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Thumbsucker
This eighties-centric, Ritalin-fueled, pitch-perfect comic novel by a writer to watch brings energy and originality to the classic Midwestern coming-of-age story.Meet Justin Cobb, "the King Kong of oral obsessives" (as his dentist dubs him) and the most appealingly bright and screwed-up fictional adolescent since Holden Caulfield donned his hunter's cap. For years, no remedy--not orthodontia, not the escalating threats of his father, Mike, a washed-out linebacker turned sporting goods entrepreneur, not the noxious cayenne pepper-based Suk-No-Mor--can cure Justin's thumbsucking habit.Then a course of hypnosis seemingly does the trick, but true to the conservation of neurotic energy, the problem doesn't so much disappear as relocate. Sex, substance abuse, speech team, fly-fishing, honest work, even Mormonism--Justin throws himself into each pursuit with a hyperactive energy that even his daily Ritalin dose does little to blunt.Each time, however, he discovers that there is no escaping the unruly imperatives of his self and the confines of his deeply eccentric family. The only "cure" for the adolescent condition is time and distance.Always funny, sometimes hilariously so, occasionally poignant, and even disturbing, deeply wise on the vexed subject of fathers and sons, Walter Kirn's Thumbsucker is an utterly fresh and all-American take on the painful process of growing up.
300 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 1999
26 people are currently reading
859 people want to read
About the author
Walter Kirn
39 books233 followersWalter Kirn is a regular reviewer for The New York Times Book Review, and his work appears in The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Time, New York, GQ and Esquire. He is the author of six previous works of fiction: My Hard Bargain: Stories, She Needed Me, Thumbsucker, Up in the Air, Mission to America and The Unbinding. Kirn is a graduate of Princeton University and attended Oxford on a scholarship from the Keasby Foundation. "
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews
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December 21, 2015I was reading this book on the subway one morning and I glanced up at this middle-aged man across from me reading some book by James Patterson. I scoffed at this man because, hey dude, I read literature.
But do I? Approximately two hours of almost every day of my life I stand in a subway car as it carts me off to and from a job I hate and another day closer to death, and I spent several of those hours reading a piece of fluff called Thumbsucker that I'm only reading because I found it on the street and I remember the movie from the early 00s [pronounced 'ooze'] that I didn't even really like. The book itself is okay, but it's just okay: I wasn't challenged or rewarded; I didn't learn anything; it was easy to read...Not that books need to be challenging or rewarding or teach you something or unreadable, I guess, but why not? I'm going to forget I read this book in a few weeks just like I mostly forgot that I saw the movie of this book. I remember every book that I found too difficult to finish.
Five days a week, I wake up early on one island and get on a train that takes me to a different island. I sit at a desk and do menial tasks where the only rewards are slight variations of the same menial tasks. Ten or twelve hours later, I get on another train and go back the first island. All of this time is unproductive and wasted. What I'm saying is, we are all going to die. There are better ways to waste your time than reading this book.
But do I? Approximately two hours of almost every day of my life I stand in a subway car as it carts me off to and from a job I hate and another day closer to death, and I spent several of those hours reading a piece of fluff called Thumbsucker that I'm only reading because I found it on the street and I remember the movie from the early 00s [pronounced 'ooze'] that I didn't even really like. The book itself is okay, but it's just okay: I wasn't challenged or rewarded; I didn't learn anything; it was easy to read...Not that books need to be challenging or rewarding or teach you something or unreadable, I guess, but why not? I'm going to forget I read this book in a few weeks just like I mostly forgot that I saw the movie of this book. I remember every book that I found too difficult to finish.
Five days a week, I wake up early on one island and get on a train that takes me to a different island. I sit at a desk and do menial tasks where the only rewards are slight variations of the same menial tasks. Ten or twelve hours later, I get on another train and go back the first island. All of this time is unproductive and wasted. What I'm saying is, we are all going to die. There are better ways to waste your time than reading this book.
May 14, 2014
I really liked it. It was almost more of a series of vignettes than a novel, but it flowed nicely and was in chronological order.
Justin is very likable as a main character, even though he is a jerk sometimes. And, ultimately the book is full of funny descriptions and back-hand comments like: "At fourteen, I had the physique of a sperm: an enormous oval head trailing a skinny, tapering body".
I enjoyed Kirn's depictions of the dysfunctional (but still functioning) family: "That was what Mike called our family: you people. It made me feel like an intruder in his life." and "there was no way to get around the feeling that everyone's in the middle of his own life and at the edge of everybody else's." for example.
As a child of the 80s (although Justin is a bit older than me), I liked some of the fun 80s references. I thought the ADD/Ritalin stuff might be over the top (but relevant after having just read Delivered from Distraction and having lots of ADD conversations here). I wasn't that interested in the Mormonism, but found his tongue-in-cheek commentary (especially about Opal as a semi-prostitute for God) to be funny.
I think my favorite quote was Justin's warning that "When people try to quit things, other things take their places."
Overall it was funny, there were some poignant moments, and even though the plot was rambling it kept me entertained and interested.
Justin is very likable as a main character, even though he is a jerk sometimes. And, ultimately the book is full of funny descriptions and back-hand comments like: "At fourteen, I had the physique of a sperm: an enormous oval head trailing a skinny, tapering body".
I enjoyed Kirn's depictions of the dysfunctional (but still functioning) family: "That was what Mike called our family: you people. It made me feel like an intruder in his life." and "there was no way to get around the feeling that everyone's in the middle of his own life and at the edge of everybody else's." for example.
As a child of the 80s (although Justin is a bit older than me), I liked some of the fun 80s references. I thought the ADD/Ritalin stuff might be over the top (but relevant after having just read Delivered from Distraction and having lots of ADD conversations here). I wasn't that interested in the Mormonism, but found his tongue-in-cheek commentary (especially about Opal as a semi-prostitute for God) to be funny.
I think my favorite quote was Justin's warning that "When people try to quit things, other things take their places."
Overall it was funny, there were some poignant moments, and even though the plot was rambling it kept me entertained and interested.
May 24, 2025
This book was an odd experience for me. He's an excellent writer, and there were some great 80s details. But the book I was reading was not the book Kirn was writing. This became clear toward the end of the book, and led to a certain deflation of my enjoyment.
After the first two chapters I saw a beautiful hand-made clock with perfectly interlocking gears and springs. But after Justin's heroic save of his father in the woods, the strange veering into Mormonism, it was like a cuckoo sprang out of the clock and disrupted the subtle elegance of it.
Still, he's a great writer.
And i don't think I've ever written out the word "cuckoo" before.
After the first two chapters I saw a beautiful hand-made clock with perfectly interlocking gears and springs. But after Justin's heroic save of his father in the woods, the strange veering into Mormonism, it was like a cuckoo sprang out of the clock and disrupted the subtle elegance of it.
Still, he's a great writer.
And i don't think I've ever written out the word "cuckoo" before.
April 23, 2010
a refreshing coming of age story. takes many unexpected twists and turns which seem absurd and sincere all at the same time. the narrator must discover who he is when his habit of thumbsucking is broken through hypnosis when he is 13. without the safety of his thumb, he has a hard time dealing with the craziness that is his family. he tries drugs, gets diagnosed with ADHD, and tries converting to mormonism to fill the gap. sometimes, you just can't deny you are a bit weird and accepting that leaves this book with a satisfying and not cheesy feeling at the end.
May 20, 2012
Mediocre movie but a great book. It is a story of a teenage boy who sucks him thumb but is made to stop and he stumbles through a series of self-destructive behaviours trying to compensate for it as other drama unfolds in his life and family. The movie did away with my favourite of his coping mechanisms, Mormonism. I thought it was compelling and entertaining but then again I like books written for teens that are not too vacuous.
May 14, 2016
It's more like 2 stars for me, but only because the more I read novels about pre-teen or teenage boys, the more I realize that is not the novel for me. However, I can't fault the novel for that, and this is a solid book.
If you like Nick Hornsby, you'll like this book. It's funny in quite a few places, sweet in other places, and genuine. It definitely hits that 1980s sweet spot, there is that.
Sure, I'm glad I picked it up at the used book store knowing nothing about it.
If you like Nick Hornsby, you'll like this book. It's funny in quite a few places, sweet in other places, and genuine. It definitely hits that 1980s sweet spot, there is that.
Sure, I'm glad I picked it up at the used book store knowing nothing about it.
January 30, 2023
Book #2 Completed in January
(3.5/5)
“Some strangers become more important to you than family, maybe because you’re not expected to love them. You can leave them whenever you want to. They can, too. Every moment together is a choice.”
(3.5/5)
“Some strangers become more important to you than family, maybe because you’re not expected to love them. You can leave them whenever you want to. They can, too. Every moment together is a choice.”
August 2, 2024
I did naurt finish this book and I’m not gonna !!! Delete it trash !
August 19, 2011
I normally detest clever teenagers, probably because I've never known one in real life (not even when I was a teenager - present company included), but I found Kirn's teenage "wisdom" to be palatable, especially since much of it was not wisdom at all but misguided confidence. There is plenty misguidedness in this novel, which is why it's so fun (I had to hold back a lot of public snickering). People who read novels for plots won't like this book. It's a bit fragmented; a bit like three novellas, loosely lining up. But the language is as crisp and sweet as an autumn apple (I promise, there are no such hokey lines in the book) and the teenage cleverness is counter-balanced with enough obliviousness to make it pleasant for picky pricks like me.
August 11, 2007
I read this book in two days. I really liked it, actually. The main character, Justin, is a little annoying at first, but as he approaches every new hobby he tries with vigor, I grew to love him. His father, Mike, also grew on me. At the beginning, he seemed to be an overbearing jock but by the end, I empathized with him.
As the title implies, this story is about the life of a thumbsucker. A teenage thumbsucker.
I can't wait to see the movie.
Overall Grade: 4.75
Note: This book was a book I received at my bookswapping party!
As the title implies, this story is about the life of a thumbsucker. A teenage thumbsucker.
I can't wait to see the movie.
Overall Grade: 4.75
Note: This book was a book I received at my bookswapping party!
January 13, 2008
This is a book that's required for the Adolescent Lit class I'll be taking this semester. I decided to get a head start on the [lengthy] book list, and this one jumped out.
Thumbsucker opens with a Sherwood Anderson quote from Winesburg Ohio and I found it fitting, especially for content: the novel reads like a series of related vignettes, and I was fondly reminded of both Winesburg and something more modern, like Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
Thumbsucker opens with a Sherwood Anderson quote from Winesburg Ohio and I found it fitting, especially for content: the novel reads like a series of related vignettes, and I was fondly reminded of both Winesburg and something more modern, like Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
May 25, 2008
I read this for an online book club I recently joined. In the beginning I did not enjoy it. Everyone was too odd, too dysfunctional for me. But then I started to realize that the beauty of this book is that the main charcter, the narrator, is the most normal in the book and how he reacts to the craziness around him is mature and incredible. While not the greatest book I have ever read, it was not horrible and has sparked some interest and cool discussions in my book club.
May 28, 2014
Well done. Reads more like a series of vignettes than a novel, but it's a clever collection full of rich characters.
June 23, 2014
It has Mormons, so of course I loved it. Scattershot and brutally honest about Midwestern life. Fantastic, but not exactly a "fun" read
December 5, 2024
Justin Cobb is fourteen years old and still sucks his thumb. He just can't help it. His dad, Mike, is determined to make him quit no matter what. Justin's dentist...an oddball for sure...tries hypnosis and then Ritalin...and Justin's story continues.
Justin's family is loving but a tad dysfunctional. They seem to love to hate each other. Growing up is hard enough but Justin's dad makes life harder for both of his sons and his wife. And this makes for some hilarious reading.
We follow Justin as he experiences life and growing pains which include...speech team, his grandparents, weed, fishing, various jobs, sex, booze, Mormons. Every predicament he gets himself into is so funny but also a lesson learned.
Justin's story is a good one. Walter Kirn writes so well. There are plenty of twists and turns in Justin's adventures. I loved him...his self-doubt, his inexperience, his sarcasm, and wanting to make something of himself.
A funny, witty, touching, wonderful look at life.
Justin's family is loving but a tad dysfunctional. They seem to love to hate each other. Growing up is hard enough but Justin's dad makes life harder for both of his sons and his wife. And this makes for some hilarious reading.
We follow Justin as he experiences life and growing pains which include...speech team, his grandparents, weed, fishing, various jobs, sex, booze, Mormons. Every predicament he gets himself into is so funny but also a lesson learned.
Justin's story is a good one. Walter Kirn writes so well. There are plenty of twists and turns in Justin's adventures. I loved him...his self-doubt, his inexperience, his sarcasm, and wanting to make something of himself.
A funny, witty, touching, wonderful look at life.
August 13, 2023
I like Walter Kirn even more now that I see him on Racket with Matt Taibbi every week. I know that a good deal of this novel is based on his own teen years, especially the Mormons who came into his life like a tornado but didn't really change all that much.
I kept thinking of This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff. Thumbsucker is right up close to that masterpiece but not quite. Like Wolff, Kirn gives us a view of adults - their worst and best (or the best they can do) as well as how hard it is to see all of this as a kid. The novel is full of great lines - too many to list. Without exception every chapter and many sections in a chapter end with great lines. They hold Justin's growing up on a trajectory despite some readers (when the book came out) who were annoyed that it seemed a bit disjointed. NO. That's how life goes - not like a flow but like some small and large waves in between the calm.
Looking forward to more of Walter next Friday! And his memoir soon to follow.
I kept thinking of This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolff. Thumbsucker is right up close to that masterpiece but not quite. Like Wolff, Kirn gives us a view of adults - their worst and best (or the best they can do) as well as how hard it is to see all of this as a kid. The novel is full of great lines - too many to list. Without exception every chapter and many sections in a chapter end with great lines. They hold Justin's growing up on a trajectory despite some readers (when the book came out) who were annoyed that it seemed a bit disjointed. NO. That's how life goes - not like a flow but like some small and large waves in between the calm.
Looking forward to more of Walter next Friday! And his memoir soon to follow.
August 12, 2023
I probably would never have come across Walter Kirn, and definitely would not have picked up one of his books if it weren't for the fact that he is the co-host of my favorite podcast, America This Week, and on it he occasionally talks about his books. So anyway, after some deliberation between this and Up in the Air, I settled on this. I think it was a good choice. After hearing Kirn speak week after week and drip out little pieces of his life and thoughts I could not help but read this story about a seventeen year old boy in the voice of a 60 year old man. It lent a certain I don't know what to the teenage angst of this boy looking for something to fill his life. I liked the story. Sort of the upper Midwest middle class version of Brett Easton Ellis's nihilist teenagers. Weird and uncomfortable and totally relatable
April 5, 2022
Weird, but written very well. A gripping story, but it takes you to strange places, some of which I don't recommend going (like Mormon youth group trips). Best part of this book is the way it captures the odd pairing of a son's coming of age struggles occurring at the same time as his father's mid-life crisis struggles. The two are a tragic, but hilarious pairing. The author is amazing at developing his characters. They are all vivid and unique, and they all go through numerous changes over such a short stretch of pages. This book is billed as a "coming of age" story, which I guess is true, but I warn you that the main character doesn't really come to anything by the end. A great exhibition of what doesn't work to grow you up out of your youthful foibles and flaws.
February 29, 2024
An interesting novel that takes a unique view of addictions through the eyes of a young man and his family. Not the typical look. These are, for the most part, little addictions like thumb sucking. Kirk’s droll writing voice was engaging
January 23, 2018
Things just seemed to happen without much reason.
September 9, 2019
I loved it even more the second time around since I understood more, now that I am older.
January 7, 2020
Not bad so far. But didn't get very far. Only to page 38, time to return to the library.
April 2, 2020
I want to rewatch the movie now.
June 18, 2020
I loved the writing but the characters stressed me out that I found it hard to want to finish it. I guess that is also good writing so 4/5.
November 13, 2021
~1.5 stars begrudgingly rounded up. The first part was halfway decent.
May 26, 2023
couldn't finish this one. not gonna lie.
June 7, 2023
Interesting book. All I can think is that a father should be so much more.
June 20, 2023
great book. at times it’s so crazy and you can’t help but keep reading.
February 8, 2024
One of the few times that I actually agree that the book was better than the movie. Which says a lot because I fucking love this movie lol.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 126 reviews