John BraineRezensionen
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Život nahoře von John Braine
Joe Lampton, menacé par le mari d'Alice qui lui interdit de la revoir, pressé par le père de Susan qui lui apprend qu'il a mis sa fille enceinte, finit par se ranger à l'idée d'un mariage qui lui apportera la position sociale dont il rêvait tant. L'annonce à Alice de sa décision aura une conséquence tragique.
Le film, sorti en 1959, est un portrait de la lutte des classes qui subsiste dans l'Angleterre des années après-guerre, colorée par la rage des tout jeunes vétérans qui survivent à la guerre et qui comptent bien avoir leur part. La haute bourgeoisie et le snobisme le plus puant s'opposent à l'impécuniosité et aux origines ordinaires.
Le film, tourné dans un beau noir et blanc, n'est pas sans défaut (quelques dialogues un peu caricaturaux, des situations manquant un peu de subtilité ou de vraisemblances) mais présente un intérêt majeur : le jeu de Simone Signoret, fascinante quand elle pose son regard, parle et fume une cigarette, est simplement magnifique. Room at the top lui offrait un de ses plus beaux rôles.
When Joe falls in love with the pretty Norah Hauxley, his discontentment with the life that he has built for himself only deepens. When Norah moves to London Joe sees it as an opportunity to escape Warley and start a new life. But soon realises that this new promise of happiness is as illusory as what he left behind.
Written in 1962 this like the previous book is something of a social commentary and gives an interesting insight into a man having a mid-life (35) crisis. I actually enjoyed the author's writing style more in this book, Braine had obviously learnt from experience, but whilst in RatT I found Joe a difficult character to like in this book I simply found him annoying. I found him a whining pain in the backside and wanted to shout at him to 'man up'. That said and done I still felt that the book an interesting read which had it's merits even if it is a little dated, I was glad to be able to read what had become of Joe and Susan.
When Joe moves to Warley he takes a room in a large house and joins the local amateur theatrical group where he meets Susan - a young, naive, attractive, girl from a wealthy family and Alice, a married woman some years his senior. Joe begins an affair with Alice but continues to see Susan also. Whereas his love for Susan is shallow, initially non-sexual and more about personal ambition, he finds that he has a real connection with Alice. It is soon very obvious that Joe is heading for heartache, will love or ambition win out?
First published in 1957 and set just after WWII when rationing was still in place and social mobility was difficult, this then is an example of social realism in literature and it's unsurprising that the luxuries afforded the wealthy were coveted by the many. Dufton, is a grimy, stagnant place, whose inhabitants go about their business with no thought of a better life whereas Warley is far brighter and more affluent, its inhabitants more ambitious but it is also obvious, that despite his social pretensions, Joe is unable to shake off his small-town up-bringing.
Joe is a difficult character to empathise with, although his frustration with the world around him is no doubt shared by a lot of young men even today, but is on the whole well drawn. However, Joe is playing against a system which is stacked against him in a game that he cannot possibly win. In contrast the women are rather sketchy and lack real depth character.
Overall I found this is a reasonable look at the class system of the time in Britain but I failed to get really excited about this novel. I found Braine's writing functional rather than gritty and the dialogue felt clunky, annoying and unreal at times. I suspect that it's literary merit at the time of publication just doesn't really compute with today's modern world. However, I do hope to read the follow up novel, 'Life at the Top', sooner rather than later.
By sally tarbox on 8 December 2017
Format: Paperback
Grabs you from the first page: narrated by fiercely ambitious young Joe Lampton, an intelligent lad from a humble background. It's just after WW2 and accountant Joe has broken away from his grim northern hometown of Dufton for an accountancy position in the much more salubrious Warley. He appreciates his new, elegant lodgings,the middle class folk around him; he starts mixing with the select types who make up the local dramatic society; but he's constantly aware that he can never be the equal of the local bigwigs.
And while he begins a love affair with older, married Alice, he's also studiedly making up to wealthy, innocent young Susan Brown:
"A Grade A lovely...the daughter of a factory-owner...the means of obtaining the key to the Aladdin's cave of my ambitions."
Compelling reading.
But, like any other review, that's just my opinion. :)
The sneering arrogance and mercenary attitude of the main character, a regular ladies' man, did make me cringe a bit. But I loved the realism.
After reading this article it is quite clear that the author wrote about what he knew.
As other reviewers have noted, the story takes a while to develop and isn't quite as dramatic as its predecessor. A nice, not very taxing read.
The story is narrated by Joe Lampton, and starts with his arrival in Warley where he takes up a job as accounts clerk on the Town Council. These circumstances have led to him being determined to better himself. The greater part of the book centres on Joe's efforts to secure a future he can take pride in.
In Warley, he takes lodgings with the Thompsons, a middle-class couple living in the better part of town, known locally as "T'top". Lampton is delighted to find himself already socially advantaged by taking, quite literally, a "Room at the top", and this serves as a metaphor for his ambition to better himself and to leave behind any vestige of his former life and acquaintances, many of whom he characterises as "zombies", lacking any trace of genuine life and character.
He is introduced to the local amateur dramatic society (always desperate for new cast members). There he encounters, and is smitten by, Susan Brown, the only daughter of a very successful local businessman. However, he also meets the apparently cold and standoffish Alice Aisgill, who plays many of the leading lady parts. Alice and Joe are drawn together and soon start a passionate though clandestine affair..
The novel is strangely dispassionate, even when some pretty awful things happen. Lampton's ambition is finely drawn, but the female characters all stretch credibility beyond comfortable limits.
I have only ever heard of one novel by John Braine, Room at the Top, which was his first and most successful novel. I've never read anything by him, so I'm not sure if I would want take his advice on novel writing. The book is a practical handbook, with some bizarre tips for success, like: don't get married, be over 35, don't do any research. And some very specific instructions, such as: it must have 60,000 words and twenty chapters. It seems you should write the first draft right through, never correcting, then summarise it in 2000 words and rewrite it a few times until it hangs together. Sounds as good a way as any, now I just need to get divorced and find the time
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Greatrakes | 1 weitere Rezension | Sep 4, 2007 |
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