The Likes of Us: Stories of Five Decades

by Stan Barstow

This classic selection of the best of Stan Barstow’s stories covers the last five decades of British life. A group of young tearaways on a night out that begins with horseplay and ends in tragedy; the loneliness of a drunken miner’s wife; a war-shocked ex-sailor forced beyond endurance; and a factory worker finding his way through his marriage are just a few of the real and involving slices of life that feature ordinary men and women struggling and succeeding. Along with Alan Sillitoe and John Braine, Stan Barstow was considered one of the pioneers of the 1960s school of northern literary realism, paving the way for contemporary authors such Nick Hornby; The Likes of Us will be appreciated by all short story enthusiasts and readers of fiction and literature.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

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

Reviews

[Simon Woodrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

It might be a while before I enjoy a collection of stories as much as I liked this.
This collection of short stories by Stan Barstow, relatively famous for his "kitchen sink" "Brit-lit" tales about the grittiness of real life, was easy to read but poignant and full of depth.
Most of the stories, written between 1961 and 1984, are set in an imaginary but very real Yorkshire town. The characters are working-class or middle-class and the stories cover the realities of daily life whether they be work, imperfect relationships, sex, family struggles, money issues, hopes, dreams and failures or any/all of those things that, while specifically set in the post-austerity years through the 1970's of Northern England. They aren't morality tales, there are generally no real winners or losers, there are some twists but nothing outlandish. Just realistic tales about people in a certain time and place that should still ring true for many peoples' lives today.
At nearly 700 pages, I was a bit apprehensive to dive in, but now I've finished I wish there were another 700 still to go. A real joy of a book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is possibly more of a 3.5 because I did have a couple of reservations about aspects of some of the stories in this collection, but outside of that I enjoyed them. At their best they're poignant but never cloying, and I liked how grounded they were, focussing on relationships, friendships, problems at work... the stuff of ordinary life.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these short stories set in Northern England from the 1950s to the 1980s. It has the feeling of several compilations lumped together for there is a large number of stories – 30 or more. I enjoyed them for being well-written and their sense of time and place. The world Stan Barstow writes about has long gone – smoky taprooms, jobs for life down at the local factory, housewives and cloth-caps and living your life out in the same town. All gone….as has the community that held it all together and the social rules and restrictions that frustrated the young.

Stan Barstow is famous for his angry social realism that burst on the scene in the early `60s, but in the `Likes of Us’ he’s become history himself. Its true some of the stories end somewhat abruptly, they have the feeling of the first chapter of a longer novel and they could have done with sharper editing. He reaches as far as the 1980s but by that time Barstow generally takes the viewpoint of an older person reflecting on their life. There is a quiet melancholic edge to many of them, no melodrama or sensationalism, just voices talking and Barstow relating their stories with sympathy.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories from an acknowledged master of the form. I most enjoyed the earlier ones - they have a freshness and humour that is lacking from some of the more polished later stories. An anthology like this is the perfect kind of book to have on the Kindle - it means you can just dip into it whenever the mood takes you, and in my case that will be often.

[M.K. Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Likes of Us – Stan Barstow 5*
A collection of short stories about working class people more often than not struggling with their lot. Definitely thought provoking, and although you could often guess what was coming you braced yourself for the outcome, all the while willing the characters to take a different path. They rarely did! Still a wonderful read.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great selection of short stories from a master craftsman

[Saba❤️AmongStories · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book.. I couldn't put it down. Each and every story was absorbing and well written. They were entertaining, and some of them thought-provoking. They kept me entertained for a couple of weeks. The characters were very well drawn, and I was soon immersed in each of the tales. They also cleverly captured the different eras in which they were set. It sums it up to say that I was disappointed when I reached the end of the last tale!

[Luke John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stan Barstow is one of the best writers in the kitchen sink space, I would even recommend his A Kind of Loving over Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. In this collection is an opportunity to trace a masters development through a careers worth of short stories. Brilliant.

[Michael O'Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to love Stan Barstow but this was just very depressing - not that I imagine the author meant for it to be uplifting. Had to give up after the fourth story.

[Janetcowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best short stories that will stay with you