The God Boy is a novel written by Ian Cross

Ian Cross

Ian Cross is a novelist, journalist and has contributed significantly to New Zealand letters. His first novel, The God Boy, was released in 1957 to critical acclaim. Other novels include The Backward Sex, After ANZAC Day and The Family Man.Cross has worked as a successful broadcaster on radio and...

 and first published in 1957. It has been adapted as an opera by librettist Jeremy Commons

Jeremy Commons

Jeremy Commons is a New Zealand opera historian, scholar, impresario and librettist. He is an authority on nineteenth-century Italian opera and has published major works on the composers Gaetano Donizetti and Nicola Vaccaj.- Academic career :...

 and composer Anthony Ritchie

Anthony Ritchie

Anthony Ritchie is one of New Zealand's most prolific composers. His works number over a hundred, and include three symphonies, two operas, seven concertos, choral works, chamber music and solo works....

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Synopsis

Jimmy Sullivan is an eleven-year-old boy who lives in the town of Raggleton, an every day small town community in New Zealand. Jimmy is not like other boys his age. The home that he lives in is filled with constant arguing and bitterness between his parents. He tries to ignore these events by using special protection tricks to isolate himself from his own situation. On Tuesday afternoon he breaks down and turns violent - abusing the elderly, smashing windows and throwing rocks at Bloody Jack. Eventually his home environment changes when his mother kills his father. He is sent to a catholic boarding school and leads a very uncertain life.

External links

Penguin Classics page