Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140016740 ISBN 13: 9780140016741

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1968

When originally published this was described as an exceptional first novel because the characters are concerned with expressing themselves in physical rather than emotional or intellectual terms. The world in which the story is set is that of professional Rugby League in a Norther English industrial city, and spans several years in the life of narrator Arthur Machin.

About the Author:

David Malcolm Storey, the son of a miner, is an English playwright, screenwriter, award winning novelist and a former professional Rugby League player. He was born in 1933 and studied at the Slade School of Art.

Review:

“Extraordinarily mature—technically as well as emotionally” —The Sunday Times
 
“The best novel about sport I’ve read.” —Caryl Phillips, author of The Final Passage
 
“[An] impressive first novel.” —The New York Times
 
“An absorbing writer.” —The New Yorker