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No Mean City
 
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No Mean City (Paperback)

by Alexander McArthur (Author), H.Kingsley Long (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
Price: £5.47 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

No Mean City + The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets + Night song of the last tram: A Glasgow childhood
Price For All Three: £16.56

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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (22 Jun 1984)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552075833
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552075831
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 10.6 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 37,641 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From the Publisher

The half million selling classic novel of the Glasgow slum underworld.


From the Back Cover

No book is more associated with the city of Glasgow than No Mean City. First published in 1935, it is the story of Johnnie Stark, son of a violent father and a downtrodden mother, the 'Razor King' of Glasgow's pre-war slum underworld, the Gorbals. The savage, near-truth descriptions, the raw character portrayals, bring to life a story that is fascinating, authentic and convincing.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

No Mean City
81% buy the item featured on this page:
No Mean City 4.5 out of 5 stars (4)
£5.47
The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets
10% buy
The Real Gorbals Story: True Tales from Glasgow's Meanest Streets 5.0 out of 5 stars (20)
£6.12
No Mean Glasgow: Revelations of a Gorbals Guy
4% buy
No Mean Glasgow: Revelations of a Gorbals Guy 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£5.85
Gangs of Glasgow: True Crime from the Streets
3% buy
Gangs of Glasgow: True Crime from the Streets
£5.99
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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Captivating Book, 25 Feb 2001
By A Customer
I first read this when I was about 13 years old, and although there were some details that I was to young to fully grasp, I fell in love with this book. Since then I've read it so many times I've lost count!

This story of pre-war Glasgow 'slum' life is told with understanding and yet without masking the realities of such a cruel world. Add to this the main character, Johnnie Stark, an enigmatic and startling character who takes you on a journey you'll NEVER forget, and you've got all the ingredients for a great book!

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Glasgow history, or even just wants a good read!

And even though I'm from Glasgow myself, I'm not just biased; this is an absolutely brilliant book!

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars good book about the gorbals, 12 Jan 2008
By gang boy (new york) - See all my reviews
If you liked this book read Colin Macfarlane' brilliant account The Real Gorbals Story...he lived in the same streets during the 1960s.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Shocking Fiction, 2 Jul 2008
I have just finished reading a copy of this novel from my local library published in 1935. I read this work mainly as this book seemed to be used as measure of Glasgow's reputation and worth from 1935 to into the 1980's.

This novel remains shocking in its frank depiction of violence and maiming. If you want a fictionalised account of the seedy side of an industrial British City between the world wars then this is your book. If you want a factual account that you can refer to where authoritative comment is required then treat this book with caution.

There are points in the novel's narrative where I obtained the strong impression that Alexander McArthur (assisted by the journalist H.Kingsley Long - author of Limey: A Story of the English Gangs) was simply out to shock the 1930's readership with a sensationalist tabloid style novel of aggression and drink fuelled violence. In particular two of the characters that 'better' themselves by taking up professional ballroom dancing have to suffer the degradation of dancing the tango nude to suit the whim of their richer clients. This detail does not add to the narrative of the story at all. I can only think that this along with the unashamed adultery of two central characters and the ever more graphic descriptions of razor slashings were designed to rush copies of the book off the shelves in mid-1930's Britain.

In the original edition that I have just read there is an afterword. This supports the fiction with an edited selection drawn from contemporary press reports of 1921 to 1934. Many of these are from tabloid papers written in a sensationalist style.

This is a good example of sensationalist 1930's fiction.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars no mean city
One of the best books I've ever read,engrossed from page one.
Could not put the book down until I had read every page. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2004

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