Crust on Its Uppers (A Five Star Title) Well, this was interesting, hailed as his forgotten first novel it certainly deserves to be remembered and read.If I described it the tone of the novel as "Oh I say, that is simply frightfully terrible old chap" meets "Orl right then geezer" or the drift as The Saint meets Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels you may get some idea.Upper Class dropouts on a crime spree, cudgels and cocktails, drugs and evening dress, aristocracy and arseholes.Once you get the drift it is actually quite enjoyable.
 
Written in the patois of the times which consists of rhyming slang and old expressions not heard these days. I think the first 2 pages in the book act as a glossary for the slang. Still there were some expressions that I could not get a handle on right up to the end. Like "loyal", used endlessly but in so many contexts that I still couldn't get the sense of it. Probably like someone in the distant future reading "pants" or "sick".The background is London in 1962, so already the "Swinging London" had started to emerge and it was this class that began the swinging, not the working class who were still shovelling coal in cellars while muttering "Bah Goom".A Good Read (in capitals) so go and good read it. ( )

Not his best, but quite exciting once I got past the first couple of chapters with their excess of 1960s gang speak and rhyming slang. It was like reading an early Michael Caine film, a bit cheesy, a bit lairy, but the underlying story was good fun. ( )

Raymond's first novel is densely packed with rhyming criminal slang that will have you turning back to the far-too-brief glossary at the beginning of the book dozens of times. But be patient and you'll get in sync with this first-person tale of a bored young upper class man who has turned to a life of crime. When he decides to take up the offer of some Communist German counterfeiters, however, he begins to realize he may have bitten off more than he can chew. While the plot itself is compelling and really takes off in the last third of the book, it is the individual episodes that will stick with you--the narrator taking his accomplice to his parents estate so they can get in some target practice; his night out and spur-of-the-moment trip to Paris with his one true love; his relationship with an older woman; the times he wiggles out of an impossible jam. Through it all, Raymond's essential brilliance as a writer of gritty noir shines through. If you have found yourself immersed in his Factory series, by all means dig up a copy of this one. If you're an American like me, dealing with the lingo is well worth the effort--and even a bit educational. ( )

Derek Raymond's first published work (1962) revolves around a young criminal born into Englands upper classes who has found his niche in an underworld of scams and violence. This nameless narrator along with his sidekicks Marchmare and Archbubble involve themselves in a scheme to distribute counterfeit money--a Eastern European communist intrusion meant to destabilize Britain's economy. The story told mostly in slang from his jail cell describes this adventure with much wit and verve--kind of a cross between Celine's 'Guignol's band' and Burgess's 'A clockwork orange' with a little bit of the Soprano's mixed in. The irrepressible nature of the narrator makes this into a very fun read despite the nasty bits of work he's up to and the sometimes heavy use of criminal slang--though Raymond does provide a glossary that helps to clear up most of the language confusion. Anyway I liked it a lot--it's fairly short, sweet and very entertaining--though in a guilty kind of way. ( )