Alan Sillitoe Boeken

This fusion of novel and memoir chronicles the destructive effects of WWI on two working-class families in Nottingham. Alan Sillitoe, an advocate for ordinary people, combines family memoir with extensive research on military records and artistic speculation in this inventive historical narrative. Central to the story are his grandfather, the blacksmith Ernest Burton, and his uncle Edgar, a World War I deserter. The narrative begins with a legless match-seller from Sillitoe’s childhood, whose deformity sparked various explanations from family members, setting the tone for a tale colored by human imagination and opinion. Sillitoe delves into his heritage, portraying his maternal grandfather as a tyrant who was both feared and respected, separated from society by illiteracy yet a talented craftsman. On his father’s side, he explores the life of his uncle Edgar, who enlisted in the army in 1914 but soon deserted after realizing the harsh realities of military life. Edgar's attempts to evade military service lead him on a tumultuous journey, culminating in his capture and return to duty just in time for the Battle of the Somme. Spanning a century of family history and legends, this work interweaves personal memories with collected facts and hearsay. Sillitoe's signature “kitchen-sink realism” evolves into a more philosophical exploration, reflecting the inspirations behind his esteemed literary career.

Thirty-eight stories on life among the English working classes. They include The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, on a rebellious youth in a reformatory, and Mr. Raynor the School Teacher, on a teacher who is a Peeping Tom

Gevoelens en ervaringen van een Joodse kleuter, die tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog met zijn ouders enkele jaren in een concentratiekamp doorbrengt.

Alan Sillitoe is famous as a master of the short story. This book shows why. From the bible-basher and his key rôle in PIT STRIKE, to the boy whose parents left each other – and him – the same morning in ENOCH'S TWO LETTERS; from the man who tried to act out a 'real' life in MIMIC, to the woman whose husband came back to her in BEFORE SNOW COMES – these stories go to the heart of the torments and joys of living.

Birthday is the long-awaited sequel to Alan Sillitoe's classic novel of the 1950s, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Four decades on from the novel which was at the forefront of the new wave of British Literature, we re-discover the Seaton brothers: older, cetainly; wiser - possibly not. Arthur and Brian Seaton, one with an ailing wife, one with an emotional knapsack of failure and success, are on their way to Jenny's 70th birthday party. Jenny and Brian had years ago experimented with sex - semi-clothed, stealthy, with the bonus of fear. Arthur, of course, had cut a winning swathe through the married and unmarried women of Nottinghamshire. Life has changed. Alan Sillitoe is undoubtedly one of the greatest English writers of our time, and, indeed, one of the most influential.

A wonderful historical novel from one of our best loved and most prolific writersAs a young man Ernest Burton was a bold and reckless journeyman blacksmith, seducing all young girls he comes across. We watch him grow to become a master Blacksmith, and a tyrannical father of eight who refuses even to try to remain faithful to the woman he married and who reigns over his young family with an iron fist, instilling in his sons and daughters a mixture of fear and hatred of him. Burton is an extraordinary fictional creation a bully who shows no mercy in his relentless terrorism of his sons, he can also be effortlessly charming, with a magnetic attraction that effects all he meets.Written in the sparse, plain language that Sillitoe has made his own, A Man of His Time is a mesmerising portrait of an extraordinary individual, aware that he is, in many ways, the last of a dying breed. It's a rich, absorbing, wonderfully readable novel that covers decades and crosses generations, depicting with singular brilliance an England poised on the brink of change.

This collection features nine classic short stories that explore themes of isolation, criminality, morality, and rebellion within the working class, written by acclaimed author Alan Sillitoe. The lead story centers on a seventeen-year-old inmate, referred to only as Smith, in a juvenile detention center. Despite being a talented runner, winning the national long-distance running competition would only serve to validate the oppressive system that confines him. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner” is celebrated as a literary and cinematic masterpiece, adapted into a classic film by Sillitoe in 1962. In “Uncle Ernest,” a traumatized World War II veteran leads a solitary existence, shunned by society after his wife leaves and his brothers move away. His newfound friendship with two young girls at a café raises eyebrows among local authorities. “Mr. Raynor the School Teacher” presents a different kind of isolation, focusing on a voyeuristic teacher whose violent tendencies emerge when his students interrupt his fantasies about women in a nearby shop. The remaining six stories further solidify Sillitoe’s status as a leading British storyteller, championing the condemned, oppressed, and overlooked. This ebook also includes an illustrated biography of Sillitoe, featuring rare images from his estate.

Short story collection- the title story is about, "A young Englishman, now married, reminisces about his wild teen-age days. He stole for kicks. He met Doris, daughter of a prosperous scrap merchant, who became his partner in love and thievery. He was caught after they robbed a shoe shop one night. He spent 3 yrs. in prison. Doris was pregnant, she married a mechanic, & both were killed in an accident. After Tony came out of prison he went straight. He never acknowledged his & Doris' child but knows the boy is well cared for by his grandfather." (from The New Yorker); Inspiration for the film, The Ragman's Daughter, a 1972 British crime-drama / romantic film directed by Harold Becker starring Simon Rouse and Victoria Tennant.