Review by Amanda Deck -- Bama Boy by Bobby Morrison

[Amanda Deck]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bama Boy" by Bobby Morrison.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Saying that Bobby Morrison came from a large family is a serious understatement - he was one of twelve children! Yes, twelve. It’s no surprise that money was a problem for this sharecropping family. The children wore hand-me-downs and went without most things that better-off families take for granted. School was only for rainy days since the children had to work in the fields when the weather permitted. Bobby felt self-conscious about being poor and worked hard to hide his poverty and country upbringing, especially because the local girls preferred town boys.

Something I really enjoyed about Bama Boy, Bobby Morrison's memoir, is that Bobby, while wanting to hide his country ways, didn’t actually seem ashamed of them. He just acknowledged that they got in the way of getting what he wanted from life. Poverty bothered him; he often tried to hide his lack of possessions, but he didn’t hide his family. He looked up to his older brothers and learned whatever he could from them. His care and respect for his family made me want to root for him as he dreamed his dreams and worked on making them come true. I felt teary-eyed when his family finally got their own home.

The book is written as would be expected from a haphazardly educated boy from the country. That fit right into the atmosphere of the book. I can’t overlook the excessive errors, though. I found “barrow of an M-16” (barrel), driver’s text (test), and, one that amused me, “collared greens” for “collard greens”. I admired his perseverance that let him manage to graduate from high school. That was quite an achievement for a boy in his circumstances. It was sad that there are clear gaps in his education, both obvious in the book and the fact that he couldn’t pass the army entrance exam. Still, he made a habit of learning from his mistakes and adjusting his actions until he succeeded in achieving his goals.

Readers may wonder where the title “Bama Boy” comes from. The author wondered that himself. A girl from school called him that once, a girl who dismissed him as such for not being a town boy. That’s not the only confusing thing. The latter part of the book is a bit jumbled; we find out suddenly that he has a son, but have no idea when that happened. He’s primping for women but he’s married at the time – I think. His timeline starts jumping back and forth, leaving unanswered questions. The confusing timeline may be off-putting to some readers.

Bama Boy earns 3 out of 4 stars from me for being a look into the life of a boy who chose to approach life as full of opportunity, even when he might be expected to complain that he’s a victim of circumstance. It shows that family love is a very important – maybe even the most important – part of developing a character that reacts to difficulty with determination and optimism instead of rage. It’s a story for those who accept life as it comes and work to improve their situation.

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Bama Boy
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