Books like Room at the Top

This novel has astoundingly bad dialogue in it, all the way through to the bitter end, but it’s still a tough piece of British truth-telling. It’s about two things – class, and the possibilities of moving from the working class to the middle-class ( there’s a careful, excruciating listing of all the foodstuffs, clothing , drinks, modes of transport and social habits of each of the two classes – we learn, for instance, about the remarkable frequency and toleration of drunk driving in those days - how there was anyone left alive is a wonder); and sex, how men and women negotiate to get what they want, or often, what they can bear to put up with – how they shuffle the cards they’ve been dealt. And it’s another indictment of the selfish male, which God knows, has been anatomized and filleted many times. But it’s also the joy of sex 1955-style, with some nude bathing in the sea, and at least one knee trembler. And it’s about the cruelty of sex, how the young are immutably more attractive than the middle aged (which in this novel is anyone over 34). In this novel men are men and the women expect to be knocked about a bit. As for instance:I took hold of her roughly, then slapped her hard on the face. She gave a little cry of surprise, then flew at me with her nails. I held her off easily.“You’re not going,” I said, “and I’m not going to do what you asked me either. I love you, you silly bitch, and I’m the one who says what’s to be done. Now and in the future.” Then there’s some sex, followed by“You hurt me,” she said when I came to my sense afterwards, my whole body empty and exhausted. “You hurt me and you took all my clothes – look, I’m bleeding here – and here – and here. Oh Joe, I love you with all of me now, every little bit of me is yours. You won’t need her anymore, will you?”She laughed. It was a low gurgling laugh. It was full of physical contentment. Hmmm, I see now that I’ve just demonstrated that this novel is TERRIBLE. I mean to say, there’s your bad dialogue! But – er, it’s pretty good really. I mean, he’s not proud of himself about any of this stuff. He just knows that’s the way you have to do it. It’s not his world, he didn’t invent the rules. The blurbs will have you believe that our hero Joe Lampton is ruthlessly ambitious, destroying anyone in his path. Not at all, he’s the most agonized, doubting, hesitantly-ruthless young man you ever did meet. And the doubting and remorse is the best part of the book, and John Braine knew that was the point of it. There’s a Dark Night of the Soul section right at the end which is a real phantasmagoria.I‘m chomping my way through a lot of novels I should have read years ago, and this was one of them, and at the end of it I thought hmmph, I should have read this years ago! So I said to myself : told you so! But you wouldn't listen would you. And I said okay okay, you made your point. 3.5 stars and a sticker saying “Warning! Contains scenes some feminists may find disturbing”