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Injury Time
2nd VG/Vg signed to John Pinsent.
159 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
17 people are currently reading
661 people want to read
About the author
Beryl Bainbridge
57 books181 followersDame Beryl Margaret Bainbridge DBE was an English writer from Liverpool. She was primarily known for her works of psychological fiction, often set among the English working classes. Bainbridge won the Whitbread Award twice and was nominated for the Booker Prize five times. In 2008, The Times newspaper named Bainbridge among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
December 15, 2018
My first Bainbridge. What an awful title, perhaps the worst for a novel, ever. I was captivated by the prose and the deliciously satirical humor that, reminiscent of but edgier than Barbara Pym, left me room to care about at least some of the characters I was laughing at. But there is a rape near the end that is treated solely in black comedic terms, which pretty much ruined the novel for me. I am on a bit of a reading journey, trying to get comfortable with and enjoy satire, or at least understand more deeply why I've always felt discomfited by it, but rape is and always will be beyond the satiric pale. I am still curious to read more by Bainbridge but this one left an outrageous stink in my mouth. Rape is not funny, for fuck's sake.
August 1, 2022
ادوارد و بینی دور از چشم همسر ادوارد، هلن، با هم رابطه دارن و یک شب دوست ادوارد، سیمپسون و همسرش موریل رو برای شام دعوت میکنن. داستان ابتدا با مقدمات این شام و دیالوگ های دو نفره و فکر های شخصیت ها شروع میشه تا میهمانی شام و صحبت های چهار نفره. دو تا اتفاق مهم در این شب میفته یکی ورود سرزده ی دوست بینی به اسم الما که مست اونجا میرسه و بعدی ورود چند خلافکار به این خونه و ادامه ی ماجرا ها. خیلی صحبتی راجع به این کتاب ندارم چون حرف حساب نویسنده رو متوجه نشدم. کتابی نیست که من به کسی توصیه کنم بخونه ولی اونجوری هم نیست که اگه ببینم کسی داره میخونه منصرفش کنم. 2.5 امتیاز منصفانه تری هست.ه
September 20, 2014
"He almost took the wrong turning at the next roundabout. Muriel remained silent but pointed a contemptuous finger, at the last moment, in the correct direction"
Its that little clause at the last moment that captures the delight of this odd awkward story. The awkwardness is not of the writing, the writing is a pure delight, Beryl Bainbridge has a great ability to capture dialogue and internal thinking in an off the wall amusing fashion. No, the awkwardness is in the plot which is weird, unnerving and deliciously uncomfortable.
A man, succumbing to the pressure of his mistress, asks a bloke with whom he works to come to supper and bring his wife so as to give his mistress, Binny, a sense of worth or recognition. She assumes they are close friends of his but we know that the man is a work colleague and Edward, the mistress' beau, has never met the man's wife. Thus he regularly calls Muriel, Miriam.
The awkward pre meal chat morphs into the awkward chomping through over cooked supper (the guests arrived late in part because of the quotation at the head of the review). A drunken next door neighbour of Binny trips up the steps and wobbles her way into the supper gathering, her overly made up face and dubious dress look out of place in the atmosphere, an atmosphere which you could quite happily pare with an elegantly turned fruit knife. She imbibes a tad more and then falls noisily asleep and then, just as we had forgotten about her lying in amidst the discoloured soft furnishings, she projectile vomits her way right back into the conversation. The vomit is preceded by four failed bank robbers smashing their way into the house and then the police encircle, the hostages chat to and are ignored by their captors except for one of the miscreants who seems kinder but shows himself worse.
The story ends but doesn't really; Is there a death, Is there an escape, Is there a resolution to the many relational threads that seem left blowing in the wind.........read it, and see what you think or would guess or might assume.
Its that little clause at the last moment that captures the delight of this odd awkward story. The awkwardness is not of the writing, the writing is a pure delight, Beryl Bainbridge has a great ability to capture dialogue and internal thinking in an off the wall amusing fashion. No, the awkwardness is in the plot which is weird, unnerving and deliciously uncomfortable.
A man, succumbing to the pressure of his mistress, asks a bloke with whom he works to come to supper and bring his wife so as to give his mistress, Binny, a sense of worth or recognition. She assumes they are close friends of his but we know that the man is a work colleague and Edward, the mistress' beau, has never met the man's wife. Thus he regularly calls Muriel, Miriam.
The awkward pre meal chat morphs into the awkward chomping through over cooked supper (the guests arrived late in part because of the quotation at the head of the review). A drunken next door neighbour of Binny trips up the steps and wobbles her way into the supper gathering, her overly made up face and dubious dress look out of place in the atmosphere, an atmosphere which you could quite happily pare with an elegantly turned fruit knife. She imbibes a tad more and then falls noisily asleep and then, just as we had forgotten about her lying in amidst the discoloured soft furnishings, she projectile vomits her way right back into the conversation. The vomit is preceded by four failed bank robbers smashing their way into the house and then the police encircle, the hostages chat to and are ignored by their captors except for one of the miscreants who seems kinder but shows himself worse.
The story ends but doesn't really; Is there a death, Is there an escape, Is there a resolution to the many relational threads that seem left blowing in the wind.........read it, and see what you think or would guess or might assume.
June 4, 2020
"Being constantly with children was like wearing a pair of shoes that were expensive and too small. She couldn't bear to throw them out, but they gave her blisters."
I was rather wary of picking up another Beryl Bainbridge novel. The last one I read I found very peculiar indeed and found myself being rather put off her work. How wrong I was! 'Injury Time' was witty, sarcastic, and just a downright fun read mixed with a big dash of black comedy.
Based roughly on the terrible Balcombe Street Siege of 1975, the story follows pompous, middle aged accountant Edward, who is conducting an affair with his mistress Binny. Edward decides to throw a dinner party for his friend Simpson and his wife Muriel, and allows Binny the 'privilege' of having the meal at her house. Binny is terrified of being in a social situation with Edward's friends, especially as they both know of Edward's affair, and she feels as though she will be horrendously judged.
However, luckily, the party is barely into the swing of it when things start to go horribly wrong, and 2 men appear at the house, ready to use the guests as hostages...
I never realised actually, how hilarious Bainbridge's writing is; she has such a great sense of humour and is wonderful at noticing and highlighting the intricacies of relationships that are often glossed over in typical 'romance' novels and films.
I was rather wary of picking up another Beryl Bainbridge novel. The last one I read I found very peculiar indeed and found myself being rather put off her work. How wrong I was! 'Injury Time' was witty, sarcastic, and just a downright fun read mixed with a big dash of black comedy.
Based roughly on the terrible Balcombe Street Siege of 1975, the story follows pompous, middle aged accountant Edward, who is conducting an affair with his mistress Binny. Edward decides to throw a dinner party for his friend Simpson and his wife Muriel, and allows Binny the 'privilege' of having the meal at her house. Binny is terrified of being in a social situation with Edward's friends, especially as they both know of Edward's affair, and she feels as though she will be horrendously judged.
However, luckily, the party is barely into the swing of it when things start to go horribly wrong, and 2 men appear at the house, ready to use the guests as hostages...
I never realised actually, how hilarious Bainbridge's writing is; she has such a great sense of humour and is wonderful at noticing and highlighting the intricacies of relationships that are often glossed over in typical 'romance' novels and films.
October 9, 2016
Dark, shocking, witty and thought-provoking. Bainbridge gripped me with her controversial story and intriguing characters.
April 7, 2020
Edward Freeman is a middle-aged, middle-class tax accountant, a pipe smoker and a keen gardner, married to Helen but having an affair with the working-class Binny Mills on the side.
Binny is divorced, has three children and doesn't really ask much in terms of commitment from Edward, though some sort of show of togetherness would be nice.
So a dinner party is organised at Binny's house, with Edward's friend George Simpson and his wife Muriel making up the foursome. George is glad to have made this concession to Binny, though he doesn't even particularly like George and has never even met Muriel.
He worries that something may go wrong though. It does, only not as he imagined.
Edward is somewhat pompous, George an adulterer himself, Muriel is clearly unhappy with her husband and Binny receives no respect from her two eldest children. Her best friend, Alma, is an incorrigible alcoholic. None of them are people built for a crisis.
Beryl Bainbridge is a really fun novelist, witty and concise, sharp as a tack as she jerks her characters around, though not without a certain empathy and pathos.
Injury Time is a little slight perhaps, but it certainly raised a few bitter-sweet laughs.
Binny is divorced, has three children and doesn't really ask much in terms of commitment from Edward, though some sort of show of togetherness would be nice.
So a dinner party is organised at Binny's house, with Edward's friend George Simpson and his wife Muriel making up the foursome. George is glad to have made this concession to Binny, though he doesn't even particularly like George and has never even met Muriel.
He worries that something may go wrong though. It does, only not as he imagined.
Edward is somewhat pompous, George an adulterer himself, Muriel is clearly unhappy with her husband and Binny receives no respect from her two eldest children. Her best friend, Alma, is an incorrigible alcoholic. None of them are people built for a crisis.
Beryl Bainbridge is a really fun novelist, witty and concise, sharp as a tack as she jerks her characters around, though not without a certain empathy and pathos.
Injury Time is a little slight perhaps, but it certainly raised a few bitter-sweet laughs.
December 14, 2011
A novel about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Very human, very funny but at times difficult to follow exactly what is happening. I ached for many of the characters who pine for something better but don't seem to be able to achieve it. Very true to life - and all the action takes place in less than 24 hours.
July 9, 2015
Reminded me of the dark, ironic humor of Muriel Spark, with its well-presented characters and element of suspense.
December 1, 2023
Setting: London, England; 1970's.
Edward is visiting his mistress, Binny, who has insisted on hosting a dinner party for a couple of his married friends, the Simpsons. But the party is disrupted by the arrival of one of Binny's friends, Alma, in a distressed state but worse is to come when a gang of armed robbers break into the house trying to escape from the police and hold all of them hostage....
This was quite a good read overall - the setting, characters and description of the events were well-described - but the ending was a real disappointment for me, hence only a 3-star rating from me - 6.5/10.
Edward is visiting his mistress, Binny, who has insisted on hosting a dinner party for a couple of his married friends, the Simpsons. But the party is disrupted by the arrival of one of Binny's friends, Alma, in a distressed state but worse is to come when a gang of armed robbers break into the house trying to escape from the police and hold all of them hostage....
This was quite a good read overall - the setting, characters and description of the events were well-described - but the ending was a real disappointment for me, hence only a 3-star rating from me - 6.5/10.
January 31, 2013
3.5 stars...better than 3 but not quite 4....
Beryl Bainbridge has a knack for creating a vivid slice of life for her readers - but with an economical use of language and story telling. It seems amazing to me that in barely over 200 pages she has given me and adulterous affair, a bizarre dinner party, bank robbers and a hostage situation. Bainbridge give us only the information we need, only the backstory that is relevant. Edward is a dull married man with an average life until he settles into his affair with Binny - a divorced mother of three totally out of control children. In the hopes of feeling more like a real couple, they decide to host a dinner part for Edwards co-worker and wife. Each come to the table with their own emotional issues but everything comes to a head when a trio of bank robbers crash the party. It really is as insane as it sounds and yet, it generally works. Bainbridge doesn't turn the story into melodrama - she manages to raise the humor along with the tension as the crisis comes to a head. The story ends abruptly and left me wondering about a few plot points but I suppose that is part of the charm. Life is absurd and Beryl is out to prove it.
Beryl Bainbridge has a knack for creating a vivid slice of life for her readers - but with an economical use of language and story telling. It seems amazing to me that in barely over 200 pages she has given me and adulterous affair, a bizarre dinner party, bank robbers and a hostage situation. Bainbridge give us only the information we need, only the backstory that is relevant. Edward is a dull married man with an average life until he settles into his affair with Binny - a divorced mother of three totally out of control children. In the hopes of feeling more like a real couple, they decide to host a dinner part for Edwards co-worker and wife. Each come to the table with their own emotional issues but everything comes to a head when a trio of bank robbers crash the party. It really is as insane as it sounds and yet, it generally works. Bainbridge doesn't turn the story into melodrama - she manages to raise the humor along with the tension as the crisis comes to a head. The story ends abruptly and left me wondering about a few plot points but I suppose that is part of the charm. Life is absurd and Beryl is out to prove it.
December 28, 2011
"Una obra sagaz y afiliada que se lee con deleite y se consume con fruición resultando imposible separarse de ella hasta terminarla"
La apreciada por sus obras y criticada por sus opiniones escritora británica ha sido recuperada por la editorial Ático de los libros en toda su salsa, poniendo la carne en el asador (es decir, de cena) y disparando a todo lo que se mueve y cornea (es decir, a los infieles). Cuenta este libro de humor ácido, hiriente y corrosivo con el recurso fácil de la estupidez masculina, refrendado en ocasiones por la la misma en el otro género.
http://www.elplacerdelalectura.com/20...
La apreciada por sus obras y criticada por sus opiniones escritora británica ha sido recuperada por la editorial Ático de los libros en toda su salsa, poniendo la carne en el asador (es decir, de cena) y disparando a todo lo que se mueve y cornea (es decir, a los infieles). Cuenta este libro de humor ácido, hiriente y corrosivo con el recurso fácil de la estupidez masculina, refrendado en ocasiones por la la misma en el otro género.
http://www.elplacerdelalectura.com/20...
November 7, 2012
It was hard to walk while listening to this book as I had to keep stopping to double up with laughter. The humour is black, there is no doubt about that, it reminded me of one of my favourite films "In Bruges". Loved the major characters. Especially loved Binny's neighbour, Alma, she was very special. The humour, the characters and the plot were all executed beautifully. The end was abrupt, I couldn't believe it stopped when it did, but, upon reflection, I could understand Ms Bainbridge's intention. I am all for trying some more of her novels.
November 24, 2017
Every now and then one should read an early Beryl Bainbridge or a Muriel Spark to remind oneself just how good these writers can be in 200 pages whilst so many contemporary writers produce 1000 page tomes. This one is about a small dinner party attended by adulterous couples which is gate crashed by some bank robbers. If mindless violence, mental cruelty, an abduction and a nasty little rape can be deemed amusing, this is the book for you. Serious subjects dealt with a cruel irony that is such a feature of Beryl's non historic fiction. One laughs very uncomfortably.
August 20, 2020
An original, hilarious, inventive novel. This is the first time I have read Beryl Bainbridge and I am hooked. The way she deals with the sexist assumptions of her time is revolutionary. Her technique of not quite entering into the inner world of her characters but portraying their state of mind through outward actions and inconsequential thoughts is highly effective. It reminds me somewhat of Penelope Fitzgerald, whom I recently also discovered. These women writing in the 70s, 80s, 90s have so much to teach us. Apart from just being great reads!
August 2, 2012
With this book, I realize why I dislike "black comedy". The tone of the book changes abruptly and completely in the middle and I found nothing comical about the last half of the book especially the ending. I don't find graphic violence comedic.
January 1, 2010
this is very funny !! it's great to read something that makes you laugh out load ! I its just a tale of everyday folk in London but I would highly recommend it
June 15, 2012
humourous at the beginning of the story ---The last half on the novel is wierd violent and not as humourous. There is an abrupt ending.
October 25, 2012
This black farce has an unreal, dreamlike quality to it, so don't expect neat endings and rational characters. Reminds me, in tone, of Joe Orton's plays.
January 17, 2009
this is painful.
July 2, 2017
“Alma was always trying to get her to go on little holidays. Binny had accompanied her once to Brighton for three days and returned practically an alcoholic. Last summer Alma had wanted her to fly on a package deal to Tunisia. She said it was very cheap and would do her the world of good. Binny hadn’t gone. Alma had come home with a stubborn case of crabs which she said she’d caught off a camel."
February 14, 2022
Excellent 70s English comedy-of-manners (think History Man, Changing Places, Abigail's Party) with superb internal/external dialogues, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as the "plot" meanders along entertainingly/unpredictably.
March 24, 2024
can’t stop thinking about what a good movie this would make—I’m always saying how desperate I am for more plots to turn on a dime at the halfway mark
March 11, 2022
tbf i thought this was better than the rest of the bookclub gave it credit for
October 21, 2018
کتاب نسبتا جذابی بود با ماجراهای کوچک جالب.
داستان یک مهمانی که بستر حوادث جالبی میشه. به نظرم کتاب پیامهای جالبی داشت البته با ترجمه افتضاح.
داستان یک مهمانی که بستر حوادث جالبی میشه. به نظرم کتاب پیامهای جالبی داشت البته با ترجمه افتضاح.
January 3, 2017
A witty, dark, and psychological exploration of not especially likeable characters. I enjoyed the humour as well as the writing style and will read more of this author.
March 29, 2016
Not sure what to think about this one. I enjoyed reading it, but I don't know whether I missed the point, or whether there even was a point. I guess a story can be a story just for the sake of it, but I ain't a kid no' mo'. There should probably be a worthwhile reason for me to spend my precious time reading a book, beyond the mere passing of said time.
There was some nice writing in Injury Time, some fairly tight plotting, and some interesting relationships, but nothing that you want to see happen actually happens. And then some things happen that you weren't expecting, and didn't really want to happen - one of them more than a little unpleasant, but it is handled in such a casual way that I wondered whether I was supposed to feel anything about it. Or was that the point?
And then there's no actual ending or resolution of any kind. It's a good thing the book is so short, because you can get on to the next thing you want to read quicker, and you don't feel like you've invested too much into it. But yeah, it's all a bit "what?"
There was some nice writing in Injury Time, some fairly tight plotting, and some interesting relationships, but nothing that you want to see happen actually happens. And then some things happen that you weren't expecting, and didn't really want to happen - one of them more than a little unpleasant, but it is handled in such a casual way that I wondered whether I was supposed to feel anything about it. Or was that the point?
And then there's no actual ending or resolution of any kind. It's a good thing the book is so short, because you can get on to the next thing you want to read quicker, and you don't feel like you've invested too much into it. But yeah, it's all a bit "what?"
August 13, 2019
This book dates back to the early 1990's when social class, punk fashion and rape were a lot funnier. However, looking at this book and placing it into perspective in terms of when it was written, it was probably a lot funnier back then too. Or maybe only to those who found humor in poking fun at this stuff, as social change meant a change to another humor. (Goodbye "Morecombe & Wise" and "Borscht Belt", hello "Black Adder" and "Saturday Night Live.") The story creaked along with old jokes and situations before its abrupt end but it's time was long past anyway so a quick hook was very welcome by then.
October 8, 2017
Beryl Bainbridge was a fantastic writer, she never seemed to quite get the recognition she deserved. Injury Time was written in 1977 so it is a little dated by today's standards but so funny with her acerbic wit and character observations. The story begins with fairly usual shenanigans of married men and their girlfriends but soon spirals out into chaos at a fateful 'dinner party'. The characterisation is amazingly convincing, especially that of Binny and Alma, flawed yet poignant, characters you can uncomfortably relate to! I laughed all the way through and my only criticism is that I wanted it to go on longer, it is quite short and it seems to just stop in the middle of nowhere.
October 18, 2012
I had previously read two novels by Beryl Bainbridge, only one of which ("An Awfully Big Adventure") I enjoyed. The one book of hers that I really wanted to read was Injury Time. It is a very short novel that turns out to be a comedy thriller. Edward and Binny (his mistress) are throwing a dinner party for one of Edwards' work colleagues called Simpson and his wife. Not all goes to plan and later they have some unwelcome visitors. It is a light read, but the author is a great writer, and the story gathers pace through to a traumatic conclusion.
May 30, 2016
Another novel from Beryl Bainbridge - her eighth - and another to explore that seventies world redolent of grapefruit as a starter, long flowing dresses and philandering. The first half of the novel is a comedy of manners that recalls Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party - roughly contemporaneous - but it all goes a bit over the top in its closing pages, albeit in quite amusing, highly farcical style. Adultery statistics must be impossible to measure but I wonder if there has or hasn't been a drop off in the subsequent half-century.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews