Growg Up In Gorbals

by Ralph Glasser

Book by RALPH GLASSER

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Autobiography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 1986

About the author

Ralph Glasser was a Scottish psychologist, economist, advisor to developing countries and author of a highly praised autobiographical trilogy.

Reviews

[Keen Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 Stars!)

My dad grew up in the Gorbals (albeit 30 years after Glasser) and even attended the same school and my great grandfather had worked in Dixon’s Blazes which is mentioned here, so it was really interesting for me to read this. Glasser covers a lot of really interesting ground here, particularly the world wars, the Spanish civil war and the emergence of communism, the story of when his best friend left to go back to the Soviet Union a few years after the Bolshevik revolution in the 20s, he and everyone in the neighbourhood are worried that they still haven’t received any correspondence from them. So after hearing no word he goes to the local library and gets assistance from the librarian who writes to the embassy in London and a while later he receives a reply that states “Communication not permitted” which is all the more chilling in its stone cold brevity.

This has a steely philosophical and political thread running through it that really makes you think about the social and political circumstances that so many people had to endure back then, especially those who had fought in the war on behalf of a ruling elite system that scarcely acknowledged their bravery or suffering afterwards and effectively left them to rot. Although the creeping spectre of poverty and ill health is never too far away, this gritty and compelling text is bursting with some lovely detailed descriptions as he succeeds in bringing to life the grimy, poverty ridden streets of the Gorbals and even conjuring the spirit of the fresh, clean rural air of the emerging Newton Mearns. His prose is rich in flavour and description and evokes the people and places with a pleasing eloquence.

I have to say on a slightly sour note, I did find the lack of dates somewhat confusing and frustrating but thankfully not enough to make a significant difference or detract from what was a highly engrossing account by a whip smart mind on a fascinating yet grim chapter in the history of Glasgow and the UK. This is an inspiration as well as a valuable historical document and I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy. This makes a nice accompaniment to Jimmy Boyle’s “A Sense of Freedom” biography, which is also centred around the Gorbals (again around 30 years later), though both men ended up on very different paths both are very interesting books in their own way.

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a family connection to the Gorbals and wanted to learn more about it, so I enjoyed reading this book. I do wonder, though, how much of his viewpoint of the Gorbals was shaped by his later life. Every woman in the book except for the author's mother was either selling sex, trading sex, using pregnancy to trap men to marry them, or having sex with their younger brothers. I just don't believe this is a true representation of the working-class Gorbals, but perhaps it's the result of Oxford-educated Ralph looking back on his old neighborhood with disdain.

[Seonaid · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times, a pretty powerful representation of life in the Gorbals in the 20s and 30s, filled with detail I did not previously know. There is grim tragedy, such as Glasser's wee friend Charlie going back to the Soviet Union with his parents, for a better life, never to be heard of again, and the warmth of friendship between Ralph and Bernard, who went to Spain to fight with the Republicans, but ended up shooting the 'Unreliables' for them, before fleeing back to Glasgow, disillusioned - so, maybe Ralph should choose his friends better.

Where the book falls down for me is its casual misogyny. To Glasser, every woman bar his mother, is Eve incarnate, and thus to be condemned. For Glasser to want to leave the Gorbals for a better life is fine, but he condemns his sisters for wanting the same. He shows no real understanding of what life for women would have been like, and therefore no forgiveness. I have reached a stage in life where I have no patience for men who blame women for all the ills in their life: it's lazy and tiresome, and reduces the value of the book for me.

[Lesley Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, eye opening, but something missing...........?