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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Angelic prose.,
By Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Angel Pavement (Phoenix Fiction) (Paperback)
Priestley was a major figure in the cultural life of twentieth-century Britain, as novelist, playwright, essayist, broadcaster and all-round man of ideas. His reputation seems to have dimmed somewhat in recent years and I am not sure that he is known very much at all outside the UK. This is a pity, because he was a writer of immense talent.Priestley's play An Inspector Calls is still revived from time to time, and it and others of his works have been adapted for the screen. In particular, I recommend The Last Holiday (1950) starring Sir Alec Guinness, if you ever have the chance to see it. I also seem to remember a good movie version of Dangerous Corner, made way back in the days when Joan Collins was gorgeous enough to warrant a visit to `the flicks'. The Good Companions and Angel Pavement are his best-known and best-regarded novels. Angel pavement is the name of a little side street in London's commercial district. It was also adopted as the name of a rock group, in the sixties I think. In this novel, it is the setting for a social drama, a slice of London life before the war and the blitz changed everything. There is a rich cast of characters in a keenly observed commentary on the lives of ordinary working people. Among the memorable episodes is a beautifully written account of a recital of Brahms' First Symphony. I challenge you to find a better description of a piece of music anywhere in literature. Angel Pavement is by turns funny, sad, pessimistic and passionate, but always hauntingly real. So how is it that such a great writer is now so neglected? Well, he committed the unforgivable sin of being hugely popular. Every critic and academic knows that no one whose work is loved by millions, and is so easy to read, can be a serious writer. In short, he is a victim of snobbery. But don't let them fool you! Whether novel, play or movie, give Priestley a try. Angel Pavement is a good place to start.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unjustly forgotten,
By A Customer
This review is from: Angel Pavement (Phoenix Fiction) (Textbook Binding)
Angel Pavement was published in 1930, the same year as 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos. Although more conventional stylistically than Dos Passos's revolutionary montage, Angel Pavement shares with that work a rich and engaging realism. Read it, and you will *be* in 1930s London, following the lives of a group of employees of a veneer and furniture inlay business. The cast of characters is ordinary, yet fascinating; their work and what happens to them isn't all that unusual, either, yet you *will* care. Priestley shows myriad skills here: His ear for dialogue, including dialects, is impeccable; his descriptive powers, making use not only of sights but sounds and smells to create a scene, are keen; and he writes with an effortless and pleasing style. In short, this is a superb novel, unjustly forgotten and well worth your time.
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