THE LOST BOY by Thomas Wolfe

featuring James W. Clark, Jr., Professor of English, Emeritus, NC State University

“Thomas Wolfe’s The Lost Boy is a captivating and poignant retelling of an episode from Wolfe’s childhood. The story of Wolfe’s brother Grover and his trip to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair is told from four perspectives, each articulating the sentiments of a different family member. The Lost Boy also captures beautifully the experiences of growing up at the turn of the century and the exhilaration and loss of childhood.”— The University of North Carolina Press

“The Lost Boy is a moving valediction and a sure-footed example of Wolfe’s stylistic power.”—Publishers Weekly

“Typically and often beautifully Wolfean, the tale is a moving lament not only for lost youth, lost innocence, and lost hope, but for lost time itself.”—Kirkus Reviews

“An essential discovery.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Dr. Clark, Jr. is a North Carolina literary historian and public humanities scholar who unearthed the original manuscript to Wolfe’s The Lost Boy, which was first published in 1930 in a highly abridged form. Clark is a past president of the Thomas Wolfe Society, and was inducted in the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2020 he received the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities — the North Carolina Humanities Council’s most prestigious honor.

Meeting Date: Monday, April 1

Cost: $20, includes a copy of the book shipped to your home

This is a hybrid program held at Flyleaf Books. A very limited number of virtual seats are available on a first come, first served basis

Register online or by calling 919-962-1544.

Due to the nature of the reading groups, refunds are not available.