, Matthew is present in Dr. Dunbar’s home office when the victim is brought in. The sight of Louisa Lindahl—beautiful and mortally wounded—makes an indelible impression on the young man. Fueled by his feverish desire for this mysterious woman and a deep longing for the comfort and affluence that appears to surround the Dunbars, Matthew finds himself drawn into a vortex of greed, manipulation, and ultimately betrayal. Larry Watson’s tale heart-breaking tale “resonates with language as clear and images as crisp as the spare, flat prairie of its Minnesota setting” ( Kirkus Reviews ). An Esquire Best Book of 2011
264 pages, Paperback
First published September 13, 2011
223 people are currently reading
1324 people want to read
About the author
Larry Watson
33 books447 followersLarry Watson was born in 1947 in Rugby, North Dakota. He grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota, and was educated in its public schools. Larry married his high school sweetheart, Susan Gibbons, in 1967. He received his BA and MA from the University of North Dakota, his Ph.D. from the creative writing program at the University of Utah, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ripon College. Watson has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1987, 2004) and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
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January 3, 2020
"I was seventeen years old when I first saw a woman's bare breasts. In itself an unremarkable occurrence. But when you consider that I also saw my first bullet wound on that same body, you have a set of circumstances truly rare. And if the boy standing beside me that day had not already been as close as a brother, the experience would have bound us to each other in a way even blood would find hard to match.
"We were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught...."
So begins Larry Watson's American Boy. Once again he displays his talent for opening his novels by grabbing the reader's attention at the very beginning, a knack that he first demonstrated in his best-known novel, Montana 1948. The picture of bare breasts and a bullet hole is a graphic one that is hard to forget. But it is the way that the passage ends that I will remember longer: “but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught.” And that is what occurs in this coming-of-age story narrated by Matthew Garth looking back to 1962 when he was seventeen-years old.
Watson not only has an affinity and a talent for planting the hook early in his novels, he has also made the coming-of-age story one of his specialties, particularly one set in a small town.
Most of his novels are set on the Great Plains in Montana or South Dakota, but he has moved this one to the fictitious town of Willow Falls, Minnesota.
What kind of town is it?
Not only are there no falls, there are no willows. In other words, the setting in American Boy is very much like those found in Watson’s stories that take place on the plains of South Dakota or eastern Montana.
In crisp, clear prose Watson takes what appears to be a close stable family and two loyal friends and then introduces an outsider who unravels the ties that bind the family and the friendship, ties that were not as secure as appearances would at first indicate.
The family is the Dunbars, a prominent family headed by Dr. Rex Dunbar, the most respected MD in the community. Matt, on the other hand, is a product of a more hardscrabble upbringing. He is an only child whose father died in an accident when Matt was eight. His mother is a waitress who works long hours and is not an attentive parent, either because she is too tired to make the effort, or because she lacks a mothering instinct, or both.
Lacking a father and a hands-on mother, Matt adopts the Dunbar family as his own and spends most of his time with them, especially with their son Johnny, who is his best friend.
The outside force that upsets the family’s equilibrium is the woman with the exposed breasts and bullet wound. She is Louisa Lindhal who had been shot by her boyfriend. She had been taken to Dr. Dunbar’s office which is in his residence. Since Matt and Johnny have taken an interest in medicine the doctor allows them to view the unconscious woman and her wound. As he explains the measures he has taken to dress and stitch the wound, the sheet covering her accidentally uncovers her breasts and gives Matt his first glimpse of a bare breast.
The boys “were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught....”
Because Louisa needs time to recover and has nowhere to go or the means to support her, she moves into the Dunbar house, and becomes a sort of assistant to the doctor, taking phone calls, making appointments, and handling simple secretarial duties.
Despite the fact that Louisa is in her twenties, the seventeen-year old Matt becomes obsessed with her. And we are fairly certain that no good can emerge from that situation – and it doesn’t. But in the end Matt’s eyes are opened -- and not just about Louisa. A curtain is pulled aside and we are given a glimpse of the dark side of small town America as seen through Matt's opened eyes.
Like all good coming-of-age novels about boys or girls, this is a story of an adolescent caught in the painful in-between years of childhood and adulthood. Matt is a boy trying to become a man.
(I’ll never forget what a neighbor farmer once said to me about his teen-aged boy. He said, “He ain’t a bad kid. He’s just a boy trying to be a man.”)
When I read Watson’s novels, I know that I am in the hands of a first class story-teller, one whose prose is to the point, but no minimalist is he. He just doesn’t believe in wasting words. He describes the setting, as in his description of Willow Falls and its environs, and develops the characters in a no-nonsense, straightforward style that I really appreciate. As a result, there are no fillers in his stories. American Boy is only 224 pages long and Montana 1948 is almost novella length at 182 pages, but the reader is never short-changed in any way.
"We were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught...."
So begins Larry Watson's American Boy. Once again he displays his talent for opening his novels by grabbing the reader's attention at the very beginning, a knack that he first demonstrated in his best-known novel, Montana 1948. The picture of bare breasts and a bullet hole is a graphic one that is hard to forget. But it is the way that the passage ends that I will remember longer: “but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught.” And that is what occurs in this coming-of-age story narrated by Matthew Garth looking back to 1962 when he was seventeen-years old.
Watson not only has an affinity and a talent for planting the hook early in his novels, he has also made the coming-of-age story one of his specialties, particularly one set in a small town.
Most of his novels are set on the Great Plains in Montana or South Dakota, but he has moved this one to the fictitious town of Willow Falls, Minnesota.
What kind of town is it?
[I]n the state that boasted of having ten thousand lakes, Willow Falls was near none of them. Located in the southwestern corner of Minnesota, our town was closer to Sioux Falls, South Dakota than it was to Minneapolis. We were out on the prairie, the land flat or gently undulating, sparsely populated, and mostly plowed for farming…. We did have a river, of course, the Willow, on whose banks the town was built. But it slowed to a trickle in dry years – of which there were many – and its falls, which gave the town its name, were in fact little more than a series of steps the river took as it stumbled over rocks and boulders near the center of the town.
Not only are there no falls, there are no willows. In other words, the setting in American Boy is very much like those found in Watson’s stories that take place on the plains of South Dakota or eastern Montana.
In crisp, clear prose Watson takes what appears to be a close stable family and two loyal friends and then introduces an outsider who unravels the ties that bind the family and the friendship, ties that were not as secure as appearances would at first indicate.
The family is the Dunbars, a prominent family headed by Dr. Rex Dunbar, the most respected MD in the community. Matt, on the other hand, is a product of a more hardscrabble upbringing. He is an only child whose father died in an accident when Matt was eight. His mother is a waitress who works long hours and is not an attentive parent, either because she is too tired to make the effort, or because she lacks a mothering instinct, or both.
Lacking a father and a hands-on mother, Matt adopts the Dunbar family as his own and spends most of his time with them, especially with their son Johnny, who is his best friend.
The outside force that upsets the family’s equilibrium is the woman with the exposed breasts and bullet wound. She is Louisa Lindhal who had been shot by her boyfriend. She had been taken to Dr. Dunbar’s office which is in his residence. Since Matt and Johnny have taken an interest in medicine the doctor allows them to view the unconscious woman and her wound. As he explains the measures he has taken to dress and stitch the wound, the sheet covering her accidentally uncovers her breasts and gives Matt his first glimpse of a bare breast.
The boys “were exposed to these phenomena in order that we might learn something, but then the lessons we learn are not always those we are taught....”
Because Louisa needs time to recover and has nowhere to go or the means to support her, she moves into the Dunbar house, and becomes a sort of assistant to the doctor, taking phone calls, making appointments, and handling simple secretarial duties.
Despite the fact that Louisa is in her twenties, the seventeen-year old Matt becomes obsessed with her. And we are fairly certain that no good can emerge from that situation – and it doesn’t. But in the end Matt’s eyes are opened -- and not just about Louisa. A curtain is pulled aside and we are given a glimpse of the dark side of small town America as seen through Matt's opened eyes.
Like all good coming-of-age novels about boys or girls, this is a story of an adolescent caught in the painful in-between years of childhood and adulthood. Matt is a boy trying to become a man.
(I’ll never forget what a neighbor farmer once said to me about his teen-aged boy. He said, “He ain’t a bad kid. He’s just a boy trying to be a man.”)
When I read Watson’s novels, I know that I am in the hands of a first class story-teller, one whose prose is to the point, but no minimalist is he. He just doesn’t believe in wasting words. He describes the setting, as in his description of Willow Falls and its environs, and develops the characters in a no-nonsense, straightforward style that I really appreciate. As a result, there are no fillers in his stories. American Boy is only 224 pages long and Montana 1948 is almost novella length at 182 pages, but the reader is never short-changed in any way.
August 24, 2015
Larry Watson picks us up and sets us down, right smack dab in the middle of the small Minnesota town of Willow Falls. The year is 1962. Best friends Matt Garth and Johnny Dunbar are 16 years old and they are about to learn some of life's hard lessons.
The bitter, biting cold of the Minnesota winter is brought home by the car defrosters that aren't able to keep up with the ice forming on the inside of the windshields. Blinding bursts of snow, swirling and blowing, bone numbing temperatures. Glad I read this in the summertime, even so, it came very near to making me shiver in the air conditioning.
This is my third book by this author. He has a knack for getting things right. The effectiveness of Mr. Watson's writing shines through in this simple story, told true.
The bitter, biting cold of the Minnesota winter is brought home by the car defrosters that aren't able to keep up with the ice forming on the inside of the windshields. Blinding bursts of snow, swirling and blowing, bone numbing temperatures. Glad I read this in the summertime, even so, it came very near to making me shiver in the air conditioning.
This is my third book by this author. He has a knack for getting things right. The effectiveness of Mr. Watson's writing shines through in this simple story, told true.
December 24, 2020
5 Stars. As with all of Larry Watson's books, this one will stay with me for a long time.
Read
July 5, 2019With American Boy Larry Watson once again displays his skill in writing sparsely yet effectively.
Mathew Garth and his buddy Johnny Dunbar avidly listen to Doctor Dunbar when he describes various medical conditions to them, and they have their sights on becoming doctors just like the man they so admire. Doctor Dunbar even allows them to see certain cases firsthand (with the patients’ consent of course!). However, when Louisa Lindahl lands on the doctor’s table after having been shot, every thing changes.
In this coming of age story the teenagers have rampant hormones, experiment with alcohol and cigarettes, try their luck with girls and drive their parents’ cars at maximum speed as they dice their peers. In other words, they behave exactly like teenagers. And they make their painful teenage mistakes. However, young Matthew soon discovers that everything is not as it appears to be. How far will Doctor Dunbar go to protect Johnny? What else will Matthew learn about the doctor? And then there is the predatory Mrs Knurr who reminds me of Mrs Robinson in The Graduate. Adults’ motives are not always pure. Matthew becomes aware of the lies and hypocrisy that abound, and in the process he learns more about himself.
###
Quotes:
”The power of human desire is matched only by our inability to express those desires, thus guaranteeing that neither comedy nor tragedy is ever in short supply.”
“And suddenly it occurred to me that this darkened housing development was a kind of adult equivalent of Frenchman’s Forest, a place men and women built for themselves so they could smoke, drink, and conduct their sexual experiments away from judging eyes.”
“A teacher was free to give as many Cs as he or she wished, and Ds and Fs could be assigned to the Darrell Knapps and Barbara Turchiks without concern—after all, even if they managed to graduate, they wouldn’t be going any farther than Northland Screens—but when a teacher failed Mary Wynn, the daughter of the principal of Emerson Elementary School, or Bobby Karlstad, the son of the school board president, then that teacher had to be reined in.”
““But it’s okay to be seen inside? Fucking hypocrites.” If the adolescent mind delights in any abstraction, it’s recognizing hypocrisy in the world. And even though it exists in such abundance that not seeing it would require real effort, somehow its discovery always felt like real insight to us. And then it helped justify our own rude or lawless behavior—after all, who were they to judge us?”
Mathew Garth and his buddy Johnny Dunbar avidly listen to Doctor Dunbar when he describes various medical conditions to them, and they have their sights on becoming doctors just like the man they so admire. Doctor Dunbar even allows them to see certain cases firsthand (with the patients’ consent of course!). However, when Louisa Lindahl lands on the doctor’s table after having been shot, every thing changes.
In this coming of age story the teenagers have rampant hormones, experiment with alcohol and cigarettes, try their luck with girls and drive their parents’ cars at maximum speed as they dice their peers. In other words, they behave exactly like teenagers. And they make their painful teenage mistakes. However, young Matthew soon discovers that everything is not as it appears to be. How far will Doctor Dunbar go to protect Johnny? What else will Matthew learn about the doctor? And then there is the predatory Mrs Knurr who reminds me of Mrs Robinson in The Graduate. Adults’ motives are not always pure. Matthew becomes aware of the lies and hypocrisy that abound, and in the process he learns more about himself.
###
Quotes:
”The power of human desire is matched only by our inability to express those desires, thus guaranteeing that neither comedy nor tragedy is ever in short supply.”
“And suddenly it occurred to me that this darkened housing development was a kind of adult equivalent of Frenchman’s Forest, a place men and women built for themselves so they could smoke, drink, and conduct their sexual experiments away from judging eyes.”
“A teacher was free to give as many Cs as he or she wished, and Ds and Fs could be assigned to the Darrell Knapps and Barbara Turchiks without concern—after all, even if they managed to graduate, they wouldn’t be going any farther than Northland Screens—but when a teacher failed Mary Wynn, the daughter of the principal of Emerson Elementary School, or Bobby Karlstad, the son of the school board president, then that teacher had to be reined in.”
““But it’s okay to be seen inside? Fucking hypocrites.” If the adolescent mind delights in any abstraction, it’s recognizing hypocrisy in the world. And even though it exists in such abundance that not seeing it would require real effort, somehow its discovery always felt like real insight to us. And then it helped justify our own rude or lawless behavior—after all, who were they to judge us?”
November 22, 2019
This is not my favorite Watson but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve 5 stars. He has a gift of being able pull his reader into the place and the people he writes about. And he usually leaves you with one parting thought or sentence that leaves a lasting impression. “And I didn’t ask him who ‘we’ were.”
January 2, 2012
I really enjoyed this novel. I started it last night and finished it this afternoon; absolutely could not put it down. I loved the tone, it reminded me of Franzen's Corrections (time period and adolescent/family struggle).
Matt Garth was such a forceful character; always trying to do right while struggling with his own realization that his hero/father figure Dr. Dunbar was so flawed. I loved that Johnny was such a hole in the wall until the pivotal car racing scene; after that he grew a back bone. Certainly Johnny was trying the whole time to be different from his father despite Matt's complete emulation of Rex Dunbar.
The internal struggles felt so real, the pacing was great; the novel was incredibly sad, realistic, and funny all at the same time. Overall, it was very insightful without seeming to try to be.
My four favorite passages from the novel sum it up well:
"The power of human desire is matched only by our inability to express those desires, thus guaranteeing that neither comedy nor tragedy is ever in short supply."
"If the adolescent mind delights in any abstraction, it's recognizing hypocrisy in the world. And even though it exists in such abundance that not seeing it would require real effort, somehow its discovery always felt like real insight to us."
"...calm down and to nuture the self-pity that so often trails in anger's wake."
"...people always needed money, whether it was to get through a day or a year, to last through a life or to start a new one."
Matt Garth was such a forceful character; always trying to do right while struggling with his own realization that his hero/father figure Dr. Dunbar was so flawed. I loved that Johnny was such a hole in the wall until the pivotal car racing scene; after that he grew a back bone. Certainly Johnny was trying the whole time to be different from his father despite Matt's complete emulation of Rex Dunbar.
The internal struggles felt so real, the pacing was great; the novel was incredibly sad, realistic, and funny all at the same time. Overall, it was very insightful without seeming to try to be.
My four favorite passages from the novel sum it up well:
"The power of human desire is matched only by our inability to express those desires, thus guaranteeing that neither comedy nor tragedy is ever in short supply."
"If the adolescent mind delights in any abstraction, it's recognizing hypocrisy in the world. And even though it exists in such abundance that not seeing it would require real effort, somehow its discovery always felt like real insight to us."
"...calm down and to nuture the self-pity that so often trails in anger's wake."
"...people always needed money, whether it was to get through a day or a year, to last through a life or to start a new one."
July 22, 2016
Really enjoyed this coming-of-age story set in 1960's Minnesota. Mathew Garth, a fatherless teen of 17 is the American Boy and protagonist in this tale who spends most of his time at his friend Johnny's home learning about medicine and the good and bad parts of life from J's father Dr. Dunbar. Have only read one other novel by this author, Let Him Go: A Novel that I rated 5 stars, by the way, but plan on reading more. A super fast easy read!
July 24, 2024
Open letter:
Larry,
I'm honored and relieved that I started with Montana 1948 and Let Him Go. You were a breath of fresh air, so I took some time off to let your other work simmer, awaiting me to come back at a later date over intervals of time. Recently, last year, I finished White Crosses and found myself enjoying the sparse prose, but something was missing. I did think you wrapped the book up quite well, but there was still something missing that I couldn't put my finger on.
I started "American Boy" two days ago and have finished it now. I think I've found what was missing. Your ending was in the usual Watson fashion, but I don't think it went as far as I thought it could've. For your standards, it was bland. Maybe not boring, but just bland. The storyline was reminiscent of a couple characters in "White Crosses" and even though I usually enjoy unlikeable characters, these seemed real, but also a bit soap opera-ish.
I have enjoyed your books, but I think I may take a sabbatical. Perhaps forever, perhaps not.
Thank you for the stories.
Larry,
I'm honored and relieved that I started with Montana 1948 and Let Him Go. You were a breath of fresh air, so I took some time off to let your other work simmer, awaiting me to come back at a later date over intervals of time. Recently, last year, I finished White Crosses and found myself enjoying the sparse prose, but something was missing. I did think you wrapped the book up quite well, but there was still something missing that I couldn't put my finger on.
I started "American Boy" two days ago and have finished it now. I think I've found what was missing. Your ending was in the usual Watson fashion, but I don't think it went as far as I thought it could've. For your standards, it was bland. Maybe not boring, but just bland. The storyline was reminiscent of a couple characters in "White Crosses" and even though I usually enjoy unlikeable characters, these seemed real, but also a bit soap opera-ish.
I have enjoyed your books, but I think I may take a sabbatical. Perhaps forever, perhaps not.
Thank you for the stories.
February 27, 2012
Larry Watson's AMERICAN BOY is an all-American, universal kind of story that will resonate with anyone who grew up in the American heartland of the 50s and 60s. The typical small town of those decades is portrayed perfectly - those downtown blocks that held hardware and grocery stores with the local lawyer and doctor upstairs over the drugstore. Even the latest Plymouth-Dodge innovation, that infamous and short-lived push-button transmission, is featured, the same one that was immortalized in songwriter Greg Brown's "Brand New '64 Dodge."
Matthew Garth is our unlikely hero, a fatherless 16-17 year-old in the 1962-63 school year, who has attached himself for the past several years to the Dunbars, a prominent family in Willow Falls, Minnesota, a small community of a couple thousand. Johnny Dunbar is his classmate and closest friend, but all that will change when an "older woman" enters the picture in the person of Louisa Lindahl. The head of the family, Dr. Dunbar, is a pillar of the local community, although there are early intimations of that pillar being made of salt, with feet of clay.
Like many small towns, Willow Falls is a study in contrasts and opposites. The falls is not really a falls; Frenchman's Forest is not really a forest, but a dark and secret place where the two then-younger boys first learned about the mechanics of sex from an ill-informed older boy, and which later serves as backdrop to more intimate experimentation. Because one of the things that makes AMERICAN BOY such a universal tale is its minutely descriptive attention to all those familiar rites of passage - smoking, drinking, reckless driving, and of course backseat groping with all the heavy breathing, passionate kisses, frenzied frustrations and furtive fumbling with zippers, clasps, breasts and thighs. There is even a very "Mrs Robinson" scene between Matthew and the local lawyer's wife, but it has its own variations making it both original and derivative all at the same time.
Matthew becomes obsessed with the not-so mysterious twenty-something Lydia, who, through a sequence of shocking events, takes up residence with the Dunbars, destroying and changing not just Matthew's friendship with Johnny, but the whole family dynamic.
Yes, this is a masterfully rendered story of a friendship and family torn assunder and innocence lost. An old tale to be sure, but Watson makes it all seem new and fresh, employing characters all too human and flawed.
As a coming-of-age story, countless comparisons could probably be made. I've already suggested THE GRADUATE, but the ones I first thought of were Evan Hunter's LAST SUMMER and Herman Raucher's SUMMER OF '42, both books from 30-40 years ago, and, more recently, Donald Lystra's northern Michigan story, SEASON OF WATER AND ICE.
AMERICAN BOY is, in the end, an old tale made new and fresh through the story-telling skills of a master hand at fiction. Larry Watson burst onto the book scene nearly twenty years ago with his first novel, MONTANA 1948, a shocking and beautiful book. His latest offering shows he is still at the top of his game. If you appreciate serious literary fiction, READ THIS BOOK!
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
Matthew Garth is our unlikely hero, a fatherless 16-17 year-old in the 1962-63 school year, who has attached himself for the past several years to the Dunbars, a prominent family in Willow Falls, Minnesota, a small community of a couple thousand. Johnny Dunbar is his classmate and closest friend, but all that will change when an "older woman" enters the picture in the person of Louisa Lindahl. The head of the family, Dr. Dunbar, is a pillar of the local community, although there are early intimations of that pillar being made of salt, with feet of clay.
Like many small towns, Willow Falls is a study in contrasts and opposites. The falls is not really a falls; Frenchman's Forest is not really a forest, but a dark and secret place where the two then-younger boys first learned about the mechanics of sex from an ill-informed older boy, and which later serves as backdrop to more intimate experimentation. Because one of the things that makes AMERICAN BOY such a universal tale is its minutely descriptive attention to all those familiar rites of passage - smoking, drinking, reckless driving, and of course backseat groping with all the heavy breathing, passionate kisses, frenzied frustrations and furtive fumbling with zippers, clasps, breasts and thighs. There is even a very "Mrs Robinson" scene between Matthew and the local lawyer's wife, but it has its own variations making it both original and derivative all at the same time.
Matthew becomes obsessed with the not-so mysterious twenty-something Lydia, who, through a sequence of shocking events, takes up residence with the Dunbars, destroying and changing not just Matthew's friendship with Johnny, but the whole family dynamic.
Yes, this is a masterfully rendered story of a friendship and family torn assunder and innocence lost. An old tale to be sure, but Watson makes it all seem new and fresh, employing characters all too human and flawed.
As a coming-of-age story, countless comparisons could probably be made. I've already suggested THE GRADUATE, but the ones I first thought of were Evan Hunter's LAST SUMMER and Herman Raucher's SUMMER OF '42, both books from 30-40 years ago, and, more recently, Donald Lystra's northern Michigan story, SEASON OF WATER AND ICE.
AMERICAN BOY is, in the end, an old tale made new and fresh through the story-telling skills of a master hand at fiction. Larry Watson burst onto the book scene nearly twenty years ago with his first novel, MONTANA 1948, a shocking and beautiful book. His latest offering shows he is still at the top of his game. If you appreciate serious literary fiction, READ THIS BOOK!
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER
December 12, 2011
Some authors seem as if their style and storytelling would fit in perfectly in a different era. Larry Watson, who has written some truly fantastic books, including Montana 1948, Justice and In a Dark Time, is one of those writers. Many of his books would be appropriate companions to those by Fitzgerald or Faulkner, both in setting (many of his stories take place in earlier times) and because his narrative, while spare, packs the power of earlier writers.
Matthew Garth is a working-class teenager growing up in Minnesota in the early 1960s. Raised by his waitress mother, he would much rather spend time in the company of his best friend, Johnny Dunbar, and his wealthy family, led by the town doctor and his devoted wife. On Thanksgiving night Dr. Dunbar is asked to treat Louisa Lindahl, a woman in her 20s who has been shot by her good-for-nothing boyfriend. That night Matthew sees both a gunshot wound and a topless woman for the first time, and both sights haunt him. His longing for the mysterious Louisa changes his behavior and his relationship with the Dunbars, and leads him to actions that set a chain of events in motion that will affect all of them indelibly.
While American Boy certainly is a book that recalls an earlier time, the feelings it chronicles—jealousy, lust, envy, betrayal, and a desire to better one's life—are modern ones. This was a very quick read; while nothing too surprising transpired in the plot, I still felt somewhat invested in the characters and what happened to them, even if none of them were particularly likeable. I really enjoyed Watson's storytelling ability, as I always do, and think he should be much more famous than he is. This may not be his best book, but it's definitely a worthwhile read.
Matthew Garth is a working-class teenager growing up in Minnesota in the early 1960s. Raised by his waitress mother, he would much rather spend time in the company of his best friend, Johnny Dunbar, and his wealthy family, led by the town doctor and his devoted wife. On Thanksgiving night Dr. Dunbar is asked to treat Louisa Lindahl, a woman in her 20s who has been shot by her good-for-nothing boyfriend. That night Matthew sees both a gunshot wound and a topless woman for the first time, and both sights haunt him. His longing for the mysterious Louisa changes his behavior and his relationship with the Dunbars, and leads him to actions that set a chain of events in motion that will affect all of them indelibly.
While American Boy certainly is a book that recalls an earlier time, the feelings it chronicles—jealousy, lust, envy, betrayal, and a desire to better one's life—are modern ones. This was a very quick read; while nothing too surprising transpired in the plot, I still felt somewhat invested in the characters and what happened to them, even if none of them were particularly likeable. I really enjoyed Watson's storytelling ability, as I always do, and think he should be much more famous than he is. This may not be his best book, but it's definitely a worthwhile read.
March 27, 2013
This book had some 5 star moments, but I'm going to be critical of it. The exposition really didn't work for me. The little italics start of course really perked me interest, I thought I would never be able to set it down, but then it really flopped. The first 20-30 pages are plagued with flash-backs that took away from what was happening at that time in the story more than they added characterization or perspective. Anyway, I think this characterization could have been done in a way that would be less intrusive to the story.
I also felt there needed to be a little more to initiate such an obsession in Matt. I know obsession doesn't always make sense, but I felt the story would have been stronger with a little more reason behind Matt's.
What I really loved about this book were its images of the rural midwest. The power structure of small towns, the obvious split between the wealthy and the people just getting by, and the gossip. When these were seen and interpreted through Matt Garth's eyes this book is great.
However the driving force of the plot is Matt's obsession with a girl, and I can't get on board with it. Watson didn't give us enough reasons to see how this works. That in addition to other plot movements that I just didn't think worked or were just hard to swallow (spoiler, for those who have read the book, I'm talking about Louisa's note, and the Doctor's willingness to cheat on his wife. Although it was obvious that was going to happen when Johnny and Matt were on their way to the Bellamy I didn't see this in the Doctor. I saw a love of power, but also a willingness to protect his family.)
Despite my criticism I did like this book, and I'm glad I read it. I just felt like so much could have been done better.
I also felt there needed to be a little more to initiate such an obsession in Matt. I know obsession doesn't always make sense, but I felt the story would have been stronger with a little more reason behind Matt's.
What I really loved about this book were its images of the rural midwest. The power structure of small towns, the obvious split between the wealthy and the people just getting by, and the gossip. When these were seen and interpreted through Matt Garth's eyes this book is great.
However the driving force of the plot is Matt's obsession with a girl, and I can't get on board with it. Watson didn't give us enough reasons to see how this works. That in addition to other plot movements that I just didn't think worked or were just hard to swallow (spoiler, for those who have read the book, I'm talking about Louisa's note, and the Doctor's willingness to cheat on his wife. Although it was obvious that was going to happen when Johnny and Matt were on their way to the Bellamy I didn't see this in the Doctor. I saw a love of power, but also a willingness to protect his family.)
Despite my criticism I did like this book, and I'm glad I read it. I just felt like so much could have been done better.
September 4, 2014
A quick read and somewhat interesting story. I enjoyed the narrative but the outcome/finale didn't cut it for me. Overall I'd give it 2.5 stars but I couldn't find a way to do that with this online system.
November 19, 2024
This is a searing coming-of-age story centered on heartbreak, seduction, and betrayal that is as biting as the Minnesota winter in which it is set.
It's Thanksgiving Day in 1962 in the very small prairie town of Willow Falls, Minnesota. Matthew Garth, 17, is best friends with Johnny Dunbar, the son of the town's only physician. Matt's widowed mother works as a waitress, barely making ends meet, but the affluent and compassionate Dunbars always have a place at the table and in their hearts for Matt. Just as the Dunbar family, along with Matt, is sitting down to a delectable Thanksgiving feast, word comes of a shooting. Dr. Dunbar takes off to find the victim who is somewhere in the nearby woods and invites Johnny and Matt along. The victim is Louisa Lindahl, a beautiful young woman with a checkered and mysterious past. She was shot by her live-in boyfriend, Lester Huston. Dr. Dunbar saves her, and since she has nowhere to go, he invites her to live in his house and work in his office. While Matt is in lust with sexy Louisa, she may have her heart set on someone else—a love that could greatly disrupt their safe and secure little world in Willow Falls.
Sparsely written with razor-sharp prose, this carefully nuanced novel brilliantly captures the conflicted feelings of an adolescent boy on the brink of manhood at a time when true friendship is indispensable and betrayals are shattering. Even though this is a story about small-town America in our distant, more innocent past, it's also a story about life and love, disloyalty and redemption that transcends the setting and the years.
I highly recommend this book.
It's Thanksgiving Day in 1962 in the very small prairie town of Willow Falls, Minnesota. Matthew Garth, 17, is best friends with Johnny Dunbar, the son of the town's only physician. Matt's widowed mother works as a waitress, barely making ends meet, but the affluent and compassionate Dunbars always have a place at the table and in their hearts for Matt. Just as the Dunbar family, along with Matt, is sitting down to a delectable Thanksgiving feast, word comes of a shooting. Dr. Dunbar takes off to find the victim who is somewhere in the nearby woods and invites Johnny and Matt along. The victim is Louisa Lindahl, a beautiful young woman with a checkered and mysterious past. She was shot by her live-in boyfriend, Lester Huston. Dr. Dunbar saves her, and since she has nowhere to go, he invites her to live in his house and work in his office. While Matt is in lust with sexy Louisa, she may have her heart set on someone else—a love that could greatly disrupt their safe and secure little world in Willow Falls.
Sparsely written with razor-sharp prose, this carefully nuanced novel brilliantly captures the conflicted feelings of an adolescent boy on the brink of manhood at a time when true friendship is indispensable and betrayals are shattering. Even though this is a story about small-town America in our distant, more innocent past, it's also a story about life and love, disloyalty and redemption that transcends the setting and the years.
I highly recommend this book.
February 2, 2023
"There are destructive forces at loose in the world, from which neither buildings nor families can be saved."
March 23, 2012
American Boy is a very well-written novel about the sometimes dark underbelly of small town America. It is set in a small town in Minnesota in the early sixties, and concerns the events that unfold in the wake of the shooting of a young woman, Louisa, who is treated by the town's doctor, Dr. Dunbar, and survives. She is a source of fascination for the narrator, Matthew, who is such close friends with Dr. Dunbar's son, Johnny, that they are often mistaken for brothers. Instead, Matt is the son of a single mother, and far poorer than Johnny. I do not think it is spoiling anything to announce that it is Louisa's entrance into their lives that tests, and ultimately changes, these relationships. Just how she will do so, however, is something of a question, and it is that tension which tows the reader along to the book's conclusion. The characters are well-drawn, the plot subtle, and the writing, again, excellent. It is a dark and unsettling story, but a good one.
June 3, 2024
A quirky coming of age story, but extremely effective. A cold environment, cold family, cold sexpot, and an endearing, but tough protagonist. A great read.
September 6, 2021
I liked it. Characters, as always, were so authentic. I didn't get as deep into this one. I am guessing it was only because the main character was a young boy and I could not relate as well. I am an old woman. But their shenanigans did take me back. I'd consider it a good book.
May 12, 2013
Matthew Garth is a high school senior in the fall of 1962. He and his widowed mother live in Willow Falls, a small town in Southwest Minnesota. Although his mother works long hours at the local supper club, Matt doesn’t feel abandoned. He’s been accepted into the family of Dr. Dunbar, whose son Johnny is Matt’s best friend. Dr. Dunbar patiently and thoroughly explains the rudiments of medicine to the boys who are both interested in becoming doctors. So when their Thanksgiving meal is interrupted with news of a missing young woman, believed to have been shot by her boyfriend, the boys rally to join the search party, while Dr. Dunbar prepares his clinic to care for her. Louisa Lindahl will change everything about Matt’s relationship with the Dunbar family.
This is a heartfelt story of one young man’s awakening, and the missteps of youth. Matt has always relied on Dr. Dunbar for advice and has taken the lessons he imparts, whether about medicine, sportsmanship or curbing one’s baser instincts, to heart. But sometimes the lessons we are taught are not necessarily the lessons we learn. His fascination – even obsession – with Louisa is understandable, but a recipe for disaster. The inevitable confrontations will change the way Matt sees himself and his place in the world. The few months following Thanksgiving 1962 will mark him and force him to reconsider his view of the American dream.
Watson writes with such a sense of time and place as to put the reader right in the landscape of his novel. The reader feels chilled to the bone in a Minnesota blizzard, relishes in the warmth of a fire, and enjoys the flush that results from a sensual kiss. The writing is spare but fraught with tension. My loyalties shifted in the course of the novel, just as Matt’s did. I’ve read two of his previous novels - Montana 1948 and Justice . Once again, Watson has written a novel this is both specific to a time and place, and yet universal in its themes. Watson’s characters are good, flawed, admirable, loathsome, confused, and certain; their situations may be unique but their emotions strike a chord in all of us.
This is a heartfelt story of one young man’s awakening, and the missteps of youth. Matt has always relied on Dr. Dunbar for advice and has taken the lessons he imparts, whether about medicine, sportsmanship or curbing one’s baser instincts, to heart. But sometimes the lessons we are taught are not necessarily the lessons we learn. His fascination – even obsession – with Louisa is understandable, but a recipe for disaster. The inevitable confrontations will change the way Matt sees himself and his place in the world. The few months following Thanksgiving 1962 will mark him and force him to reconsider his view of the American dream.
Watson writes with such a sense of time and place as to put the reader right in the landscape of his novel. The reader feels chilled to the bone in a Minnesota blizzard, relishes in the warmth of a fire, and enjoys the flush that results from a sensual kiss. The writing is spare but fraught with tension. My loyalties shifted in the course of the novel, just as Matt’s did. I’ve read two of his previous novels - Montana 1948 and Justice . Once again, Watson has written a novel this is both specific to a time and place, and yet universal in its themes. Watson’s characters are good, flawed, admirable, loathsome, confused, and certain; their situations may be unique but their emotions strike a chord in all of us.
September 6, 2014
Coming of age books always include certain milestones in growing to adulthood. Since adults are not the same, stories of sexuality, growing to maturity and responsibility, and the problems of parents are the notes which vary in every version of that stage of life. I appreciated American Boy's exploration of being a son (two friends, one fatherless who becomes part of the other's family during his teen years), the awkwardness of being a boy relating to women, and the formation of character.
I wonder why the author chose the name "American Boy." Is it because the story takes place in the classic boomer era (the boys graduate in 1963) romanticized in American Graffiti? Having access to a family car, the role of a doctor in a small town, are these the "American" elements? It seems a non title to me, too generic for a coming of age story of this calibar.
Matthew, one of the boys and narrator of the story, is the only son of a widow, who spends most of his time at the home of the Dunbars, with his best friend Johnny. Many people think that Matthew and Johnny are twin Dunbar brothers because Matthew is so included in the family. Dr. Rex Dunbar includes Matthew, when he shares medical knowledge with his son Johnny.
Stories of adolescence are also stories of the development of character. What makes American Boy so interesting is the question of how the two boys will develop morally. You see their flawed thinking, actions, and desires, and yet like a lot of us, in the teen age years we make a moral choice that shapes so much of what follows. How we react to the immorality of others, where we take our stand despite our own flawed nature -- this, too, is part of "coming of age" and what makes American Boy more interesting than many others of this genre.
I wonder why the author chose the name "American Boy." Is it because the story takes place in the classic boomer era (the boys graduate in 1963) romanticized in American Graffiti? Having access to a family car, the role of a doctor in a small town, are these the "American" elements? It seems a non title to me, too generic for a coming of age story of this calibar.
Matthew, one of the boys and narrator of the story, is the only son of a widow, who spends most of his time at the home of the Dunbars, with his best friend Johnny. Many people think that Matthew and Johnny are twin Dunbar brothers because Matthew is so included in the family. Dr. Rex Dunbar includes Matthew, when he shares medical knowledge with his son Johnny.
Stories of adolescence are also stories of the development of character. What makes American Boy so interesting is the question of how the two boys will develop morally. You see their flawed thinking, actions, and desires, and yet like a lot of us, in the teen age years we make a moral choice that shapes so much of what follows. How we react to the immorality of others, where we take our stand despite our own flawed nature -- this, too, is part of "coming of age" and what makes American Boy more interesting than many others of this genre.
June 9, 2017
1963, small-town Minnesota. Matt Garth and best friend Johnny Dunbar are high school kids who do the things normal high school kids do; drink beer, smoke lots of cigarettes, cruise main street for girls and take a keen interest in medical doctoring. Well, ok, that last one is not so normal. Johnny's dad is the highly regarded town physician, and he has taken the boys under his wing for some mentoring. But a sexy "older" woman with a gunshot wound enters the picture and at first things get a little weird. Then later, things get really weird, and the cozy Dunbar family + Matt, now + Louisa goes slowly off the rails.
The story here is very good, but what I really love about this book is the writing. So clear and thoughtful. Every conversation rings true, every character comes off as real, every incident seems believable.
The story here is very good, but what I really love about this book is the writing. So clear and thoughtful. Every conversation rings true, every character comes off as real, every incident seems believable.
November 4, 2011
AMERICAN BOY
By Larry Watson
This long time favorite author of mine has triumphed with a marvelous book that may eclipse the treasured MONTANA 1948. A true American future classic.
This poignant coming of age story begins on Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1962 when a chain of unsettling events occur in Willow Falls, Minnesota. A young woman is shot and Matthew Garth’s life changes forever when he is blindsided with his feverish desire for the mysterious woman, and his deep longing for the comfort and affluence of the local doctor and his family.
Mr. Watson’s masterful depiction of youthful heart breaks, passions, loyalties and moral uncertainties are carefully etched in a gloriously rich evocation of a time and place.
Very Highly Recommended
By Larry Watson
This long time favorite author of mine has triumphed with a marvelous book that may eclipse the treasured MONTANA 1948. A true American future classic.
This poignant coming of age story begins on Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1962 when a chain of unsettling events occur in Willow Falls, Minnesota. A young woman is shot and Matthew Garth’s life changes forever when he is blindsided with his feverish desire for the mysterious woman, and his deep longing for the comfort and affluence of the local doctor and his family.
Mr. Watson’s masterful depiction of youthful heart breaks, passions, loyalties and moral uncertainties are carefully etched in a gloriously rich evocation of a time and place.
Very Highly Recommended
December 28, 2011
A simple but engaging coming-of-age story by one of my favorite authors. Without even a glimpse of what’s going on in the good doctor’s head, Watson is able to show us the inconsistencies as well as the unintended consequences of a big-fish-in-a-small-pond adult who takes on the role of professional and moral mentor to a fatherless boy who is the best friend of his own son. Watson’s ability to place readers in a frigid car with two confused teenagers driving through a Minnesota blizzard is uncanny.
November 20, 2013
I really love Larry Watson's style of writing. No matter how many pages, I want to devour his books and read them quickly. He's a no-nonsense writer, using few words, but in descriptive ways able to take us to wherever the story is taking place. This story, in small town America in the 1950's. A coming of age story of a young fatherless teen. Larry Watson always does such a wonderful job at character development!
February 11, 2016
While several elements of this coming of age story, set in a small mid-western prairie town, are very reminiscent of the author's earlier work, the story is still fresh and compelling. Matthew Garth is the only child of a working mother who has been "adopted" by the family of his best friend, son of the wealthy town doctor. When another "orphan" becomes part of the family, relationships are altered, beyond repair.
September 7, 2011
A coming-of-age story set in southwest Minnesota in 1963. A well written story that leaves you thinking about the choices made by a young man. How his naive and narrow view of the world is changed by events that he thinks he is involved in but comes to realize that he has no control over. (It's late and I'll edit and expand on this tomorrow.)
February 7, 2019
Watson's storytelling is superb. His writing about small town life reveals much about the human condition. His characters are appealing, so when their flaws are revealed I, as the reader, experienced the appropriate dislike for their behavior. As with other stories by Watson, actions have consequences is the theme that establishes the conflicts. This is an enjoyable, worthwhile story to read.
September 27, 2011
I would rank this title third in Larry Watson's works, behind Montana 1948 (favorite!) and White Crosses. I prefer this book over (in no particular order) In a Dark Time, Justice, Orchard, and Laura. The rest I have yet to read!
December 24, 2011
Maybe it's "just a phase I'm going through" but this is a hell of a story.
A harsh landscape, hard lessons and an awakening not to be envied combine to make up a a story that packs a punch.
July 30, 2013
Well written, moving story of two boys growing up together.
June 3, 2024
3.5 stars. This book didn't grab me like his other novels have. It is 1962 and Matt and his best friend, Johnny, are seniors in high school and are being tutored in medicine by Johnny's father, Dr. Dunbar. When Louisa is shot by her boyfriend, who later commits suicide, Dr. Dunbar lets the boys see the incision and explains to them the trajectory of the bullet and how, if it was just a few inches different, she would have died. As it is, Louisa doesn't have anywhere to go and stays with the Dunbar's in exchange for her work at the clinic as a secretary. Matt is obsessed with Lousia and fancies that they might become an item. She buys the boys beer and they hang out in the car drinking at popular make-out spots. But when Matt makes a move, Louisa just laughs at him saying that she has her eyes on a bigger prize than a teenage boy. Matt searches her room one night and soon figures out what she meant when he finds her diary outlining how she is going to steal Dr. Dunbar away from his wife. Matt is sick for his friend and angry that Louisa isn't who he thought she was, a young, innocent woman. When she and Dr. Dumbar transport a sick patient to the hospital in the nearby town in a blizzard and don't come home for hours, Mrs. Dunbar has Johnny and Matt go after them in case they are in a ditch somewhere. But no, they are not cold and stranded in a ditch. They are warm and cozy in a motel room. Johnny doesn't want to know what is happening but Matt forces him to knock on the motel room door. When Dr. Dunbar gets angry at Matt, Johnny sides with his father and helps him beat Matt up and kick him out of the room. Matt drives back home and, the next day, blackmails Louisa into leaving by threatening to expose her by giving her diary to Dr. & Mrs. Dunbar. He gives her his savings and waits nearby until she leaves, thinking that he has just saved Johnny's family. But, a year later, Dr. Dunbar is gone, working in a clinic in the Dakotas, and Mrs. Dumbar leaves town with her younger children. Matt and Johnny never recover a go their separate ways. A sad coming of age tale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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