This Sporting Life (Avon Books, 21394) [Paperback]

David Storey (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: popular Library (1961)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038000254X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380002542
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,129,886 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Professional Rugby League Player in Northern England circa 1960, December 6, 2010

By 

Kiwifunlad (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Sporting Life (Paperback)

This novel was published in 1960 and it provides an interesting insight the impact instant fame has on a young working man. Arthur Machin the principal character continues to work on a lathe in a factory in a northern English town whilst gaining a growing fan club in the town for his exploits playing for the local professional Rugby League team. While Rugby League provides background this novel is more on how how Arthur's new celebrity status impacts on his relationships. The plot centres on Arthur's relationship with his Landlady, Mrs Hammond, a recently widowed young mother of two. I was reminded of the kitchen-sink dramas of Pinter. Storey cleverly reveals how the 'public' Arthur intrudes on his personal life and how this intrusion creates rifts in his relationships with people. Although today's professional sportsmen might not easily identify with Arthur there were many parallels from Arthur buying a Jaguar and his girlfriend a fur coat to hobnobbing with the town's rich industrialists and other prominent citizens.