''You're a Big Boy Now'' is a 1963

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

novel by the British author

David Benedictus David Henry Benedictus (16 September 1938 – 4 October 2023) was an English writer and theatre director, best known for his novels. His work included the Winnie-the-Pooh novel '' Return to the Hundred Acre Wood'' (2009). It was the first such ...

. It was adapted into a 1966 film directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

, with the setting changed from London to New York City.

Dedication

Benedictus dedicated the book to "the only girl I've ever loved—wherever they may be"; in a preface, the author describes the novel as an examination of "the deadliest form of self-destruction, which is love".

Plot

The central character of the novel is Bernard Chanticleer, a shoe salesman at a London department store at which his father is a manager. The Chanticleers live in a suburb, and "are type-cast as ridiculous

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

". At the store he meets a girl, Amy, who is rejected by his mother as "that terrible blatant girl with such common legs too". Bernard, described by one reviewer as "comically neurotic", then becomes infatuated with a stage actress, Barbara Darling. He sends her an impassioned note and they agree to meet. Barbara wants to victimize Bernard in revenge for her being ill-treated by men in the past. Eventually Barbara tires of Bernard and marries a window dresser. They have a child who bears a suspicious resemblance to one of Barbara's former lovers.

Critical reception

Robert Donald Spector of the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'' praised the book as "an outrageously funny satire that launches an all-out nuclear attack on every last inch of British life", with the targets including the "

Welfare State A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

" and "upper-middle-class snobbishness", with the "blast area" consisting of sex. The hero, Bernard, was compared by Spencer to

Holden Caulfield Holden Caulfield (identified as "Holden Morrisey Caulfield" in the story "Slight Rebellion Off Madison", and "Holden V. Caulfield" in ''The Catcher in the Rye'') is a fictional character in the works of author J. D. Salinger. He is most famous f ...

, of

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger ( ; January 1, 1919 – January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel '' The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger published several short stories in '' Story'' magazine in 1940, before serving in World Wa ...

's 1951 novel ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is the only novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its theme ...

''. ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

'' reviewer Dennis Powers wrote that thanks to the author's "malice and winning way with words", the book is "good fun in spite of its flaws", which he said included its cruel comedy and heavy-handed irony. According to Powers, one ought to "read it as a burlesque of

An American Tragedy ''An American Tragedy'' is a 1925 novel by American writer Theodore Dreiser. He began the manuscript in the summer of 1920, but a year later, abandoned most of that text. It was based on the notorious murder of Grace Brown in 1906, and the tria ...

'',' as a spoof of Angry British fiction, as a frightening condemnation of love. There is no end to the possibilities."

Film adaptation

The novel was brought to the attention of

by actor Tony Bill, who wanted to play Bernard in any movie adaptation. But Coppola cast instead Peter Kastner, a young Canadian actor. Coppola optioned the film for $1,000, and drafted a script in his spare time while working on the film '' Is Paris Burning?.'' Coppola moved the story to New York City, and changed the shoe store to the 42nd Street main branch of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Elizabeth Hartman Mary Elizabeth Hartman (December 23, 1943 – June 10, 1987) was an American actress of stage and screen. She debuted in the popular 1965 film ''A Patch of Blue'', playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for wh ...

was cast as Barbara,

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portr ...

as Amy, and Rip Torn and

Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Geraldine Page, numer ...

played the parents. The film ended on a more upbeat note than the novel. In the film, Bernard is reunited with Amy, whereas in the novel he winds up alone.

References

{{David Benedictus 1963 British novels British novels adapted into films Novels by David Benedictus Anthony Blond books