Borstal Boy (Arena Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
'The best thing in Irish writing since Sean O'Casey' SPECTATOR
Product Description
'I have him bitched, balloxed and bewildered, for there's a system and a science in taking the piss out of a screw and I'm a well-trained man at it.'
So writes Brendan Behan, poet, writer and literary legend, of the episode that coloured his life. Arrested in Liverpool as an agitator for the IRA, he was tried and sent to reform school. He was sixteen years old.
The world he entered was brutal and coldly indifferent. Conditions were primitive, and violence simmered just below the surface. Yet, Brendan Behan found something more positive than hate in borstal: friendship, solidarity and healing flashes of kindness. Extraordinarily vivid, fluent, and moving, it is a superb and unforgettable piece of writing.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an autobiography about Behan's teenage years before and during World War 2, which he spent in a British borstal serving a sentence for IRA membership. I really enjoyed this book which works on more than one level. It is really entertaining - some of the characterisations and turns of phrase are hilarious. It's also a great book about growing up and getting to know yourself. The setting is just a starting point - he shows how he forms friendships with people he thought were his enemies and how he confronts his own prejudices. Don't be put off by what might seem a narrow subject area, because the way Behan tells his own story makes it of universal interest.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Brilliant!!!!!!!!!! A touching story abount a confused young man who learns that those whom he thought were his natural enemies were in fact no different than himself. In fact they had more in common with him than many of the upper and middle class of his own race. A brilliant and touching book with plenty of light moments as well as a serious underlying lesson for those who believe what they are told rather than basing their opinions of others on their own experiences. We will never see his likes again.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I though for most of my life that both the IRA and anyone who had been sent to a Borstal Institution (a 'bad boys school', I was told) were at best to be feared, at worst to be despised.
With his biography 'Borstal Boy' Brendan Behan effortlessly blows both of my long held myths out of the water.
His account of his time spent under the influence of the British Judicial System, at a tender and incredibly impressionable age is writen with a stunning intermingling of humour and wisdom, and with shocking honesty.
I found it hard to put down, drawn as I was into the lives of 'Paddy''Chewlips' 'Joe' and 'Jock' not to mention 'Jones 538'. It is a great read, but more importantly perhaps, a slight insight into a world populated by young, and often troubled, young men.
With his biography 'Borstal Boy' Brendan Behan effortlessly blows both of my long held myths out of the water.
His account of his time spent under the influence of the British Judicial System, at a tender and incredibly impressionable age is writen with a stunning intermingling of humour and wisdom, and with shocking honesty.
I found it hard to put down, drawn as I was into the lives of 'Paddy''Chewlips' 'Joe' and 'Jock' not to mention 'Jones 538'. It is a great read, but more importantly perhaps, a slight insight into a world populated by young, and often troubled, young men.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant
Word of warning-don't expect insights into the general nature of disturbed adolescents.Behan was hyperpoliticised beyond the dreams of the average teenager,and the fact that he... Read more
Published 1 month ago by PygmyTwylyte
borstal boy
I bought this book after viewing the film of the same title. This was because i enjoyed the film so much that i wanted to read Brendan's own account of the event which could have... Read more
Published 15 months ago by william
One fat Irishman
Brendan behan was Sui generis, one of a kind. Words flow from him like wine from an overturned bottle, unstoppable and fluid; sometimes puzzling, sometimes touching, often... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2010 by J. Rottweiller Swinburne
Borstal boy
fantastic book, brill story, well worth reading, the film is not as good as this book, will read again when i get it back from family members.
Published on 19 Aug 2009 by Mr. Robert Murphy
Good, not great
One of the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die". An account of a three year sentence in Borstal for intent to plant an IRA bomb in Liverpool. Read more
Published on 10 July 2009 by William Jordan
Simply Brilliant
Although this book was written some years ago, its sentiments still ring through. Captures beautifully the state of mind of a confused young man who genuinly believed all he had... Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2003
Gaelic genius of the old school
An amazing book detailing the thoughts and actions of an Irish rebel named Brendan O'Beachain in the '50s. Read more
Published on 28 Jun 2001
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