Living Nowhere
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Product Description
Book Description
'Living Nowhere amply confirms his reputation as one of our finest prosestylists' Guardian
Product Description
Corby, the industrial new town built around a vast steel works, draws many to the fires of its furnaces - in the hope of steady work, a better house, a fresh start. Amongst them are Francis Cameron, from Scotland, and his friend Jan Ruckert, the son of Latvian refugees. Alienated, intelligent and curious, they form a strong and lasting bond: two teenage boys finding their feet in a foreign place. But violence hangs in the Corby air like the ash and the stench from the steel works, and when it comes down it is sudden and lethal - with repercussions that will last a lifetime. Living Nowhere is a story of friendship and loss - a resonant, thrilling book that carries at its core a beautiful and terrible secret. (20030623)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was born in Corby of German/Dutch parentage and spent the first 18 years of my life in what was a huge iron and steel complex with housing in the very heart of a rural Midlands backwater. The contrasts between Corby and its environment could not have been starker and, whilst never quite capturing the uniqueness of this juxtapositioning, John Burnside does go a long way in bringing to life the tensions within a community drawn together from disparate geographies in the hope of improving their lot in life.
Whilst aspects of Corby scenesetting can appear contrived (The overusage of street and pub names to no real purpose), nobody who ever did a shift in The Works could argue with Burnside's evocation of its brooding presence over the town. Emerging from the noise, steam and smoke of a night shift in the tube side (As I did as a schoolboy during summer holidays) to a bright, summer's dawn is the type of bitter/sweet memories Burnside captures beautifully. Equally his portrayal of the generation of men who fed the ovens and furnaces etc. is true to the hard, tough often brutal reputation the town earned.
However I was unconvinced by the portrayal of the 2 main characters, especially the use of a Latvian strand to counteract the overwhelming Scottishness of the town. Good old fashioned sectarianism was the greater divide in Corby - left relatively untapped in the book. Indeed a shift allocation let alone the job was decided more often than not by whether the candidate was a Celtic or Rangers supporter. Worse as the book moved beyond Corby, the allegorical style of the letters to a dead friend resulted in the pace and punch of the early scenes being lost.
Burnside can and, for the most part does, write powerfully about a community and way of life which was all too violent, alien and short lived even for its own inhabitants. I am not alone in mourning the passing of The Works and the impact it had on Corby's menfolk. It was a tough town and Burnside conveys through his characters the emptiness left by its passing. I would defy anyone of my generation and background not to be moved and disturbed by Living Nowhere and, if nothing else, the rest of Northamptonshire should read the book to better understand what was in its midst and is no more. A bleak tale with an all too true bleak ending. A tale for all to learn from...
Whilst aspects of Corby scenesetting can appear contrived (The overusage of street and pub names to no real purpose), nobody who ever did a shift in The Works could argue with Burnside's evocation of its brooding presence over the town. Emerging from the noise, steam and smoke of a night shift in the tube side (As I did as a schoolboy during summer holidays) to a bright, summer's dawn is the type of bitter/sweet memories Burnside captures beautifully. Equally his portrayal of the generation of men who fed the ovens and furnaces etc. is true to the hard, tough often brutal reputation the town earned.
However I was unconvinced by the portrayal of the 2 main characters, especially the use of a Latvian strand to counteract the overwhelming Scottishness of the town. Good old fashioned sectarianism was the greater divide in Corby - left relatively untapped in the book. Indeed a shift allocation let alone the job was decided more often than not by whether the candidate was a Celtic or Rangers supporter. Worse as the book moved beyond Corby, the allegorical style of the letters to a dead friend resulted in the pace and punch of the early scenes being lost.
Burnside can and, for the most part does, write powerfully about a community and way of life which was all too violent, alien and short lived even for its own inhabitants. I am not alone in mourning the passing of The Works and the impact it had on Corby's menfolk. It was a tough town and Burnside conveys through his characters the emptiness left by its passing. I would defy anyone of my generation and background not to be moved and disturbed by Living Nowhere and, if nothing else, the rest of Northamptonshire should read the book to better understand what was in its midst and is no more. A bleak tale with an all too true bleak ending. A tale for all to learn from...
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had to read this book after having lived in Corby for 20 years. The descriptions of the town and the way the people of Corby lived were incredibly accurate, it was very easy to visualise the characters (some more likeable than others). I particularly warmed to Tommy as he seemed so much like the steelmen of the town, hardened by life and the environment they lived. I would like to know how the author researched his material to gain such an accurate picture. AN EXCELLENT BOOK
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Burnside's range and eloquence as a poet is impressive, as evidenced inhis numerous volumes published by Cape and the prestigious awards theyseem to have attracted.
However his prose, both the novels and shorter fiction, seem to be muchnarrower in scope.
The plot of 'Living Nowhere', pivoting around a drunken murder, hascertainly had an airing in both 'The Mercy Boys' and in 'Burning Elvis'.Likewise the sense of social dyspraxia and shiftlessness of the novel'smajor proponents underpins 'The Locust Room' and 'The Dumb House'.
Consequently what you get is a beguiling read but with an aftertaste ofdeja vu.
This was never going to be a cheery novel - the cultural dominance ofheavy industry in the town of Corby (!)- but it's most appreciativeaudience will probably be those new to Burnside's fiction.
Come on Jonny, give us a laugh...
However his prose, both the novels and shorter fiction, seem to be muchnarrower in scope.
The plot of 'Living Nowhere', pivoting around a drunken murder, hascertainly had an airing in both 'The Mercy Boys' and in 'Burning Elvis'.Likewise the sense of social dyspraxia and shiftlessness of the novel'smajor proponents underpins 'The Locust Room' and 'The Dumb House'.
Consequently what you get is a beguiling read but with an aftertaste ofdeja vu.
This was never going to be a cheery novel - the cultural dominance ofheavy industry in the town of Corby (!)- but it's most appreciativeaudience will probably be those new to Burnside's fiction.
Come on Jonny, give us a laugh...
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
