It was the first British novel to explore, frankly and with a gleeful honesty, the sexual awakening of a teenage boy. It was regarded as so outrageous that thirteen publishers initially refused to publish it. The Hand-Reared Boy no longer shocks, instead, it stands as the classic novel of teenage self-discovery and the realisation of a young boy of love, and the fact that other people are more than sexual objects.
Depicting the preoccupations common to all young boys as they reach puberty, The Hand-Reared Boy is a delightfully funny account of burgeoning sexuality, marked by self-revelation, self-mockery and a complete absence of prurience. It was shortlisted for the Lost Booker Prize in 2010.
- ISBN10 0285635166
- ISBN13 9780285635166
- Publish Date 2 September 1999
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 27 January 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Profile Books Ltd
- Imprint Souvenir Press Ltd
- Edition Main
- Format Paperback
- Pages 192
- Language English