JillA young man from Northern England struggles to find a sense of belonging at Oxford University during WWII in this “brilliant” novel by a literary icon (The Times). John, who’s never traveled far from his northern town of Huddleston, finds himself an undergraduate at Oxford University in 1940. A shy, insecure working-class young man, he is awed by his confident, careless roommate and yearns to fit in, clumsily pursuing a girl from a wealthy family. But as his efforts fail, he retreats further into a dream world in this early novel by Philip Larkin, who would go on to become one of the most celebrated poetic voices of postwar Britain. “Provides a revealing portrait of Oxford and the English class system as it existed during World War II . . . Mr. Larkin’s gift for using landscape as a mirror of an individual’s emotions is very much in evidence.” —The New York Times Includes an introduction by the author |
From inside the book
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... light conversation moved around the subject and eventually away from it , he found himself staring at the coffee - strainer that had been used to strain tea , and feeling sorry for it , as if they had suffered in the same way . His ...
... light conversation moved around the subject and eventually away from it , he found himself staring at the coffee - strainer that had been used to strain tea , and feeling sorry for it , as if they had suffered in the same way . His ...
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... light on , will you ? That's right . I'm Warner . This is Kemp . " John ducked his head shyly . “ I'll put the black - out up , sir , if you wouldn't mind watching .... You'll be wanting to do it yourselves when the days get shorter ...
... light on , will you ? That's right . I'm Warner . This is Kemp . " John ducked his head shyly . “ I'll put the black - out up , sir , if you wouldn't mind watching .... You'll be wanting to do it yourselves when the days get shorter ...
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... light the cream-painted walls seemed unfriendly. After taking off his gown, he sat on the sofa again, but at once got up, as restless as a cat in a new home, and looked around him. A dismal melancholy was beginning to expand inside him ...
... light the cream-painted walls seemed unfriendly. After taking off his gown, he sat on the sofa again, but at once got up, as restless as a cat in a new home, and looked around him. A dismal melancholy was beginning to expand inside him ...
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... light burning. Time crawled by at an intolerably slow speed, every minute seeming four times as long as usual: he did not know if he wanted Christopher Warner to come back or not; it was not so much that he wanted to see him again, but ...
... light burning. Time crawled by at an intolerably slow speed, every minute seeming four times as long as usual: he did not know if he wanted Christopher Warner to come back or not; it was not so much that he wanted to see him again, but ...
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... light. His dark hair was disordered and he wore a savage expression on his face, and he took no notice of John at all. The first thing he did was to use the chamber-pot noisily, breathing hard as if he had just run a race; then he ...
... light. His dark hair was disordered and he wore a savage expression on his face, and he took no notice of John at all. The first thing he did was to use the chamber-pot noisily, breathing hard as if he had just run a race; then he ...
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Common terms and phrases
afternoon asked beer began bottle bowler hat Chris Christopher Warner Christopher's cigarette College Crouch d'you damn dark desk door drink Eddy's Edward du Cann Elizabeth empty eyes face feel felt fire fountain pen gave Gavin Bone girl glass gone grinned hair Hallo hands head Higher School Certificate Huddlesford Jill Joe Kemp John heard John Kemp John looked John's Junior Common Room knew Lamprey laugh laughter leaving letter light listened looked round mind Minerva morning mouth never night noticed overcoat Oxford Patrick Patrick Dowling paused pocket porter pulled pushed remember seemed sherry glasses sitting smiled smoke sofa sound stared stood stopped street suddenly talking teacake Thank there's things thought took town trying turned Tutor voice walked watched Whitbread window wondered