The Boy Who Went Away

A Novel

By: Eli Gottlieb

Narrated by: Chris Patton

Winner of the American Academy's Rome Prize for fiction, The Boy Who Went Away is Eli Gottlieb's tender, harrowing coming-of-age novel. For Denny Graubert, the chaotic summer of 1967 - when the screams of napalm bombs on the nightly news drowned the cheers of the All-Star game - brings the painful realization that childhood has passed. While engaging in his favorite domestic spying game, Denny unwittingly discovers the desperate measures his mother will take to save his autistic older brother, Fad, who is lost in the diagnostic Dark Ages of autism. At the heart of this novel is not only the story of Denny's coltish entrance to adolescence but also that of his relationship with Fad, which will be forever changed during the course of that summer. The Boy Who Went Away is the cruelly antic, heartrending story of two childhoods that would, by fall's arrival, be irretrievably lost.

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audiobooks

Great storytelling!

Gottlieb’s writing is extremely tight, the story is engaging, and the characters are very interesting. If you enjoyed “Stand By Me” or “The Catcher in the Rye,” this is a book for you. Well done!

Good enough

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed the second book of this author. I was vaguely disappointed with it. The second book I got as a Daily Deal and it was much better than this one that I paid full price for. Good enough listen, but not fabulous