Over forty short stories spanning the career of Englandâs most acclaimed postwar writerâincluding the iconic âThe Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.â
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This comprehensive collection of short fiction from bestselling British author Alan Sillitoe mixes aggression with humor, and common working-class men with extraordinary twists of fate. It compiles works selected from the master storytellerâs bestselling books, including The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner; The Ragmanâs Daughter; Guzman, Go Home; Men, Women and Children; and The Second Chance. Several previously unpublished works are also included.
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In the title story from The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runnerâwhich was adapted for film in 1962âa seventeen-year-old inmate in a juvenile detention center must make a difficult life choice. Should he strive to win the national long-distance running competition as everyone is counting on him to do, or should he refuse to vindicate the very system and society that has locked him up?
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The titular piece from The Ragmanâs Daughter is a lively and poignant narrative about an eighteen-year-old thief named Tony and his new girlfriend, Doris, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a well-to-do scrap dealer. The couple embarks on a wild robbery spree, but after a raid on a shoe shop goes absurdly wrong, Tony ends up behind bars and Doris remains freeâbut suffers a dark destiny.
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A standout tale from Guzman, Go Home, âRevengeâ details the dangerously tumultuous marriage between factory foreman Richard and his ornery wife, Caroline. âMimic,â from the previously collected Men, Women and Children, takes place in the mind of a nameless hero who is locked away in an asylumâa man who uses the art of mimicry to escape reality and avoid being himself. And in âNo Name in the Street,â from The Second Chance, an ex-miner who ekes out a living collecting social security and hunting for golf balls, moves in with a woman who has indoor plumbingâbut his dog refuses to go along with the plan.
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This essential collection reveals the power and timelessness of Sillitoeâs short fiction. Called âa master of the short storyâ by the Times, the author portrays the complex ethos and pathos of working-class life.