The Boy Who Lived with Ghosts: A Memoir

The seriousness of the story was softened by being told through the eyes of a child. This story is simply heart breaking but told in such a way that you have laugh put loud moments. I found myself turning away from it many times due to the sheer sadness of some of things that happened. It always came back. Amazing how times change. Fab book, thank you for writing it

I was intrigued by this book. Couldn't put it down! would now love to read another of John's books. it's incredible what happens within families and how each person in the family experiences the same situation differently.

Misleading title

Excellent read

I've been waiting for this book to be published since seeing John Mitchell's Facebook page. It's a very emotional book, written from a child's point of view, it's John Mitchell's childhood laid bare - that must have taken so much courage to write. All through reading I looked at my own children and knew they would never know this pain - no child should. I admire John so much - his book should be on the UK High School curriculum, future parents need to read this! In fact there are so many people who need to read this. John Mitchell is eloquent, it's so well written. He's inspirational, he shows that anyone can overcome their past and not only overcome it but be so brave - read this book!

Firstly, I of course of an age to identify and empathise with the author in some of his age guises but it is the masterly way he relates the often horrific circumstances with alluring detail and humour that only a child can share. Wen I read the Italian translated book 'I'm Not Scared' by Niccolo Ammaniti and translated by Jonathan Hunt there was a similar feel and point of view, but Mitchell's take on how amid what his child self thinks is just way way more genuine, simply more believable voice of a child at various ages of understanding on what happens in the real world of adults rather than the author trying perhaps too hard to do that.This was literally a page turner for me, the experiences heartbreaking and equally hilarious and I really can't think of a better written book in terms of childhood memoires, memories, interpretation of circumstances and happenings misunderstood during childhood, especially in terms of a child's perception of mental illness, alcoholism, family, love and fear. The book weirdly makes sense of the complexities of a tangled childhood coloured with abuse, emotional desperation and family love. Highly recommended.

The Boy who Lived with Ghosts is a gem of authenticity, guts, and heart. Completely unique. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, whatever you normally like, just read it. It’s good, true, moving, astonishing, appalling, gut-wrenching, but surprisingly hilarious stuff.You need to approach this with a firm understanding that it is a partial memoir (partial in that it covers a relatively short span of time), and that it also carries the tragic biography of another person as well as the boy (his older sister). It is not fiction, it is not a novel, and it is not a ghost story. Based in 1960s England, it is the true account of a boy aged five to thirteen and the awful, awful poverty, neglect, and abuse that occurred to him and others around him. A major theme in the book is mental illness at a time when it was much less understood and less ably managed than it is today (the illness is that of someone other than the boy). But it is told from the perspective of the boy, rather than the man writing it, which is very brave, but very effective, and it is frequently very funny.I can’t remember that many chuckles for the first third of it, perhaps because he was so young, but suddenly, maybe around 30-40 percent though, there’s great humour to lighten the darkness, which pretty much lasts to the end. That’s an amazing achievement considering some of the harrowing themes.You also need to be prepared to be told a story in the voice of a young boy, which I struggled to get used to for a while. But I did get used to it, to the point I was transfixed by it about halfway through. The author, John Mitchell, succeeds in developing the voice over the growing boy’s life, perhaps a little too elevated near the end (the adult interposing, perhaps), but there’s generally a well managed maturing in voice.Because a child’s voice is used, there are naturally lapses in grammar and punctuation that are integral to that voice, which the reader needs to accept as artistic license, and I generally believe they were conscious and deliberate to that end (with one, single typo as an exception). However, personally, I draw the line at lazy management of tense, which drifted back and forth a few times in an illogical way that pulled me out of the narrative flow. And there are too many exclamation marks (but, again, kids do love them).That’s what made me think I was going to give this a begrudging 4 out of 5 star rating for a while. I usually reserve 5 out of 5 for very great and perfect works because otherwise the rating system is meaningless. But, but, and but – the TRUTH of it, the authenticity of it, the HEART of it. I have to give this beautiful piece of well-crafted, moving, and hilarious truth-telling a rating of 5 out of 5 stars.You will only regret reading this if you have no heart or humour. It’s upsetting at times (and there’s lots of swearing), but the truth and heart is beautiful. And funny. This is a very rare 5 out of 5 for me. I honestly feel privileged to have been given an insight to these people’s lives. Astonishing stuff.