or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
21 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
A Blues for Shindig
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

A Blues for Shindig (Paperback)

by Mo Foster (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £7.19 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £0.80 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 10? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
13 new from £2.41 8 used from £0.01

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics)

The Lonely Londoners (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Sam Selvon
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.13
The L-Shaped Room [DVD] [1962]

The L-Shaped Room [DVD] [1962]

DVD ~ Leslie Caron
3.6 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.98
Play Like Elvis

Play Like Elvis

by Mo Foster
5.0 out of 5 stars (2) 
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: PaperBooks Publishing (1 Jun 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0955109426
  • ISBN-13: 978-0955109423
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 692,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

A fantastically gritty read - unputdownable! - Critical Mass


Product Description

Shindig didn't know it but her reputation with the boys of Soho had been made that day. It was one of those occasions when time had gone into free fall, everyone watched as he arced gracefully through the air and fell to the floor. He was quickly dispatched out into the courtyard. Sharks would discover him soon. The Rendezvous Club is a squalid little gaff off a slippery courtyard. Here, you'll always find a gathering of the 'boys' of Soho. These are men's men; mostly one syllable names: Vic, Stan or Reg, and definitely not how you would expect gangsters to look - no Bogarts or Greenstreets here. From the 'meat rack' in the Dilly to Joe Lyons Corner House at Coventry Street or the Sunset Club on Carnaby Street, it is startling how these places fit in and complement deviant life and villainy. Soho, in the 1950s, was a centre for misfits and petty criminals. Surrounded by this unusual brew of characters, Shindig seems to fit right in. That is until things change for the bosses up west and the powers look to be shifting in Soho's underworld...Jake Arnott meets Nell Dunn in this gritty accolade to Soho and to deviants of every ilk. "Critical Mass" says: A fantastically gritty read - unputdownable!
See all Product Description

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Blues for Shindig
82% buy the item featured on this page:
A Blues for Shindig 5.0 out of 5 stars (5)
£7.19
Play Like Elvis
18% buy
Play Like Elvis 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey to another world, 16 Jul 2006
By Voyager (Andover) - See all my reviews
Soho in the 1950's. Shindig is 19 and barmaid of an illegal drinking club, popular with the sort of scruffy gangster who would never make Hollywood. Her spare time is taken up with sex, drugs and general dabbling on the wrong side of the law. Very streetwise is Shindig - or so she thinks until she finds out there are bigger games being played in Soho and she has become one of the cards.

This is a journey to another world, brought vividly to life with a sure sense of place and atmosphere, and peopled by a cast of characters that would last many writers half a dozen books at least. And what a guide Shindig makes - warm, wryly humorous, subversive, eternally curious and touchingly naive.

Some books are good, some books are different. This is one that is good and different. Highly recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars funny, fascinating, devastating and life affirming - a must!, 20 Jul 2006
By J. Southampton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I have just finished this new book and enjoyed it alot. A must for anyone who has known or wants to know what it is like to be young and alone in London. It stayed with me when I wasn't reading it and caused me to review my own life like a good book can. I was racing towards the end and got there wanting either to reread this book or another by the same author. It was funny, fascinating, devastating and life affirming all at once.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars No blandishments for Ms Shindig, 15 Jul 2006
By Tessa Warburg - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A BLUES FOR SHINDIG, an unsentimental look at London in the 1950s, is refreshingly forthright. The novel charts a year in the life of nineteen-year-old Mary, better known as Shindig after a momentous encounter with a fresh client in the seedy club where she works. Shindig topples him off his bar stool and, with this one swift move, earns herself the respect of her boss Tiger. Words spreads throughout Soho, and her reputation is made.
The dialogue is brilliant, recreating the street language of the time. But that's not all; the whole book is original and entertaining, not a cliche to be found on a single page. I loved Shindig, resourceful and spunky, as well as another young girl, Frantic. Then there's Shindig's landlady, Vera, probably in her forties but considered ancient, and Shindig's black American love, Berry. The villains, though clearly villainous, seem curiously gentlemanly by modern standards.
Reactions to gays and blacks give another fascinating insight into the times when it was illegal to be gay and racism was not only rife but considered sporting. Our society may have become more tolerant but, in my view, it's also a good deal less honest and decidedly less supportive.
A BLUES FOR SHINDIG is a great read. Don't miss it.
Tessa Warburg
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Shindig - a cool and refreshing read
Mo Foster's 'A Blues For Shindig' is a must read. Refreshingly original and written with an ascerbic wit, Foster's portrayal of Soho's underworld of the fifties is a joy to read... Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2006 by Kate Totnes

5.0 out of 5 stars 50s Eye-opener
My teens in the fifties were nothing like Shindig's. While I was going to Guides, playing tennis and doing Scottish dances, young girls in Soho were doing sex, drugs and jazz and... Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2006 by Ms. K. M. Read

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.