This is a stunning novel that is hard to put down, such is the
power of the writing style and the warped attractiveness of the main
character, cockney wide boy Harry Fabian. Harry is an amoral spiv fixed on a slippery slope towards prison or, worse, a meeting with the cut-throat razor of the notorious Black Strangler, a disgruntled sap prowling the pubs and clip joints of 1930s Soho. While Fabian is the conman that drives the story, it is the London described by Kersh and the myriad personalities he has created that elevates the novel.
Gerald Kersh was a Soho face himself and his knowledge of the area and its
people means this book is the real deal, not just another observation by an
anthropologist looking in through the window of a dodgy pub he's too scared to enter. Kersh knew the score, and while he probably wouldn't rate Harry as much of a human being, he lets him condemn himself with his treatment of
those who help him, and worst of all, of his faithful streetwalking
girlfriend.
This is a well produced edition and comes with an introduction by John King, author of The Football Factory, who apparently discovered Kersh while walking home drunk through Soho and falling into a remainder bookshop. Kersh would have liked that chance meeting and you will love this book if you choose to read it.