The Grass Arena: An Autobiography (Penguin Modern Classics)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Ervine Welsh
'The Grass Arena' is a masterpiece
Harold Pinter
'Terrific'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I first learnt of this book when I read an interview with John in,I think it was the Guardian.Having had a personal experience of coping with a family members alcoholism I was very interested to read the story of someone who discovered a way to overcome it.To me it was both disturbing and optomistic,it led me to understand a little more about the personal battle being fought by the individual as well as the hopeless task of sustaining a day to day life when caught in the throes of addiction.I originally bought the book as I thought it may shed some kind of positive light on overcoming the abuse,I endeed up keeping the book to myself as what it disclosed to me was an unfinished story.I often wonder what happened to John after he had told his story,it explained many things about how we as individuals try to conquer our demons but it didnt offer a solution.I found this book to be both informative and emotive and would recommend it to anyone who feels they need to hear the truth about what life as a wino is like.John was fortunate in that he found an escape, however temporary.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't read much but this book is gripping. I picked it up and ended up reading it for half an hour in the shop... and kinda had to buy it!
This is an autobiography of a boxer & drunk, who became a great chess player whilst in prison.
I'm not well read but I've never seen anyone describe life so lucidly on page. It's sooo much better than any novel i read. There's a lot of brutality in this book and it's not always a pleasant read. But the author has little self pitty and bounces back from the most dire situations.
I admit i haven't finished it. It's like a window into a world that you don't always want to look into. But gripping when your there.
This is an autobiography of a boxer & drunk, who became a great chess player whilst in prison.
I'm not well read but I've never seen anyone describe life so lucidly on page. It's sooo much better than any novel i read. There's a lot of brutality in this book and it's not always a pleasant read. But the author has little self pitty and bounces back from the most dire situations.
I admit i haven't finished it. It's like a window into a world that you don't always want to look into. But gripping when your there.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This memoir, written in the 1980s, but looking back on a life lived on the streets of London in the 1950s and 60s, is a minor masterpiece. Its spare style is the key to its power and you can feel the honesty behind every word Healy wrote looking back on his youth and young adulthood. Reading The Grass Arena, you'll get a completely different perspective on London life, one you've never really considered before. The book captures you with the story, yes, the observations, yes, but also with the variety of characters Healy introduces you to from his eventful life in 'the grass arena' and how he escaped it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
gritty
This book tells the story of alcoholism,homelessness and violence.But also tells of a super writer and chess player who succeeded against the odds. Read more
Published 7 months ago by SP534
An insightful insite
Amazingly frank and open book about the people we pass by on a daily basis.
The writing is open and engaging and it's a real 'page turner'. Read more
The writing is open and engaging and it's a real 'page turner'. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jonathan Stout
An excellent read
I only became aware of this book and the author following an Irish TV documentary about the author's background and family roots in Co. Mayo. Read more
Published 10 months ago by E.G
The Grass Arena by John Healy.
This book is a triumph. Written by an inhabitant of the savage world of drunkeness, crime, suffering and degradation in London's 'lower depths', it details the grim plight of the... Read more
Published 16 months ago by trojanwoman
Powerful and Moving
Feeling compelled to buy and read this book, having heard the author interviewed on Radio 4, the quality of it similarly compelled me to read it in one sitting. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. C. P. Morris
classic
The subject of a rather unkind review in the Guardian when it first came out, Healy's autobiography deserves its inclusion as a Penguin classic. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Goods
hard pleasure
In some ways this book is a hard one to read, not because of any inadequacies in the written style of the book, which is forthwright and punchy, but because of it's honesty. Read more
Published on 19 April 2010 by Gabrielle O'grady
Tough account of fixing a broken life
Healy's autobiography of his troubled childhood, descent into alcoholism, fifteen years living on the streets of London and eventual rehabilitation through chess is a difficult... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 2008 by jacr100
Lost & Found
Out of print and hard to find for a number of years, Healy's autobiographical debut manages to both live up to its cult status and deserve its re-appearance as a Penguin... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2008 by Alfie Knox
Mean Streets
Great to see this bruising book back in print. The greatest book about living on the streets ever.
Published on 14 July 2007 by Montgomery Snapper
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