Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir

Not all that great.

Having grown up in a relatively normal family, I cannot even start to understand how difficult it was to grow up with a brother like Noah. However, I sympathized with Karl because I felt his pain and his loneliness through his book. I understood how much he disliked his brother. Karl felt that there was no hope for his brother in the future, so he thought of Noah as a lost cause. While I was reading, I felt the same about Noah too, but then Karl went on to explain how Noah got better! Karl wrote that when he got back from college, he came home to a brother that could speak! He went on to explain how Noah helped him get through his drug addictions, how Noah got married with his first "girlfriend" and how he even asked Karl for his blessing. Once Karl explains how Noah has made magnificent progress, more than anyone could have hoped. Karl cruelly tells the readers that all he had written about Noah and his improvements was just a dream. In reality, Noah had been institutionalized with other autistic adults and had been beaten and hurt. After believing that Noah had gotten better and had improved, this news was devastating and ruined the book for me. It made me sad and made me want to stop reading the book all together. I hated the fact that Karl Greenfeld had led me on to believe that Noah had gotten better.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Brave and honest but

As the grandparent of a child with Asperger's and friend to a parent whose child is severely autistic, I approached this book cautiously. This subject, when too closely regarded, can hurt. I was rewarded with a detailed history of treatments and therapies, enlightening descriptions of current research, and, most of all, a brave and honest account of a sibling/family struggle to cope with this disease. But just when I was ready to proclaim to my own circle, You have to read this! - I was totally derailed by the incredible sidestep that occurs near the end of the story. And, when I'd righted myself and reread where I'd been led astray, I was angry. My own hopes felt exploited and betrayed. Why did Greenfeld have to do it this way? Is it an eminently discussable book? Yes. But beware. Reality bites.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully written

I enjoyed this book and admired the honesty which Greenfeld protrays- even toppin his author father-hoping for an update on Noah

A Let Down

I have never really come across a person who is autistic, so reading the book, Boy Alone written by Karl Taro Greenfeld, is a huge eye opener for me. I did not know what it meant to be autistic or what it feels like to have someone in your family be autistic. It's a good book for those who want to know more about autism, but it is not a good book for anyone to read under the age of 13. There is some strong language throughout the book which isn't appropriate for children. The book starts off extremely slowly and it becomes harder to read. When Karl's parents first find out that their son is autistic they go crazy looking in books for some answers, and Karl says, "For my parents, this period is an odyssey through the universe of literature and theories of developmentally disabled children..." (40). His sentences are pack with words and I tend to get lost in his wordiness. Although it does start off slow, the book picks up and becomes more interesting toward the very end of the book. Karl describes that his brother becomes a higher functioning autistic, "He is forming small words, making little sentences..." (272). In the beginning of the book he says that his brother is a very low functioning autistic, so hearing that his brother could talk makes you feel happy. Then, out of nowhere, you see all of these reports and the author hits you with the fact that none of it happened. It was somber ending to the book, and it leaves you feeling like nothing was accomplished by reading that middle part. I would recommend this book to those people who have a lot of time on their hands. It took me quite a while to make it through the whole book. At first, Boy Alone is a dull and slow moving book, it picks up in the middle, and then you get let down all over again.

A Restricted Lifestyle (Spoiler Alert!)

In this memoir, Boy Alone: A Brothers Memoir by Karl Taro Greenfeld, I clearly understand the hardships that Karl and his family faced due to my personal experiences with autistic relatives.
Although this book contains great details, it really lacks in the ending when Karl reveals that Noah had, indeed, never gotten better. It is a huge disappointment and ruins the interest of the story, even though it is the truth. I, however, like the way Greenfeld explains his own personal experiences and how they are deeply affected by Noah's autism. Having an autistic brother not only affects his social life and family, but also takes a toll on him physically. He states, "Noah is a dream killer, reducing our family's idea of a better life to one banal state: normality" (79). I can't even imagine how difficult it would be to have a low-functioning autistic sibling. It is nearly impossible to think about sending your loved ones away to a mental home. Karl's father, John, wrote in his journal, "Fight as hard as you can, then give up" (177). The fact that parents with autistic children try so hard so their kids can live normal lives is saddening. Most of the time, they end up giving their children away and the time spent trying to help them seems wasted. Although Karl and Noah may not be able to speak with each other, they share a special bond as brothers that is hard to give up. Karl's misuse of drugs not only worsened his problems with Noah, but it also restricted him from fulfilling his full potential as a student.
Overall, I find this book to be amusing, but lacking in parts such as the beginning where the author repeatedly speaks about his brother's situation over and over again. If you are a reader who would love to gain new perspectives on having autistic kin, this book would be excellent and could help you truly understand what people have to go through. But beware, the ending is a big letdown and there are also parts where the author tends to drone on about the same topics.

Great emotions but lacking true perspective.

For my outside reading book, I took the challenge of reading Boy Alone: A Brother's Memoir by Karl Taro Greenfeld. Having many of my friends and relatives with autistic children, I was able to clearly understand the difficulties and hardships that Karl and his family had to go through. Although this book contained great details and experiences, it really lacked in the ending when Karl reveals that Noah had indeed never gotten better. It was a huge disappointment and ruined the flow and interest of the story, even though it was the truth. I, however, like the way Greenfeld explained his own personal experiences and how they were deeply affected by Noah's autism. Having an autistic brother not only affected his social life, but also took a toll on him physically. His misuse of drugs and the way he wrote about these experiences really grabbed my attention. Overall, I found this book to be amusing but lacking in parts such as the beginning where the author repeatedly spoke about his brother's situation over and over again. If you are a reader who would love to gain new perspectives on having autistic kin, this book would be excellent and help you truly understand what people have to go through. But beware, the ending is a big letdown and there are also parts where the author tends to drone on about the same topics.

gripping & compelling, but lacks...

I chose to read this memoir con account of my growing curiosity in Autism -- especially in Autistic children. I grew up without any interaction with a severely developmentally disabled children. I began this book believing that I would get a keen insight of a life with an Autistic child -- AND I DID. Greenfeld remains candid with his words throughout the entire book. He pours out all his frustrations, sometimes bitter resentment, and confusions regarding Noah. As a reader, I watched his family fall apart as they try to fight with the burden of living with such a child, and the haunting thoughts to send him to an institution. As a reader, I felt as if I was standing next to Karl the entire time. I felt as if Noah was my OWN brother and I was dealing with his problems too. A great portion of Greenfeld's book was dedicated to intensive research, and I greatly commend him for it. His book is grand with originality, and entwined with intriguing events -- some that make you go, "aww," and others that make you want to erupt with anger. His book is truly touching and compelling -- it opens your eyes to Autism and urges you to be more understanding of other families' situations. This book is intense and absorbing, but lacks a few crucial aspects. There is a big difference between being interesting and being thrilling. The book was interesting and it kept me reading (partially because of my passion for Autism) but I feel that it lacks some kind of luster and thrill. To others, this memoir may seem somewhat dull. The reason I believe that leads to this statement, I believe, is because of Greenfeld's tendency to "tell" more than "show." I expected to be truly touched with the emotions that Greenfeld carries within himself as he lives with Noah, but I was dissatisfied when I closed the book. He doesn't reveal his feelings from his heart, like he should. Instead, he tends to inform the reader with nothing but words scribbled from his hands. When Karl was upset, I wanted to feel upset. When he was sad, I wanted to feel sad. However, I did not feel any of those emotions. Sure, the events that happened were tragic, but Greenfeld chooses to state those moments in a more informative way as one would do in a Bibliography or historical document of some sort. Sometimes words seem to string together dully. I really wanted my HEART to be touched; only the exterior of myself was touched by this story. His family situations are tragic enough to do so, but Greenfeld weakens the powerful effect of it all by leaving out emotions. On the bright side, this is a fascinating, dark, and painful book -- one that I would recommend to others. It is a good book for class discussions.

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