Saville (1976)
Who wrote it?
David Storey (1933-2017, active 1960-2004), born Wakefield, Yorkshire. Perhaps best known for This Sporting Life (1960), his debut novel, which was the basis for Lindsay Anderson’s 1963 “kitchen sink” classic movie of the same name, starring Richard Harris.
He was also a professional rugby player, which you absolutely wouldn’t have guessed from the sport’s starring role in several of his novels. He wasn’t short of literary awards, either, with his debut winning the MacMillan Fiction Award, several of his plays winning major awards, and a previous Booker shortlist for 1972’s Pasmore.
What's it about
It’s an epic, detailed novel focusing primarily on the childhood and youth of Colin Saville, who grows up in a mining village in Yorkshire in the 1940s, passes the entrance exam to a grammar school and subsequently finds himself adrift from both worlds - and increasingly alienated from family and friends. Along the way he has a series of ultimately unsuccessful relationships, plays a bit of rugby, and dabbles in poetry.
Obviously and bluntly autobiographical, it seems to be one of the more divisive early Booker winners, and I can see why. The formula is ostensibly not new - working class lad struggles against obstacles and ultimately escapes to London, fuelled by a love of poetry and a fire in his belly. But I actually found myself really carried along by it, for various reasons which I’ll go into below…
What I liked
This was painfully relatable in many ways for me. No, I wasn’t born in the 1930s and I had a somewhat more privileged upbringing than the Savilles. I grew up in a north-midlands former mining town, though, and was a scholarship kid at a private school. I’m two generations removed from the miners in my family, not one, but still found myself adrift between two worlds in a similar way to Colin. While the parallels were far from direct, there was a lot that really hit home hard for me.
“You don’t really belong to anything", she said. “[…] You’re not really anything. You don’t belong to any class, since you live with one class, respond like another, and feel attachment to none.”
The descriptions of Colin’s romantic endeavours were highlights for me. When this becomes a focus of the novel, in the second half, it really takes off for me. His failed dalliances vary in scope, from those in his early years where you feel sympathy for him as they fall apart more due to his naivete than any more serious failings, through to his later encounters in which sympathy has long since departed as he becomes increasingly bitter, angry and outright offensive.
Despite the failing sympathy towards the end of the novel, I actually enjoyed this part most. His increasingly dislikeable character is both self-inflicted and a far more relatable howl of anger at injustices both in society and in his own upbringing. He’s accused of being a Communist, an Anarchist and a Calvinist at various points in this phase, but often resembles nothing more than a Nihilist.
The writing drives you along, through the relatively dry early parts of the novel and especially when the plot catches up with it. It’s eminently readable and for something that’s in many ways quite predictable, somewhat surprisingly it’s also something of a page-turner. I found it one of the hardest books so far to put down, without ever being quite able to put my finger on why.
Some of the characters are supremely memorable. His village friends are almost Bash Street Kid - like caricatures in their ludicrous physicality, but still so much fun. The female characters are (if not perfect, and certainly not having much of a life outside of Colin’s gaze) still more interesting and well-drawn than in many of the previous winners I’ve read. And his grammar school “friend” Stamford is memorably awful, and highly recognisable from my own school (and especially uni) days.
A predominance of showing over telling. Despite the theme, there’s is very little sense of being lectured at by the novel. Colin’s actions are well-observed and described, but hardly ever commented on. Give me this any day over something like G., which falls over itself to draw twelve profound conclusions in every paragraph.
What I didn't like
All of the criticisms I’ve read elsewhere are valid. I can’t make a strong case that you should read this novel, only that I (somehow) enjoyed it immensely
At the same time, it’s cliched, painfully obviously autobiographical, self-indulgent to extremes, unapologetically sexist in places and oh so open to parody. Sounds great, right?
The half-arsed attempts to “do dialect” made me laugh (for the wrong reasons) on numerous occasions. Liberally sprinking every sentence with “thys” and “tha’s” does not a convincing Yorkshire dialect make. Either go all in, or don’t bother.
The first section drags in comparison to the more emotionally rich and complex heart of the novel.
I have to say, the edition I read was absolutely riddled with basic proofreading errors. To an extent I’ve really never seen before from a reputable publisher. Sort it out, folks.
Food & drink pairings
Carefully arranged afternoon teas for guests - tinned fruit, and one small bun each, and that’s a luxury don’t you know?
Guess what? There are a lot of cups of tea in this book.
Fun facts
Some have suggested that the presence on the judging panel of Mary Wilson, wife of the then Labour PM Harold, may not have overly harmed the chances of a book about a northern mining community winning the Prize…
Storey himself was surprised by the book’s reception: “I remember writing at a rate of 8,000 words a day and thinking, it can’t be any good coming out so fast. And then put it all together and thought, no, it’s no good. It’s been too easy writing it.” Though perhaps that technique could be the root of its page-turning momentum and easy-reading flow?
Vanquished Foes
Andre Brink (An Instant to the Wind)
R. C. Hutchinson (Rising)
Brian Moore (The Doctor’s Wife)
Julian Rathbone (King Fisher Lives)
William Trevor (The Children of Dynmouth)
A much healthier list after 75’s shenanigans. Still none that I’ve read though. How about you?
Context
In 1976 :
Harold Wilson resigns as UK PM; James Callaghan succeeds him
Great heat wave and droughts in the UK
Carter defeats incumbent Ford to become US president
Tienanman Incident in China
Seychelles gains independence from UK
12 IRA bombs in London’s West End in January
First commercial Concorde flight
CN Tower in Toronto becomes tallest free-standing land structure in the world
Foundation of Apple by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
Viking space programme reaches Mars
F1 champion Niki Lauda suffers serious burns and almost dies in the German GP
100 Club Punk Festival in London begins introduction of punk to UK mainstream; cemented later in the year when the Sex Pistols swear on telly
The Ramones, Ramones
Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
The Eagles, Hotel California
Life Lessons
Social mobility can be traumatic and difficult
Poetry will save you, sort of
A lot of people are hypocrites
Vintage need a better proofreader
Score
8
I enjoyed this a lot, in spite of many obvious flaws. You may not enjoy it so much.
Ranking to date:
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
Saville - David Storey (1976) - 8
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7 .
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
*Read in later condensed edition.
Next up
1977 and, while punk rages in the UK, we’re back off to India for further adventures in the decline of Empire with Paul Scott’s Staying On.
