A Glasgow Trilogy: The Boy Who Wanted Peace; Grace and Miss Partridge; Mr Alfred M.A.

Canongate Classics

by George Friel, Gordon Jarvie (Introduction)

Distinguished by irony, compassion and the author's own dry wit, these three novels paint a memorable picture of life in the streets, schools and tenements of Glasgow in the 1950s and 60s.

With a unique vision of loneliness, old age, sexual longing, hot young blood and youth's casual cruelty, George Friel's books explore a dark comedy of tangled communication, human need and fading community. All these elements come together in the humorous parable of greed, religion and slum youth that is The Boy Who Wanted Peace; in the fate of old and disturbed Miss Partridge who is obsessed with the innocence of young Grace; and in the mental collapse of Mr Alfred, a middle-aged schoolteacher who is in love with one of this pupils. The humour, realism and moral concern of Friel's work clearly anticipate and stand alongside the novels of Alan Spence, Alasdair Gray, William McIlvanney and James Kelman.

Genres: Fiction, Cities

608 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

George Friel (1910 - 1975) was a Scottish writer. He was born in Glasgow as the fourth of seven children, and was educated at St. Mungo's Academy and the University of Glasgow. After a period of service in the army, he spent the rest of his life working as a teacher in Glasgow.

Friel's fourth novel, Mr. Alfred M.A., made it to the "100 Best Scottish Books of all Time" list.

Reviews

[Rory Weeks · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Boy Who Wanted Peace" was by far my favorite of the three novels. Very witty and enjoyable parable (3.5/5). "Grace and Miss Partridge" was just...not good. Unenjoyable and a chore to get through (1/5). "Mr Alfred M.A." was better (2/5), although the entire Lolita-esque storyline in the first half of the novel really didn't need to be included, so that was certainly a choice. The second part of this one, about the rise of ned culture and gang violence in Glasgow, was much more interesting and far less gross to read than part one.

I think my biggest takeaway from this trilogy is that I would not have wanted to grow up in Glasgow in the 1950s and 60s...

[Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad I’ve read it.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the story. This was the first book I attempted when I moved from Glasgow to Japan so I was feeling a tad homesick. However the very fact that this was written with a bit of a Weegie accent guaranteed I'd finish it. I think "The Boy Who Wanted Peace" is one of my favourite novels ever now. The other 2 require a bit more patience and I ended up just feeling really sorry for both Miss Partridge in the 2 books as they were very lonely charcters. All in all the perfect tonic for me to remind me of home!

[Joshua Yang]

Almighty El!