The other world

"Contemporary boys and the men they become are in an altogether new kind of peril; they are no longer merely adrift as Holden Caulfield once was in mid-twentieth century Manhattan; they are broken and finished, like the authors of our era's schoolyard shootings. The stories that unfold in The Other World address the inner life of boys in a way that offers a bigger, better vision, charting the formative experiences of a spirited boy who, by an admixture of grace, luck, and indomitable spirit, does not bow finally before the cultural imperative to forfeit his deep nature - although he comes very close. Attentive readers are likely to find these stories touching, at times funny, and ultimately inspiring."--Dust jacket of work.