The Watchers on the Shore

Vic Brown Trilogy #2

by Stan Barstow

Continuing the story of Vic Brown, we find that, having been unwillingly thrust into the cold and murky waters of matrimony in A Kind of Loving, and after three years of trying to live with Ingrid, he is still struggling to keep afloat. Their marriage has become a kind of living – until a lifebuoy affair bobs on to his horizon, enlarging his world and enabling him to break out from the bonds of matrimony. It is Donna Perryman, a stunningly attractive actress, and the devastating effect she has on his life, that is the subject of The Watchers on the Shore, the brilliant sequel to A Kind of Loving, now regarded as a classic of post-war literature.

Genres: Fiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Bar...

Reviews

[Nigeyb · Rating 3 out of 5]

In January 2020 I read A Kind of Loving (1960) by Stan Barstow.

A Kind of Loving is a clear eyed, unsentimental and realistic portrait of Vic Brown, an intelligent young man, who gets trapped in a loveless marriage having got Ingrid, his girlfriend, pregnant. Stan Barstow's genius is to keep Vic a sympathetic character despite some cynical decisions and bad behaviour.

I loved Stan Barstow's unpatronising portrayal of working class life in northern England in 1960 which, 60 years on, remains a vivid and powerful read. I rated it five stars.

Needless to say, when I discovered that Stan Barstow had written two more follow ups, to create a Vic Brown trilogy, I was straight onto eBay and buying copies of these two out of print books.

The Watchers On The Shore (1966) is the second book in the Vic Brown trilogy. The story picks three or four years after A Kind of Loving and takes place during the end of 1962 and the start of 1963. A Kind of Loving ends with a determination on Vic's part to make his marriage work however this mood of positivity has ebbed away by the start of The Watchers On The Shore.

Before long Vic has moved to Essex to team up with his old friend Conroy who offers him a job as a draughtman back in engineering in the fictional town of Longford in Essex. Ingrid stays put, partly to nurse her sick and widowed mother, and partly to allow Vic to scope out the area.

The Watchers On The Shore is a somewhat downbeat and pessimistic book from the off. Unlike A Kind of Loving it lacks a sense of place. I had a vivid impression of Cressley, Vic’s home town in Yorkshire, in the first book. This is completely lacking for Longford.

Vic's sense of entitlement also increases dramatically in The Watchers On The Shore, he is far less likeable and seems unable to empathise with anyone else. Ingrid is only glimpsed occasionally in this book and the new characters are somewhat undeveloped by comparison.

Overall The Watchers On The Shore lacks much of what makes A Kind of Loving so masterly. That said, I was engrossed throughout and look forward to the third and final part of the trilogy - The Right True End (1976).

3/5

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time months I have deserted the kindle and had to go back to paper because this book is not available electronically. And it's highly appropriate because the 60s/70s atmosphere which Barstow conjures up is definitely yellowing paperback and not e-book. It's an extraordinary book. Like looking through a box of my old photos. Every new image summons up a flood of memory. It's not my story, but many of the anecdotes have very familiar chime.

[Neil Fulwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume two of the Vic Brown trilogy picks up three years after the events of ‘A Kind of Loving’. Our boy is in stasis, his drudge of a marriage to Ingrid offset only by the satisfaction of managing a record shop that he dreams will be his one day. Only real life has other plans and Vic finds himself uprooted and moving down south for an engineering job - not entirely reluctantly, it has to be said, as Ingrid opts to stay at home and care for her convalescent mother. It’s not long before Vic meets the alluring Donna and things start to get complicated. ‘The Watchers on the Shore’ continues to chart Vic’s emotional development and his burgeoning love of art (theatre is the touchstone here), but the earlier themes of family, work and - most poignantly - loneliness are very much present.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #2. A fast read continuing on with Vic's life and the mess he has made of it. Lots of Yorkshire slang. They use compeltely different words for things which makes it interesting. "Sammy" means a fool. Another note of interest...they are all riding public transportation in the 60's and able to get anywhere, easily.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent sequel to A Kind of Loving

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this second book as much as I did the first volume in the series but maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind as the story picks up pretty much from where it left off in Vic's unhappy predicament. Maybe though that is the main problem with having a sequel, we all have our imagination and we would like to use it rather than be told exactly what happened next. Might revisit the last chapter as I wasn't paying much attention by that point.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book of the 'Vic Brown' trilogy. Three years have gone by since the end of 'A Kind Of Loving' and Vic thinks that there is more to life than his shotgun marriage to Ingrid. When he meets Donna, it seems that the tables are turned and he can now enjoy an affair with the girl of his dreams, but he doesn't know what lies in store for him in the near future.

[Nisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went to so much hassle to get hold of this out of print book and it was worth it. An excellent sequel to A Kind Of Loving where Vic kind of got what he deserved this time around...

[Harriet Styles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sufficiently engaging that I ordered the final part of the trilogy as soon as I'd finished this part! Captures the confused and conflicting feelings we can all be subject to in relationships, family, life.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sad, so real, so of its time, and honest. A worthy follow-up to 'A kind of loving.'

[Emma Joscelyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read and interesting subject matter, a man’s thoughts and feelings as he goes through an affair. Not a stand out book, but enjoyable

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps not as interesting for me as the first in the trilogy.
However still very readable and I am looking forward to the final book, although in the next month or so.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous book, the first in the series ‘A Kind Of Loving’ but kept me entertained. Looking forward to reading the last book in the ‘Vic Brown series’.

[BrokenTune · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review posted at

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[Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been out of print for quite a while, so I had to request that a rather weather-beaten musty copy be salvaged from the storeroom of my local library service. Thankfully it was worth their endeavour: though I can see why it hasn't endured as much as 'A Kind of Loving', it is nonetheless an enjoyable continuation of that story. Though I wouldn't say it's essential reading, I think any reader of the first book would certainly enjoy this.