Crutcher, Chris. 2003. King of the mild frontier: An ill-advised autobiography. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN-13 978-0-06-050251-5 For readers who know and love Chris Crutcher books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Stotan!, or Whale Talk, then his autobiography King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography is one to read. This book features thematic snippets from Crutcher’s life that have influenced his writing, his literary character development, his plot lines, and some of his central book themes. The author covers events in his life from early childhood to young adulthood that have helped shape the writer he is today.
This is a well-written memoir/autobiography by Crutcher, and even people who are unfamiliar with his fiction will enjoy this book. As readers know, autobiographies are not always completely factual. In fact, it is known that the autobiographer sometimes choose to leave out certain incidences or character flaws about themselves because they may not want the public to know about themselves because the truth sometimes can present people in an unflattering way. However, Crutcher does not shy away from the truth and has no qualms about embarrassing himself, but do not let that deceive you. Not everything you read in this autobiography may be exactly true. Crutcher provides the following note of warning to the reader on the copyright page: “Memory is selective and by nature faulty. That statement is probably doubly true for my memory. Add to that my penchant for exaggeration and the fact that I have changed some of the names for obvious reasons, and you may have a memoir that may not stand up to close historical scrutiny. So be it” (Crutcher 2009, copyright page).
The structure of this novel is not told in order from childhood to adulthood but instead laid out as the memories come to Crutcher and one memory triggers the next. In fact, a May/June 2003 Horn Book magazine review says this of the book: Crutcher “moves back and forth in time, as storytellers do, letting one incident connect to the next thematically rather than chronologically.” The same article in Horn Book goes on to describe the book as being told in a series of “episodic” informal essays.
Another great aspect of this novel is Crutcher’s humorous writing style. Readers will laugh over some of the stories involving his older brother tricking Crutcher into doing a variety of stupid things over his childhood that always landed him in trouble, yet his brother John always seemed to get off scot-free. I won’t go into a whole lot of detail, but let me just say there is a peeing on the radiator incident, a BB gun incident, and a Jesus (or should I say Esus) incident that will have the readers laughing and shaking their heads over Crutcher’s gullibility, and yet readers will also be able to relate if they, too, have experienced the torment of an older sibling.
This brings me to another appealing aspect of this book. Crutcher packages his autobiographical essays with humor. The Teacher Librarian (October 2004) says that Crutcher writes this book with the “same humor and insight found in his fiction,” and a February 2004 Teacher Librarian review calls the autobiography and Crutcher’s voice “straightforward, heartrending, often hilarious.” After reading Crutcher’s autobiography, readers are going to appreciate his fiction more and will know what incidences inspired some of his characters and themes, and this will enrich the readers’ experiences as they delve into Crutcher’s fictional worlds.
I recommend this book for young adults from grades 8 on up. The level of reading is accessible to middle schoolers, but some of the content and incidences that Crutcher narrates will most definitely invite censorship and is not suitable to be assigned reading. For example, take the chapter called “Of Oysters and Olives and Things that Go Bump in My Shoe.” This chapter deals with an athletic traditional hazing ritual, naked boys and the items mentioned in the chapter’s title. I will leave the rest to your imagination. This is a good book to read segments from out loud for book talks and to generate interest in Crutcher and his novels. This book could be assigned in literature circles to 11th and 12th graders. It is also good for independent reading, and many boys will really enjoy it and his literature. (Girls will probably like his writing style as well.)
Book Review Quotes about the Autobiography:
- School Library Journal, Apr. 2005 says this autobiography is “filled with a winning combination of humorous, nostalgic, and bittersweet anecdotes about his family, school days, "wannabe" athletic career," work, and writing.”
- Horn Book Magazine, May/Jun2003 The book’s “Informal essays invite self-revelation, humor, loose structure, and even moralizing; Crutcher responds to all four elements. He writes in an easy, conversational tone, as if he were sitting down swapping stories with his good friend, the reader.”
Book Cover Art from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/King-Mild-Frontier-Ill-Advised-Autobiography/dp/0060502517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1290468228&sr=8-1
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