The Old Boys
by William Trevor
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The Old Boysby William Trevor - a novel of power, revenge, love and the failure of love from one of the world's best writers A group of septuagenarians revive schoolboy conflicts in the election of the President of the Old Boys Association. Jaraby expects to get the job, but he reckons without the bitterness of Nox, who still remembers the humiliations of his school years. And when Jaraby's son gets into trouble with the law, Nox has the perfect stick with which to beat him. Their powers may show more be failing but the old boys possess a fierce understanding of the things in life that matter - power, revenge, hatred, love, and the failure of love. The Old Boys was William Trevor's acclaimed first novel. It will be enjoyed by fans of The Story of Lucy Gault and Felicia's Journey,as well as readers of Colm Toibin and William Boyd. 'Uncommonly well-written, gruesome , funny and original' Evelyn Waugh 'Immaculately witty and inventive writing' Daily Telegraph William Trevor was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, in 1928, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He has lived in England for many years. The author of numerous acclaimed collections of short stories and novels, he has won many awards including the Whitbread Book of the Year, The James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. He has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize- in 1976 with his novel The Children of Dynmouth, in 1991 with Reading Turgenevand in 2002 with The Story of Lucy Gault. He recently received the prestigious David Cohen Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime's literary achievement. show lessTags
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Got this in a omnibus of 3 early novels of Trevor. Never read him before, and to be honest, never heard of him before. Loved this book! Wow, very funny, great dialogue. Pretty basic plotting, but this is his first novel, and all reports seem to indicate ideas and plotting get more complicated and complex as his career goes on. Characters here are funny and as well fleshed out as an ensemble cast can be in 165 pages. Highly recommended to people who like English/Irish authors with a decided Pickwickian feel.
I'm a big fan of William Trevor - he writes so well. This is a very early novel, his 2nd I believe, It has more wit and humour than I expected - really very amusing - in particular the dialogue between the leading character (Jaraby) and his wife is sharp and witty.
It's about a bunch of men who had all attended the same public school. Now in their dotage they are about to elect a new President of the Old Boys Association. It's not straightforward as old wounds from schooldays generate some bitter rivalry to win the post. The old boys have become a bit dotty, set in their ways, with fixed ideas so they are amusing, but I found the relationship between Jaraby and his wife the most engaging aspect of the novel.
It's about a bunch of men who had all attended the same public school. Now in their dotage they are about to elect a new President of the Old Boys Association. It's not straightforward as old wounds from schooldays generate some bitter rivalry to win the post. The old boys have become a bit dotty, set in their ways, with fixed ideas so they are amusing, but I found the relationship between Jaraby and his wife the most engaging aspect of the novel.
This was, I believe, Trevor's first novel and it shows. It's the story of the alumni association of a boy's school and the petty mean-spirited ways in which these men act, even years after leaving school behind. At times it is hilarious, but it falls apart at the end and the reader is left without a satisfying resolution.
funny but cruel. no likable characters.
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120+ Works 13,484 Members
William Trevor Cox was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland on May 24, 1928. He received a degree in history from Trinity College in 1950. Before becoming a full-time author in 1965, he worked as a sculptor, a teacher, and a copywriter at an advertising agency. He exhibited his sculptures in Dublin and England and was joint winner of the show more International Year of the Political Prisoner art competition in 1952. His first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, was published in 1958. His other novels include Other People's Worlds, Nights at the Alexandra, The Silence in the Garden, The Story of Lucy Gault, My House in Umbria, and Love and Summer. He won the Hawthornden Prize in 1964 for The Old Boys, the Whitbread Award in 1976 for The Children of Dynmouth, the Whitbread Award in 1983 for Fools of Fortune, and the Whitbread Award in 1994 for Felicia's Journey. His short story collections include The Day We Got Drunk on Cake and Other Stories, The Ballroom of Romance and Other Stories, Beyond the Pale, A Bit on the Side, Cheating at Canasta, and The Mark-2 Wife. The Hill Bachelors received the 2001 Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award for Short Stories. He received the Allied Irish Banks' Prize in 1976, The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in 1992, the David Cohen British Literature Prize in 1999, and the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in Irish Literature in 2008. In 1977, he was awarded an honorary CBE in recognition of his services to literature. He died on November 20, 2016 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Old Boys
- Original publication date
- 1964
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- Members
- 142
- Popularity
- 231,024
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.83)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 4
