|
GHOSTS HAUNTINGS UFOS SUPERNATURAL |
Paranormal-Britain.co.uk |
|
 Side menuFeatured Products
NEWSAdvanced and Beginners Tarot Course - Learn to read the Tarot - Learn how to read the Tarot with our online tarot certification course which is designed for both beginners and those wishing to increase their knowledge of the tarot. Students have full tutor support during the course and can interact with co-students via the message boards and chat rooms. |
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (Vintage classics)
RRP: £7.99 Our Price: £4.87 (subject to change) Editorial Amazon.co.uk Review Patrick Hamilton was just twenty-four years old when The Midnight Bell was first published in 1929, but his writing told a different story. The narrative he told was, give or take, his own and was of a young man (Euston Road barman Bob) impossibly in love with one of London's "lovely ladies" (Jenny), an infatuation which tore him apart emotionally, and led him steadily from pub to pub to dosshouse. While Hamilton the man managed to extricate himself from his affair and get married, over the next few years Hamilton the writer returned compulsively to the same materials, manipulating unresolved subplots and highlighting minor characters to produce The Siege of Pleasure in 1932 and The Plains of Cement in 1934. Together the three novels form a many-layered and remarkable trilogy, now happily available again in paperback. They conjure brilliantly twenties Britain, emotionally paralysed by class fears and genteel snobbery, but by now completely unable to regain the social certainties of the past. Hamilton captured the psychological complexity of his career losers with a theatricality which would later find full expression in his stage plays (later filmed), Rope and Gaslight. Many writers since have probed into the capital's lowlife, but probably nobody will ever capture so well the twilight tyranny of the London pub, and its denizens' unspeakable desperation. --Alan Stewart ReviewsA Brillaint Portrayal of Longing Review date: 2008-04-25 Rating: 8 out of 10 This modern classic tells the story of three characters, the waiter, the prostitute and the barmaid and is centred on a pub in the Euston Road, 'The Midnight Bell', in London in the 1930s. Originally published as three separate books, this trilogy was brought together and published under the current title 'Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky'. This is a tale of loneliness, longing and self absorption. It contains many biographical details from Patrick Hamilton's life and family and many interesting period details of a dull foggy London between the wars. Hamilton has a brilliant fluid style and it is clear how he became a successful writer for the theatre and film when the reader races through sections of wonderfully written and lively dialogue. The first book in the trilogy, 'The Midnight Bell' was published when Hamilton was only twenty four and whilst using excellent descriptive prose has a certain remorselessness that can become quite tedious. It is for this reason that I have suggested a four star rating rather than five which us entirely appropriate for the second and third parts of the book. I urge any reader who finds themselves flagging on the first book not to give up but skim and then savour the brilliance of the later two sections. The Siege of Pleasure Review date: 2008-04-15 Rating: 10 out of 10 I agree with all the thoughts here and wanted to put in a special word for the shortest section - The Siege of Pleasure - which decribes Jenny's fall from "treasure" to whore. This is such an economic, funny, sad, seedy and rich description of her failure and of the characters who contribute to itthat it deserves a huge audience. Longer winded authors should take note at how much can be achieved in few words! Set In The 1930s, But A Timeless Classic Review date: 2007-07-26 Rating: 10 out of 10 Attempting to convince someone of the attraction of this book by simply recounting the bare basics of the storyline would require Noel Coward's mastery of the English language. After all, the unappealing, unfulfilled lives of a barmaid, a waiter and a prostitute which centre around a grimy pub in 1930s London does not sound like a recipe for a gripping read does it? Indeed, if it were not for the BBC's adaptation of the book which they aired in 2005 (and available on DVD if you are interested), this book would not have impinged upon my consciousness at all, so hurrah for the BBC. Even though this book is set forty years before I was born, I was surprised by its timeless nature and how I could still relate to the characters' experiences, feelings, hopes and fears, seven decades on. The reason for this is that Hamilton has conducted a precise exploration and dissection of human nature with regards to love, infatuation, insecurity, emotional repression and many other factors besides, which are still inherently the same, even though the material world around us is vastly altered from the era of "Twenty Thousand Streets". On a superficial level, these three interconnecting stories of ruinous infatuation ("The Midnight Bell"), a descent into alcoholism and prostitution ("The Siege of Pleasure") and soul-destroying unrequited love ("The Plains of Cement") can be viewed as a classic way for the reader to enter a depressed state. But for me, it was life-affirming material; after all, hardly anyone's life is a constant bed of roses and Hamilton's recognition and unsentimental depiction of this is a reminder that you are not alone whenever you feel that life is dealing you a bad hand. Whilst his other novels are very good, I feel that "Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky" is Hamilton's masterpiece and deserves a wider audience and recognition for what I regard as a 20th Century classic. Fascinating and accessible Review date: 2007-03-05 Rating: 8 out of 10 Really enjoyed this book, having just picked it up at random, the back cover synopsis appealing to me. It tells the 3 stories of the 3 protagonists so well. There are all pretty ordinary individuals, but their feelings and experiences totally relevant to anyone who has ever been in love, or thought they had, or even wants to be! My only slight complaint is that sometimes the author labours the point a little and some of the pages seem a bit protracted and repetitive.. however perhaps this indicates how the obsessed and the unsure do labour the point a little , to try and work out where their life may be going! Well worth a read. Product Details/SpecificationsAuthors: Patrick Hamilton Recording label: Vintage Manufacturer: Vintage EAN: 9780099479161 Binding: Paperback Dewey decimal number: 823.912 ISBN: 0099479168 Number of pages: 528 Publication date: 2004-05-06 Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Unknown) Similar Products
Join Our Mailing ListJoin our newsletter and you will be informed when this site is fully operational, the you won't have to keep checking back. Enter your email address and press send |
|
