Boy With No Shoes [Paperback]

William Horwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 4, 2005

Five-year-old Jimmy Rova is the unwanted child of a mother who rejects him, and whose other children bully him. The one thing he can call his own is a pair of shoes, a present from the only person he feels has ever loved him. When they are cruelly taken away, Jimmy spirals down into a state of loneliness and terrible loss from which there seems no recovery. This triumphant story of a boy's struggle with early trauma and his remarkable journey into adulthood is based on William Horwood's own remarkable childhood in south-east England after the Second World War. Using all the skills that went into the creation of his modern classics, Horwood has written an inspiring story of a journey from a past too painful to imagine to the future every child deserves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Beautifully written' -- Sarah Broadhurst, Bookseller 20041217 'A powerfully moving memoir' -- Daily Telegraph 20050423

About the Author

William Horwood was born in Oxford in 1944, the illegitimate last child of five. He was a feature editor with the Daily Mail until 1978 when he began work on the first of his now classic Duncton Chronicles series which became instant international bestsellers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Review (April 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755313186
• ISBN-13: 978-0755313181
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.1 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #817,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly narrated, January 14, 2008

By 

Lance Mitchell (Hampshire, UK, Northern Hemisphere, Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boy With No Shoes (Paperback)

Reading my way through this book was like walking through a hall of mirrors at a fairground. Every turn revealed a new reflection of an aspect of my own childhood. Some were distorted more than others, but the story of the life of Jimmy Rova, told in the first person singular, evoked many poignant memories.

Jimmy tells the story of his difficult early life, and the interactions with those around him. When he progresses, against the odds, into grammar school, life gets even tougher for him. The descriptions of the highs and lows in his life cannot fail to stir the readers' emotions. This is a gripping read and it is so obviously wrapped around the personal experiences of the author. Having been previously so deeply moved by "Skallagrigg," I should not have been at all surprised to be just as deeply moved by this book by William Horwood.

I am sure that there are many who, like me, will see reflections of their own lives as they read The Boy With No Shoes. However, there has got to be something here for everyone. I would not hesitate to recommend the read to anyone, and I am confident that my friends will thank me for doing so.

Footnote: If this sweeps you along on an emotional roller-coaster, you should definitely read SKALLAGRIGG by the same author.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Survival and triumph, June 29, 2007

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boy With No Shoes (Paperback)

This memoir of an abusive childhood is raw, and uplifting. Jimmy has his heroes as well as his demons and manages to find a place of safety in an alien and horrific world.

This book is 'fictionalised biography', loosely based on Horwood's own childhood. In this book, I could recognise some of the imaginative writing evident in Horwood's other works.

I recommend this book highly. Not so much because of the recounting of a childhood filled with deprivation and pain, but because of the triumph of spirit and power of imagination that have enabled hope not to be overwhelmed by despair.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars No shoes but a long journey, June 22, 2011

By 

Ruth "booksalways" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Boy With No Shoes (Paperback)

An absorbing memoir about a young boy who grew up with neglect and bullying and an enormous and pervasive sense of loss of a father (and of family love). Although this sounds like a recipe for a sob story - this book rises above that and is filled with hope and the resilience of a strong spirit. The love from a few people who cared about and formed bonds wtih Jimmy inspired and encouraged him...leading him on to adulthood. The story unfolds in a beautifully writen book, ending on a high note of hope and resolution. I loved it.