Hurry on Down by John Wain

by John Wain

"A great fund of comic invention." - "Times Literary Supplement" "Written with great spirit . . . very funny . . . fresh, unhackneyed and excellently observed." - "Listener" "[A] bustling kaleidoscope of a book, by an author fertile in expedient, keenly observant and occasionally probing the heart of darkness." - "Sunday Times" Charles Lumley feels that he has been born in captivity - the captivity of his smugly conventional bourgeois upbringing. Now he has just graduated from university, only to make the discouraging discovery that his education has rendered him unfit for any kind of useful employment. Wondering what to do with the rest of his life and longing to escape, a chance remark overheard in a pub sets him off on a picaresque and hilarious tour of 1950s Britain. He undergoes a string of comic misadventures as he works as a window cleaner, a drug trafficker, a hospital orderly, and a chauffeur, all while trying to find his place in the world and win the love of the beautiful Veronica Roderick. John Wain (1925-1994) was one of the great English men of letters of the 20th century, a prolific novelist, poet, biographer, and critic whose many accolades included the Somerset Maugham Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and the Whitbread Award. "Hurry on Down" (1953), his first novel, ushered in a new kind of English novel and paved the way for many later classics, including Kingsley Amis's "Lucky Jim" (1954) and John Braine's "Room at the Top" (1957). This 60th anniversary edition includes an introduction by Nick Bentley and marks the novel's first republication in the United States in more than half a century.

Genres: Fiction, 20th Century, Classics, British Literature, Novels, Modern Classics

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

John Barrington Wain was an English poet, novelist, and critic, associated with the literary group "The Movement". For most of his life, Wain worked as a freelance journalist and author, writing and reviewing for newspapers and the radio.

Wain was born and grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, the son of a dentist, Arnold Wain, and his wife Annie, née Turner. He had an older sister and a younger brother, Noel. After attending Newcastle under Lyme High School, he entered St. John's College, Oxford, gaining a first in his BA in 1946 and MA in 1950. He was a Fereday Fellow of St. John's between 1946 and 1949. On 4 July 1947, Wain married Marianne Uffenheimer (b. 1923 or 1924), but they divorced in 1956. Wain then married Eirian Mary James (1920 - 1988), deputy director of the recorded sound department of the British Council, on 1 January 1960. They had three sons and lived mainly in Wolvercote, Oxford. Wain married his third wife, Patricia Adams (born 1942 or 1943), an art teacher, in 1989. He died in Oxford on 24 May 1994.

Reviews

[Esdaile · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an enjoyable read, very much in the category of the "angry young man" pose. The 1950's litterati in Britain seemed to have been smoldering with resentment against the established order of things ("the Establishment") -remember the Church Bells in "Look Back in Anger"? -some of them, maybe most of them were considered leftish in their day but when they became older they tended to a Thatcherite disdain for social responsibility. Consistently it seems to me, whether they thought of themselves as "left" or "right", they were always Godless and their existential atheism, their lack of faith in anything beyond or behind or within the human individual is apparent in novels such as this one. It is cleverly written, sometimes funny, never boring but ultimately heartless. Yes, it is an enjoyable read but enjoyable in much the same way as junk food is enjoyable. I wouldn't return for a second helping of this hero, who is faithful to noone not really even to himself. This book is at once full of life and yet befouls life. It is the nihilistic world of Evelyn Waugh or Scott Fitzgerald but without the hope which Scott Fitzgerald and Evelyn Waugh offered to the reader in their stories.

[Sche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Lumley nous embarque dans un périple social, entre lutte des classes, désespoir et passion amoureuse.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the funniest novels of the 1950s, alas is now forgotten. I found a haggard looking paperback in used book store years ago.

[John Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now you middle-class anti-heroes are getting a bit predictable. Man graduates, turns his back on expected path of employment, renounces money and ambition, finds he doesn't fit in anywhere, nice middle-class job falls in to his lap, gets the girl...

Even though this book has little point or direction I enjoyed it lots even though Charles (had to be called Charles) failed to get beaten up. Could have done with a bit more soul searching and paranoia.

[Anastasiya Kryvasheyeva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Спокойный роман «Angry Young Man». Герой отрицает социальные классы, деньги, не может строить вообще никакие отношения с людьми и, честно говоря, совсем не пытается думать. Молодой эгоцентричный холерик просто пытается тянуть свою жизнь и сам не понимает, зачем.

Подойдет для чтения каким-нибудь юношам-максималистам, аморфным нытикам и латентным снобам. Ну и вообще тем, кому еще нет 25.

[Lyn Lockwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original, funny, dynamic novel from the 1950s that's much edgier and darker than you might expect.

[Bunta Potter · Rating 2 out of 5]

No-one could mistake this novel for anything other than the work of an Angry (or at any rate Disgruntled) Young Man. It paints a clear picture of just-post-war England - Wain began it in 1949 - with all the baggage of its period, the dinginess, squalor and discomfort of life for many, depressed mood, battered landscape and a sense of weariness; little wonder that Wain noted a tendency for people to look back and an overall lack of zest.
Having heard HoD described as funny, and in search of a laugh, I launched in but soon ran aground and could only refloat after a lengthy break.. The beginning is slow and uncertain in direction; although Wain claimed to have plotted later chapters, the form is basically picaresque throughout. Despite a pervasive, at times almost smothering, sense of drabness there are some entertaining passages (alas too few), when anti-hero, Charles Lumley, confronts characters he meets on his erratic way. Wain's ear for dialogue is good, some characters are well-observed, but the tone is more often sour than generous or amusing. Generally, I found Lumley's bottomless capacity for self-pity as dreary as other features of the background and remain in the dark about why anyone might owe him a living. Most characters are unpleasant, hypocritical, deceitful, on-the-make in some way and when things get melodramatic, they become not just downbeat but murky. Eventually, bafflingly, everything seems to come up roses for Charles (can't be totally sure of this) with the help along the road of numerous coincidences that would make even Dickens blush. Yes, you guessed, this was not my book but AYM aren't my favourite and I might just have read my last.

[LL B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hurry on down proves a colourful mix of social commentary, emotion, random ‘luck’ events and the meandering brain of one taken to making both nothing and everything of a situation. For the most part, the novel has been lucidly strung together, and save for a slow, wordy beginning it is only once in a while that it loses momentum, showing signs of being the authors first major work. Somehow Wain manages to make even the mundane appear interesting or complicated in such a way that I, the reader, couldn’t help but be drawn along with Charles, to see what, where or whom he might happen upon next.

I loved the author’s way of writing states of drunkenness, delusion, lovesickness and lack of sleep. The barely cohesive swapping of words, near poetical rhythmic sense of forward motion. All attempts at philosophical reasoning outside of these states were a little dull and predictable, but there was always a turn which drew Charles into a state... in my mind things despite all the problems seemed to work out a little too well EVERY time. This cat had 10 lives.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps at the time (1953), this was edgy stuff. When you think about it, the 23 year-old protagonist "missed" WWII, but his elders did not; his ennui and shiftlessness make sense as a young man's response to a depressed and aimless post-war world. The looming "Angry Young Man" genre of film and literature is not far behind. The novel is very class-conscious, and this was also probably provocative to Brits at the time, but it doesn't exactly translate well today. However, it's mildly amusing.

[Kathleen Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picaresque novel was so good that when I finished it (last night) I was well-nigh heartbroken. It's hard not to grow so close to the hero (Charles Lumley) that you feel even more suspense, thrill, and despondency than he does as the various twists and turns of the plot unfold. It's side-splittingly funny at some places, crack-up-worthy at others, and always witty.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written a year before Lucky Jim, it has a similar feel to Amis's rather more coherently-plotted work. The episodic nature of the book is it's weakness. There are some excellent set pieces, but it doesn't engage as well as, say, Luck Jim or Room at the Top. However, it's a well-written and enjoyable slide of 1050s fiction.

[Dermot O'Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Closer in tone to Orwell's Aspidistra from 1936 then to the Angry Young Men of the fifties. A mawkishly self-absorbed loner who feels guilt for the middle-class values that bred him and tries to abase himself, convinced that menial, unskilled labour is inherently more virtuous. Plus, of course, painfully awkward relationships with women.

[Jordan Winfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

four stars but my copy had no pages between 148 and 167. one minute lumley was being chased by police and then next he was working in a hospital. i filled in the blanks using my expert brain thoughts though.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this today in a ' meet an old friend for comfort ' kind of way. I haven't read it in ages.
It's very dated but still the Angry Young Man shakes his fist from the pages. It is a timeless classic with some utterly beautiful writing.

[Tasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was really hard for me to get interested in, the main character was a dick and I didn't like what the novel was even about, but overall it had a good ending and I don't regret reading. Still not the kind of book for me. Was way too boring in lots of parts.

[Uri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encara que la idea -un jove universitari que es "desclassa" voluntàriament- i moltes de les reflexions són brutals (especialment tenint en compte l'època, just abans dels 'angries') la història no m'ha acabat d'enganxar. Massa picaresca pel meu gust...

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the author's introduction 25 years after first publication of the book. He describes it as a "youthful firework display" - endearing and enjoyable. I agree!

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/14096393

[Amy Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read that this is known as a commentary on the changing British social structure in the middle of the 20th century. The protagonist struggles to find a place.

[Dan Honeywell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a relatively fun read. It takes you places. Many places.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une lecture qui m'a finalement assez agréablement surprise, je ne m'attendais pas à accrocher autant avec les aventures de Charles Lumley. Traduction plutôt fluide chez les Editions du Typhon.

[T. Tokunaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

【Hurry on Down / John Wain / 1953, 1978 Penguin】

--Mr Blearney was the first man he had ever met who combined a hearty manner with genuine self-confidence. (P104, 5)

This novel is a late-comer's coming-of-age story which revolves with the effort of Charles Lumley, the protagonist, to get away from middle class and try jobs like window cleaning and snuggling driver. So far, so good: but it somewhat feels like a repetition of a young guy's overt self-confidence without the very hearty manner which "criminal" Mr Blearney, the leader of the smugglers has. You'd see the repeating from this chunky passage, for example:

--'I've pestered our news editor into promising that he'll find me a space for it if I can make it good enough, and publish it as a signed series - it might be the making of me.' (P127, 6)

I didn't mind the repetition until it became a crime thriller all of a sudden, around P100. I felt it comfortable to see people trapped in a loop of conventionalism within.

However, when it's actually about depictions (like around P168, the beginning of Chapter 8), it's very pleasing. And the novel reveals when it's actually good, in a brisk manner:

--...that it was this negativeness, this lack of any real Braceweighthood, that has brought the man to his power and wealth. (P173, 8)

--Nothing happened straight: in future it had better be enough that things happened at all. (P227, 9)

Basically, this novel fails in most of its effort to be dramatic, plot-driven adventure, but that doesn't mar its success in occasionally having eye-opening depictions in depth among the surface-running scenes.

[William Childers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this now because Steinbeck, on whom I am currently working, read it in 1954 at the suggestion of his British agent, Graham Watson, and wrote to him on 6 Oct 1954: "On the way [to Florence] I read several of the books you gave me and I see what you mean. Here is genuine revolt against but not much toward. [...] Hurry on Down has some of the real unreal of Kafka and is more impressive after finishing."
Written in an unpretentious free-indirect style, it is a picaresque narrative of disaffected, alienated youth that compares favorably as a first novel with, say, Bellow's "Dangling Man." But occasionally startling, almost surreal passages appear, such as this one on p. 180:

"It was heavy and thundery outside; early August and beginning to get that washed-out feeling of high summer, when the freshness has gone from the leaves. Not that there were any leaves in the streets where he was walking, but outside, in the country, the leaves were drying slowly, and they had whispered their message to be heard in the backyards within the smoke-ring of the city.
"He tried a pub near the hospital, but it was dirty and lonely. A few old men sat staring with red-rimmed eyes into their pints, making the beer look like tears they had dripped into their glasses and were saving for some purpose."

[Frank Callaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book whist perusing a second hand bookshop on a rainy afternoon whilst on a recent holiday.
I was attracted by the outdated and yellowed appearance of a rather old Penguin book, and I noted that the price being asked was £4:20 for a book, which when published, cost two shillings and sixpence. Amazing
I had never heard of the author or the book which was published in 1953, the year of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
It was was outdated in its style as one would expect. A strange storyline about a disaffected young man, fresh out of University, who doesn't want to be part of any rat race. Consequently he drifts into all sorts of jobs, including crime, and he lives in a series of hovels, sheds and bed sits.
It's a rambling through the early life of this somewhat strange fellow, and the writing contains its fair sprinkling of what now would be considered politically incorrect phrasing and references.
Easily read, and not particularly gripping, a book of its era, written in a style that's quick and easy to follow.

[Johns · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cracking good read. Here is the first novel from this versatile English poet and author.

Get past all the Dickensian serendipity that author Wain constantly weaves into the plot as characters keep popping up just when our hero needs a human connection most. This is a solid work that will keep you interested to the last page.

The author, writing in the style of the "angry young men" of his post-war era, distills his acid dislike of inherited English wealth and rigid class consciousness into a good yarn.

Here are two particularly good lines that I filtered out of the book:

Our hero thoroughly attempts to avoid the "raw cult of success" that ensnared one of his social-climbing classmates from university. (pg 11) Good line that.

When encountering a well-to-do gentleman who was to become his employer for a short time, Wain writes these lines about our hero's benefactor's sincerity and honesty, "The man may have come late in life to the beginnings of wisdom, but not too late. The heavy cloth that had bound his eyes was beginning to come unwound: he was beginning to see." (pg 165)

Get the novel, read it and savor some fine writing.

[Amy Carver · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking in anything like a nuanced, humanistic or compassionate approach to the relationship between the individual and the social context that shapes the individual’s place in the wider order of things. The text is pretty clear in its intent to make the reader know it is aware of precarious transitions/divisions between ‘class’ and other forms of (rightly constricting or limiting) ‘social scripting’ in the context of a perennially debased post-war Britain, but just doing that isn’t enough for me. It’s also dire in terms of how the women are represented. There isn’t any where for the novel’s path to go, except back to the (alluded to) start/origins.

[Graham Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book starts off as if it is 'Lucky Jim', and there is one very funny set piece where an aspiring novelist reads from his work. However, it then can't decide whether it wants to be 'Brighton Rock' or 'The History of Mr Polly', and ends up going nowhere at all.

[Simon Blackman · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining read. The main character is interestingly written with some good philosophical musings.

[Annette Kane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting from an historical viewpoint. He had a terrible attitude to women and didn’t seem to know how to portray them at all.

[Brent Coetzee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underrated