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One Boy's Journey to Man #1
Boy on a Wire
Depicting the full spectrum of adolescent alienation, this engaging, coming-of-age narrative is a humorous blend of novel and memoir. A sensitive, quick-witted boy from a small town, Jack Muir adores his mother, yearns for affection from his father, and lives in the shadow of his accomplished brother. Sent to a boarding school at a young age, Jack must quickly decide what sort of person he will be—the type that succumbs to the pressure of bullies and the school system or the type that fights back, using clever banter and intellect to get by. With a unique and authentic voice, this darkly humorous tale portrays the road to depression as seen through the naiveté of youth.
240 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Jon Doust
11 books18 followersJon comes from an old WA family, steeped in the stories he’s gathered along the way and those handed down to him by his story telling grandfather, Roy Doust.
His first adult novel, Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press), published in 2009, required a re-print before December and was then long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, Australia’s most prestigious literary award, along with such notable Australian writers as Thomas Kenneally, Craig Silvey, Alex Miller, Sonya Hartnet, Peter Carey and the eventual winner, Peter Temple. It was then reprinted in 2019, with an entirely new cover. And he thought that only happened to the big names.
Since then, two more: To the Highlands and Return Ticket. The final novel completing his trilogy – One Boys Journey to Man. Both were written in Menang Noongar Boodje, the Great Southern region of Western Australia, a place that nurtures him, sustains him, and where his spiritual brothers and sisters hold him.
Since that first novel Jon has often attended literary festivals, schools, book clubs, libraries, bus stops and coffee shops. These days he mainly entertains tour groups around Kinjarling Albany.
Some time ago, he was a regular on the conference circuit, speaking on a wide range of subjects, from Jungian psychological theory, the value of humour as a stress reliever, to leadership and community development. Those days are gone, given his age and weak knees.
Jon has been responsible for starting a range of organisations and events. These include one of Australia’s longest running comedy rooms, Perth’s Laugh Resort; the Australasian Cherry Pip Spitting Championship and the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival; Albany’s Sock Fence; and he was one of the founding members of the WA branch of the Wilderness Society.
He was born in Bridgetown (Joogilup) into a farming/retailing family and worked in both until he was old enough to know better. Outside the family business he was asked to leave jobs in banking, the media, retailing (again), farming (again) and comedy.
He also wrote a political satire – How to lose an election – based on his own losing experiences and co-written with Ken Spillman three children’s books – Magpie Mischief, Magwheel Madness and Kidnapped. Two almost received awards.
Jon got a BA English from Curtin University and has been a member of the Jungian Society, the Australian Association for Psychological Type, Laugh Resort Inc, an association of stand-up comedians, Creative Albany, a creative community think tank based in WA’s first town and port, the Australian Society of Authors, the Wilderness Society, and the International Society for Humour Studies.
He is old now but can still do 80 squats in a day, body surf, run through busy traffic, and remember where he put his shoes.
His first adult novel, Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press), published in 2009, required a re-print before December and was then long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, Australia’s most prestigious literary award, along with such notable Australian writers as Thomas Kenneally, Craig Silvey, Alex Miller, Sonya Hartnet, Peter Carey and the eventual winner, Peter Temple. It was then reprinted in 2019, with an entirely new cover. And he thought that only happened to the big names.
Since then, two more: To the Highlands and Return Ticket. The final novel completing his trilogy – One Boys Journey to Man. Both were written in Menang Noongar Boodje, the Great Southern region of Western Australia, a place that nurtures him, sustains him, and where his spiritual brothers and sisters hold him.
Since that first novel Jon has often attended literary festivals, schools, book clubs, libraries, bus stops and coffee shops. These days he mainly entertains tour groups around Kinjarling Albany.
Some time ago, he was a regular on the conference circuit, speaking on a wide range of subjects, from Jungian psychological theory, the value of humour as a stress reliever, to leadership and community development. Those days are gone, given his age and weak knees.
Jon has been responsible for starting a range of organisations and events. These include one of Australia’s longest running comedy rooms, Perth’s Laugh Resort; the Australasian Cherry Pip Spitting Championship and the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival; Albany’s Sock Fence; and he was one of the founding members of the WA branch of the Wilderness Society.
He was born in Bridgetown (Joogilup) into a farming/retailing family and worked in both until he was old enough to know better. Outside the family business he was asked to leave jobs in banking, the media, retailing (again), farming (again) and comedy.
He also wrote a political satire – How to lose an election – based on his own losing experiences and co-written with Ken Spillman three children’s books – Magpie Mischief, Magwheel Madness and Kidnapped. Two almost received awards.
Jon got a BA English from Curtin University and has been a member of the Jungian Society, the Australian Association for Psychological Type, Laugh Resort Inc, an association of stand-up comedians, Creative Albany, a creative community think tank based in WA’s first town and port, the Australian Society of Authors, the Wilderness Society, and the International Society for Humour Studies.
He is old now but can still do 80 squats in a day, body surf, run through busy traffic, and remember where he put his shoes.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 25, 2025
Really enjoyed this book. Was short and sweet but poignant and funny. It gave me an insight into a boys brain and it highlighted just how little I understand them
January 19, 2016
My sheltered childhood is long behind me but I had a sense of disbelief when I read about the brutality of boarding school life in Boy on a Wire. Long-listed for the 2010 Miles Franklin, it’s a fictionalised memoir, based on Jon Doust’s own experiences at a boarding school in Western Australia in the 1960s. The routine violence that was inflicted even for minor misdemeanours was institutionalised by both masters and boys. Relentless bullying and bastardisation were part of the school tradition, and dobbing was never done. As a teacher myself, I cannot imagine working in such a brutal and degrading atmosphere, much less trying to learn anything there as a student. See my review at http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
September 10, 2022
Meet Jon Doust; he is a funny man and a survivor. Funny in that he is a stand-up comedian with a natural gift for a story, and a survivor in the sense he had mercury poisoning (pinks disease) as a child, survived, and then lived through the cruelty of boarding school to tell the tale.
He has dedicated this fictionalised autobiographical work to all those boys who experienced bullying and harsh schooling days and have carried their scars into manhood.
Boy on a Wire
Set in Western Australia, Boy on a Wire draws on Doust’s personal experience of being sent, in his early adolescence, from a small country town to a boys’ boarding school in the city.
Small in stature, he had to be quick on his feet and fast with his mouth. Luckily for Doust, he had both of these qualities.
The main protagonist is Jack Muir (Doust); hot-headed, smart-mouthed and totally loveable. Readers follow him on his journey through the perils of school life as he grapples with what is good and evil in the world, takes on the bullies, both children and adults, and lives in constant fear of everyone, including God, his superhero.
Jack is a champion of the underdog. When the less-fortunate are picked on he takes on the responsibility of seeking revenge, all the while wondering if he may indeed also have a bit of Satan in him.
Questioning his religion, Jack lives with constant guilt. He is measured against his older brother Thomas, a somewhat golden child, and often wishes him dead. When Thomas has an accident, Jack takes the blame and his guilt escalates.
Humour in Boy on a Wire
For a stand-up comedian it is not surprising that humour comes naturally in the novel and although at times very dark and sad, Doust’s writing leaves us with hope and the sense of optimism that all will be fine in the world.
In an interview with Jo Case at Readings 15 April 2010, Doust states “My family have always used humour to cope with illness, failings and flaws and I have a background in stand-up comedy. My personal sense of humour has a darkness and I am a regular user of it as a survival tool.”
As well as the humour, it is Doust’s characters who are the real winners in this memoir. They are colourful, repulsive, sensitive and cruel. Doust follows them into adulthood with the final pages of the book being dedicated to a list of where they are now. It is hard to gauge if the list is the truth or a product of Doust’s humour. Regardless, the result is satisfying and in most cases, deserved.
About Jon Doust
Jon Doust was born in Bridgetown and lives in Albany, Western Australia. He is an author, comedian, motivational speaker and lover of organic fruit and vegetables. This is his first book for adults but he has previously has success with two children’s novels.
Boy on a Wire was longlisted for the 2010 Miles Franklin Literary Award which celebrates the best in Australian literature. Unfortunately Doust did not make the shortlist.
Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press, 2009, ISBN 9781921361456, 236 pages.)
He has dedicated this fictionalised autobiographical work to all those boys who experienced bullying and harsh schooling days and have carried their scars into manhood.
Boy on a Wire
Set in Western Australia, Boy on a Wire draws on Doust’s personal experience of being sent, in his early adolescence, from a small country town to a boys’ boarding school in the city.
Small in stature, he had to be quick on his feet and fast with his mouth. Luckily for Doust, he had both of these qualities.
The main protagonist is Jack Muir (Doust); hot-headed, smart-mouthed and totally loveable. Readers follow him on his journey through the perils of school life as he grapples with what is good and evil in the world, takes on the bullies, both children and adults, and lives in constant fear of everyone, including God, his superhero.
Jack is a champion of the underdog. When the less-fortunate are picked on he takes on the responsibility of seeking revenge, all the while wondering if he may indeed also have a bit of Satan in him.
Questioning his religion, Jack lives with constant guilt. He is measured against his older brother Thomas, a somewhat golden child, and often wishes him dead. When Thomas has an accident, Jack takes the blame and his guilt escalates.
Humour in Boy on a Wire
For a stand-up comedian it is not surprising that humour comes naturally in the novel and although at times very dark and sad, Doust’s writing leaves us with hope and the sense of optimism that all will be fine in the world.
In an interview with Jo Case at Readings 15 April 2010, Doust states “My family have always used humour to cope with illness, failings and flaws and I have a background in stand-up comedy. My personal sense of humour has a darkness and I am a regular user of it as a survival tool.”
As well as the humour, it is Doust’s characters who are the real winners in this memoir. They are colourful, repulsive, sensitive and cruel. Doust follows them into adulthood with the final pages of the book being dedicated to a list of where they are now. It is hard to gauge if the list is the truth or a product of Doust’s humour. Regardless, the result is satisfying and in most cases, deserved.
About Jon Doust
Jon Doust was born in Bridgetown and lives in Albany, Western Australia. He is an author, comedian, motivational speaker and lover of organic fruit and vegetables. This is his first book for adults but he has previously has success with two children’s novels.
Boy on a Wire was longlisted for the 2010 Miles Franklin Literary Award which celebrates the best in Australian literature. Unfortunately Doust did not make the shortlist.
Boy on a Wire (Fremantle Press, 2009, ISBN 9781921361456, 236 pages.)
May 28, 2010
Long-listed for the Miles Franklin Award. This memoir follows Jack--a boy whose exuberance and wit continually lands him in trouble--through the brutal and brutalising years of boarding school. A raw, no-holds-barred 1st person narrative that will resonate with any reader who's been there.
March 23, 2010
Jack Muir tells his story of boarding-school life, families, friendship, coming of age -- sometimes funny, sometimes brutal -- in a voice that is disarming, fresh and engaging, so well sustained throughout. I won't forget it.
February 27, 2020
‘I know I have to go. It’s a family tradition.’
Jack Muir, from a small town in Western Australia, is sent off to boarding school in the early 1960s. He doesn’t want to go. His older brother is already there: Jack has become used to being in his shadow. But leaving home means leaving his mother, of having to fit into a world where difference is not valued and where punishment can be brutal. While I don’t have any personal experience of corporal punishment at school, I do remember ‘the cuts’ being administered to others at my government primary school in Tasmania. Fear and pain are hardly great motivators for learning.
And in Jack’s boarding school, the boys also dole out punishment to each other.
How will Jack survive? Physically and emotionally?
Jack is not always a likeable character: he has the arrogance of youth, and his wit is not always comfortable. But he is also compassionate and tries to look out for some of the more vulnerable boys.
I read this book and wondered how many of the boys would survive their experiences. I wondered, too, about what kind of adults and parents these boys would make. Have we learned nothing since the 19th century? There’s little kindness shown to the boys in this book: even minor transgressions are punished; boys are expected to be competitive and tough.
‘There is a kind of freedom in not winning.’
I read this novel on the recommendation of a friend and will be looking to read the other two books in the series ‘One Boy’s Journey to Man’. The journey is harrowing in parts, but the writing is superb, and I really want to read the next stage of Jack’s journey. While I think that this novel is pitched at adults, many teenagers might take comfort from knowing that they are not alone navigating the challenging path from childhood.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Jack Muir, from a small town in Western Australia, is sent off to boarding school in the early 1960s. He doesn’t want to go. His older brother is already there: Jack has become used to being in his shadow. But leaving home means leaving his mother, of having to fit into a world where difference is not valued and where punishment can be brutal. While I don’t have any personal experience of corporal punishment at school, I do remember ‘the cuts’ being administered to others at my government primary school in Tasmania. Fear and pain are hardly great motivators for learning.
And in Jack’s boarding school, the boys also dole out punishment to each other.
How will Jack survive? Physically and emotionally?
Jack is not always a likeable character: he has the arrogance of youth, and his wit is not always comfortable. But he is also compassionate and tries to look out for some of the more vulnerable boys.
I read this book and wondered how many of the boys would survive their experiences. I wondered, too, about what kind of adults and parents these boys would make. Have we learned nothing since the 19th century? There’s little kindness shown to the boys in this book: even minor transgressions are punished; boys are expected to be competitive and tough.
‘There is a kind of freedom in not winning.’
I read this novel on the recommendation of a friend and will be looking to read the other two books in the series ‘One Boy’s Journey to Man’. The journey is harrowing in parts, but the writing is superb, and I really want to read the next stage of Jack’s journey. While I think that this novel is pitched at adults, many teenagers might take comfort from knowing that they are not alone navigating the challenging path from childhood.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 8, 2019
I was sent a copy of this title from the Publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to show the other side of Australia, the side that books often overlook. In that respect I got what I wanted, this book is raw and gritty and on many levels, emotionally charged. But for me, I truly felt as though it was too long, that there were so many chapters that just felt like they were re-worded repeats of previous chapters. I couldn’t connect with the protagonist past the first 30 pages. I felt a real connection to him early in the book, I wanted him to do well, to escape the world of his mother and father and make something of himself, and when he got to boarding school, I thought that was his chance, but he didn’t and it wasn’t. But I guess that is the point of the book. To show how life repeats, to show how socio-economic status and culture works. I struggled also with the writing style, it is incredibly slow paced, but the chapters are so short, it sort of makes up for the pacing. I like the short chapters, you can read one in under three minutes.
I do feel a little guilty for not liking this book. I requested it from the lovely people at Fremantle Press in exchange for some publicity and a honest review, but I wish it could have been more positive.
On closing, I loved the Australian-ness of this novel, I just wish there was more content and less repetition.
I wanted to love this book. I wanted it to show the other side of Australia, the side that books often overlook. In that respect I got what I wanted, this book is raw and gritty and on many levels, emotionally charged. But for me, I truly felt as though it was too long, that there were so many chapters that just felt like they were re-worded repeats of previous chapters. I couldn’t connect with the protagonist past the first 30 pages. I felt a real connection to him early in the book, I wanted him to do well, to escape the world of his mother and father and make something of himself, and when he got to boarding school, I thought that was his chance, but he didn’t and it wasn’t. But I guess that is the point of the book. To show how life repeats, to show how socio-economic status and culture works. I struggled also with the writing style, it is incredibly slow paced, but the chapters are so short, it sort of makes up for the pacing. I like the short chapters, you can read one in under three minutes.
I do feel a little guilty for not liking this book. I requested it from the lovely people at Fremantle Press in exchange for some publicity and a honest review, but I wish it could have been more positive.
On closing, I loved the Australian-ness of this novel, I just wish there was more content and less repetition.
February 5, 2021
I think the concept and ideas behind the book are great, but unfortunately I really couldn't stand the style of writing. I'm sorry to say I found it unenjoyable to read, so I moved on to something else. I'm glad that I seem to be in the minority because I do idolise Australian authors and their stories.
April 26, 2019
Brilliant. Moving. Insightful
I chuckled, I had tears in my eyes and a hand to my face in shock horror. This book hurled me through every emotion and left me raw and battered by the last page, just as every good book should.
I chuckled, I had tears in my eyes and a hand to my face in shock horror. This book hurled me through every emotion and left me raw and battered by the last page, just as every good book should.
February 18, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, very raw, very real. The feel of the main character is very Holden Caulfield-like.
January 19, 2021
with the 1/2.
An oldie but a goodie...1960's WA was a tough time especially for a young man being sent to boarding school.
Insightful and an emotional read.
An oldie but a goodie...1960's WA was a tough time especially for a young man being sent to boarding school.
Insightful and an emotional read.
April 5, 2024
A good coming of age novel - very bleak and made me grateful I didn't go to a private school, let alone one that includes boarding. I felt it was a bit simple and maybe more targeted at the YA market? Nevertheless, I have the follow-up Jon Doust book and will read it soon.
April 20, 2010
Fabulous writing. Best read of 2009.
See the youtube clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBXcAN...
Sent to boarding school at a young age, Jack Muir decides he’s a survivor. He gets by with a quick wit and a fast mouth. Others aren’t so lucky.
This story from stand-up comedian and writer, Jon Doust, is humorous and deeply poignant—a close-to-the-bone tale of how underdogs survive the system.
+ Playwright Reg Cribb on BOY ON A WIRE - a beautiful, honest testimony to adolescence in all its smelly, warty, effluent glory.
+ ‘The boarding school memoir or novel is an enduring literary subgenre, from 1950s classics such as The Catcher in the Rye to Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. Doust’s recognisably Australian contribution to the genre draws on his own experiences in a West Australian boarding school in this clever, polished, detail-rich debut novel. From the opening pages, the reader is wholly transported into the head of Jack Muir, a sensitive, sharp-eyed boy from small-town WA who is constantly measured (unfavourably) against his goldenboy brother. The distinctive, masterfully inhabited adolescent narrator recalls the narrator in darkly funny coming-of-age memoir Hoi Polloi (Craig Sherborne)—as does the juxtaposition of stark naivety and carefully mined knowingness.’ — Bookseller+Publisher
http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/book...
See the youtube clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBXcAN...
Sent to boarding school at a young age, Jack Muir decides he’s a survivor. He gets by with a quick wit and a fast mouth. Others aren’t so lucky.
This story from stand-up comedian and writer, Jon Doust, is humorous and deeply poignant—a close-to-the-bone tale of how underdogs survive the system.
+ Playwright Reg Cribb on BOY ON A WIRE - a beautiful, honest testimony to adolescence in all its smelly, warty, effluent glory.
+ ‘The boarding school memoir or novel is an enduring literary subgenre, from 1950s classics such as The Catcher in the Rye to Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep. Doust’s recognisably Australian contribution to the genre draws on his own experiences in a West Australian boarding school in this clever, polished, detail-rich debut novel. From the opening pages, the reader is wholly transported into the head of Jack Muir, a sensitive, sharp-eyed boy from small-town WA who is constantly measured (unfavourably) against his goldenboy brother. The distinctive, masterfully inhabited adolescent narrator recalls the narrator in darkly funny coming-of-age memoir Hoi Polloi (Craig Sherborne)—as does the juxtaposition of stark naivety and carefully mined knowingness.’ — Bookseller+Publisher
http://www.fremantlepress.com.au/book...
August 12, 2012
Set in the far west of Australia in the early 1960s, Boy on a Wire sees Jack, a rural lad, sent off to the city to attend boarding school. Boy on a Wire is his narrative of the experience. Jack isn't always a likeable protagonist but he is a bit of a larrakin lad and definitely a product of the times. He feels he can never live up to his parent's expectations or be the golden child that he feels his older brother is. Jack wants us to think he is one of the lads - larger than life and somewhat invincible -but his vulnerabilities are clearly shown and so he comes across as raw, honest and real. I will definitely be reading the follow up to Boy on a Wire, the recently released To The Highlands.
February 28, 2010
i did not enjoy this book was arogant and off putting
April 30, 2010
I gave this 5 stars because I couldn't put it down. It was funny, it was real, it was thought provoking. Great job Jon! (not just saying that 'cos he's a local boy!!)
May 3, 2010
Beautiful, thought-provoking, funny, sad, engaging. Gorgeously honest and touching without being sentimental. A lovely insight into a man a time and a place.
February 22, 2012
Great little book, found a few typos in it being the pedant that I am. Noticing an interesting pattern of Intertextuality in books like this one.
November 30, 2012
Very humorous, but I am sure that many men who grew up in private religious schools in Australia could relate to this tale that was based on Dousts' experience.
January 25, 2014
Thank you Jon for your honesty. It was a pleasure to meet you and now I just want to meet you again and ask questions.
November 27, 2016
Excellent read
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews