"One of the first movies I saw on a date after my marriage fell apart. My date and I, both single parents, were glued to the performances of Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette–parents doing the best they can with the tools they have, all while the clock of their son’s childhood ticks on. I know other people were amazed at Richard Linklater’s feat of filming over twelve years. But I would have been sold on the story if there were twelve different actors: I loved the longitudinal look at how the decisions or mistakes that parents make can define their son’s childhood. And, like The Ice Storm, Boyhood never loses touch with our constituency: the boy."

"Kazin’s book is a wonderful depiction of life in the world of Jewish immigrants. His wanderings through the city are described in loving, careful detail. Like Woolf’s essay on her childhood, Kazin captures aspects of consciousness that seem so subtle as to be impossible to express. This book is a neglected masterpiece."