Boy A (30 page)

It can be argued that Jack’s release from prison is a rebirth, and his experiences of the world are naïve. How does this device colour our perceptions of Jack?

To what degree is
Boy A
a classic coming of age novel? Through Jack’s extreme difference, are we also examining what it means to be a ‘normal’ young man in Britain today?

We do not gain any insight into the narrative voice or perspective of Angela’s family and their loss. If the author had included their point of view for balance, would our feelings towards Jack change?

The end of the novel is often controversial among reading groups for its apparent ambiguities. But there may be clues throughout the novel – particularly in Jack’s final body position and in the Butch and Sundance references in the previous chapter – as to what the author intends us to believe about Jack’s chances of survival when the freeze-frame continues. What are these clues?

Does Jack learn anything by the end of the book? Is his character ‘redeemed’ in any way? And what about our redemption as readers? Do we get the ending we want/deserve?