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Beating for Light: The Story of Isaac Rosenberg
 
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Beating for Light: The Story of Isaac Rosenberg (Paperback)

by Geoff Akers (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
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Beating for Light: The Story of Isaac Rosenberg + Poetry Out of My Head and Heart + Isaac Rosenberg
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Product details

  • Paperback: 311 pages
  • Publisher: Juniper Books (16 Jan 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 095474280X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0954742805
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 324,037 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Andrew Marr: Chief Political Correspondent for the BBC
"A great theme and taut story telling: I much enjoyed it." Andrew Marr

Synopsis
It is the summer of 1917. Isaac Rosenberg has been on the Western Front for over a year, having barely survived a terrible winter on the Somme. Temporarily attached to the Royal Engineers, he helps to load barbed wire on limbers, hauls it by mule train up to the front at night, and repairs damage to barricades in no-man's land. Although highly dangerous, Rosenberg views his lot as much improved, and he finds more time to write. From his upbringing in the slums of Whitechapel, to his futile death in the killing fields of Europe, the author explores the evolution of a writer whose war poetry is now widely acknowledged as among the finest ever written. Paradoxically, while Rosenberg's physical and mental health were on the wane, his terrible experiences on the Western Front appeared to boost the power and originality of his work. Throughout the novel, the reader is given insight into the troubled psyche of a poet who, despite living in constant fear and subject to the contempt of his peers, still managed to retain a highly original perspective on mankind's descent into darkness.

"Beating for Light" blends fact and fiction in a way which moves beyond the biographical, breathing life into the fears and aspirations of a great artist while, simultaneously, providing a fascinating insight into one of history's greatest watersheds.

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Beating for Light: The Story of Isaac Rosenberg
60% buy the item featured on this page:
Beating for Light: The Story of Isaac Rosenberg 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
£6.99
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18% buy
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£17.50
Selected Poems and Letters
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Poetry Out of My Head and Heart
9% buy
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£14.25

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Moving, 22 Jan 2006
By Katherine Taylor (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews
I really enjoyed this book. I knew nothing of Rosenberg or his poetry and it is a great intro to both. It is a blend of fact and fiction and each chapter is prefaced by the poet's own work. His short life is really vividly recreated and I liked the insight I got into what life was like for a struggling family in WW1. I also liked the detail about the poet's contacts with other poets of the period. The author made me empathise strongly with Rosenberg and the description of his death and other war scenes was very moving. Also, despite the fact that this is a story of someone who had a pretty miserable life, I was left with a real sense of wonder and optimism about the strength and tenacity of his creative spirit.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A War Poet, 7 Jun 2006
By John Mason (Ripon, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I found this book an absorbing read. I had not heard of Isaac Rosenberg before and I am grateful to Geoff Akers for his graphic fictionalised account of the brief life of this poet and artist.
The difficulties he had in the England of the beginning of the twentieth century, with its social and racial prejudices, are well described. The common soldier's view of the futility of the Great War is apparent in the dialogue and the horror of trench warfare comes through clearly. Yet from all of this came wonderful poetry which deserves to be much better known. This is a book I would recommend to others without reservation.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Illuminating, 12 Feb 2006
By T. Carr (Edinburgh,UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
An excellent read from start to finish. This moving story of First World War poet Isaac Rosenberg brings to life the appalling conditions of trench warfare. Akers achieves this through the use of scintillating dialogue, showing us how the poetic mind struggles to survive in such a hostile environment. Equally fascinating is the skillful depiction of life as the son of poor Jewish immigrants in London and the underlying awkwardness of the poet socially. A great read.
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