Tony Earley's novel, Jim The Boy, is both appropriate and inspirational to readers of all ages. Earley drops his reader into Jim's shoes and allows us to experience the significance of every event from the jealousy he feels for his best friend Penn for the first time electricity reaches Aliceville. While Jim grows up without knowing his father, he doesn`t suffer from a shortage of love. Earley's writing exposes the importance love has on the development of a young adolescent and the lessons and wisedom his uncles, especially uncle Zeno provide. Issues of morality and virtue are addressed realistically without condemning the pitfalls of human nature. Jim's mother, Cissy, faces a very difficult decision and Earley interrupts his narrative with letters that draw the reader into the truths of the matter. Both mother and son have to confront themselves in their own personal evolution.
Oral tradition, an idea that is often reserved for discussions about medieval literature and Morrison's Song Of Solomon is carefully preserved in Jim the Boy. Jim's uncle Zeno is a didactic speaker who Jim doesn't mind hearing repetitive stories from. Of course, we as readers are only exposed to these stories once, the fact that they are being repeated to Jim at his current stage suggest that he is re-evaluating or contemplating their initial grandiosity . We can track the growth of Jim as a boy to young man which is presented by Earley in an honest and truthful way.
While the story takes place during the depression, the love between members of the Glass / McBride family seem to cope well and the strength of their relationships seem to overcome economic hardships. It is interesting to read this novel now, while we too face the economic crisis. Earley sends an important message out to readers that we can thrive on what we have, not suffer because of what we don't. Jim was happy with a baseball glove and a ball, and was able to achieve happiness without electricity, "wii," "Playstation" or "PSP." To live a meaningful worthwhile existence, we shouldn't forget the importance of character education, self-reflection and the strength it takes to face what forebodes our psyche.
