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The loneliness of the long-distance runner…
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The loneliness of the long-distance runner (original 1959; edition 1985)

by Alan Sillitoe

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,5662911,313 (3.67)56
A Borstal boy and his audacious companions are fresh from reform school and ready to take on the world. Members of the British lower class, they are out to beat the system anyway they can. Nine darkly comic stories of working-class men in 1950s Nottingham.
Member:EfEh
Title:The loneliness of the long-distance runner
Authors:Alan Sillitoe
Info:London : Grafton Books, [ca. 1985].
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
Tags:England, fiction, p/b, prison

Work Information

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe (1959)

  1. 00
    The God Boy by Ian Cross (Anonymous user)
  2. 00
    Pastoralia by George Saunders (charlie68)
    charlie68: Also a gritty set of stories with a good heart.
  3. 00
    All Saints by K. D. Miller (charlie68)
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» See also 56 mentions

English (24)  German (2)  Spanish (2)  Danish (1)  All languages (29)
Showing 1-5 of 24 (next | show all)
3.5. Interesting autofiction about living in the cracks and crevices of capitalism. ( )
  localgayangel | Mar 5, 2024 |
Squalid without being sensationalized. Charming and melancholy. It's hard being a human, but failure isn't as dramatic as all that.

First story is the British cousin of Catcher in the Rye, a bit.

Some of these are very slice of life, which is fine.

I first heard of this from Iron Maiden. ( )
  3Oranges | Jun 24, 2023 |
I picked this up because I so liked the movie adapted from the title story in this collection, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. The narrator of this story is an inmate at a Borstal (juvenile detention facility). When it was discovered that he was a talented runner he was given leave by the Chief Warden to exit the facility each morning in the freezing predawn hours to train. The Chief Warden is hopeful his Borstal will win the annual sports day competition with this runner. Most of the story consists of the narrator's thoughts while running--what led to his incarceration, is he to blame or is it society's fault? And of course, because of who the author is (one of the group of writers known as the Angry Young Men) and the time at which this was written, the focus is on class inequalities. Had I read this story before seeing the movie, I'm not sure I could have imagined making a movie of this story, which consists mostly of interior monologue. But both the story and the movie are excellent.
There is also a selection of other stories, most of which consider the same themes, and most of which are also very good. Recommended.

3 1/2 stars ( )
  arubabookwoman | Nov 28, 2021 |
A set of gritty and a shade dark stories of working class England between the wars, the prose is excellent. ( )
  charlie68 | Aug 5, 2021 |
The title short story is a magnificent summing up of the psychology created by the English Class system. You will learn a very great deal by reading it more than two years of formal sociology. But, the story may inspire you to try formal sociology as a mental discipline. In short, out hero is given an opportunity to get a small reward for involving himself in one of the activities of a society that gives him precious little other outlet. But, running does give him a platform for a political act which is now one of his ambitions. Do not pass up this insightful experience. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Jun 7, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 24 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (16 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sillitoe, Alanprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
一郎, 河野翻訳secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Breiding, GunnarIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hvid, ErikHerausgebersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Klotz, GüntherTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Milnikiel, JadwigaTł.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Petersen, Hanssecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Porta, BaldomeroTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Salling, AageHerausgebersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schalekamp, Jean A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Skibniewska, MariaTł.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
才一, 丸谷翻訳secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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As soon as I got to Borstal they made me a long-distance cross-country runner.
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A Borstal boy and his audacious companions are fresh from reform school and ready to take on the world. Members of the British lower class, they are out to beat the system anyway they can. Nine darkly comic stories of working-class men in 1950s Nottingham.

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