A "powerfully done" (Times Literary Supplement) and tantalizingly semi-autobiographical novel from the author of the Booker Prize-winning Sacred Hunger.
Unable to work on his novel about Liverpool's slave trade, Benson is teaching creative writing and wandering the city. The pupils who bring him their fantasies are a sad, dispossessed group with varying degrees of literary talent. Caught up in a series of bizarre events, Benson nevertheless finds his own imagination sparked by an encounter with two old army colleagues: Thompson, down-and-out and homeless; and Slater, a fabulously wealthy entrepreneur. In trying to heal old wounds, Benson unleashes a plan that just may blow up in his face. "There is a violent resolution to this obsessive and provocative novel that examines the abscesses and abysses beneath the violence of urban life and offers a quixotic personal answer." ― The Times [London] "Fine descriptive writing and spirited humanity." ― The Guardian Published for the first time in the United States Booker Prize-winning author of Sacred Hunger"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
These encounters precipitate a crisis: Benson becomes obsessed with a traumatic wartime episode in which he inadvertently led a friend to his death, and then, stumbling from fantasy to action, he hatches a scheme to exact revenge on the arrogant second lieutenant they served under. As engrossingly bizarre as it is, plot in Sugar and Rum is secondary to narrative warp and woof--metaphor, allusion, surreal juxtapositions. A hypnotist neighbor appears to offer advice on getting rid of the owl that has invaded Benson's flat; a magazine featuring Dali and Verdi leads to the detested second lieutenant; the terrible legacy of the slave trade shadows every aspect of contemporary Liverpool.
Sugar and Rum is at once an inflamed political novel of class and race warfare, a satire of current social malaise, a portrait of the artist as a damaged but still plucky old man, a meditation on the meanings of performance, and a ripping good read. It is also an amusingly distorted autobiography, since Unsworth in real life succeeded in writing the slave-trade novel that defeats his alter ego--Sacred Hunger, which won the Booker Prize. It's quite a juggling act, but Unsworth proves himself more than equal to the task. --David Laskin
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 7.63
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Good. All orders are dispatched the following working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we have over 500,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. Seller Inventory # mon0006840529
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. 1st edition, 1st printing hardback in unclipped dustjacket. Book and jacket in VG+ condition with no inscriptions, tanning to page edges because of cheap paper used by the publisher, one small closed tear to top left front of jacket. Not a book club edition, ex library or a remainder. Am happy to supply scans. Seller Inventory # ABE-1528555426204
Book Description Condition: nrVG. Dust Jacket Condition: VG DW. 1st Edition. Black cloth, gilt. In very good, clean, tight condition BUT book is cocked with a faint white mark to front cover. Page edges are browned. Dustwrapper/dustjacket is in very good condition with minor signs of wear and/or age. In loose polythene protector. Seller Inventory # hbc002.044
Book Description Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Uncorrected proof copy. First UK edition. Trade paperback. White card covers with some few instances of foxing, crease to upper right corner and other minor indications of light handling/shelf wear. Text block slightly age mellowed. 247pp. Seller Inventory # ABE-1715601822375
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. A hardback book with both book and jacket in very good condition, dated 1988, First Edition. Seller Inventory # 053939
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Not price-clipped, corners and edges very slightly bumped, page edges lightly tanned. Seller Inventory # 000676
Book Description Cloth. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 247 pages. Jacket design by Mon Mohan. Dust-jacket unclipped. Pages show usual discoloration. Seller Inventory # 004345
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 1st impression, unread, not price clipped (£11.95 net), no owner's name or other inscription, pages showing some discolouration and page ends heavily age toned, D/j spine sunned but D/j has no tears, nicks, creases or marks and is protected by a clear removable sleeve. This copy purchased new by me upon publication. Seller Inventory # 050393