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The Contractor
"The Contractor" is ostensibly about the raising of a tent for a wedding on an English estate. The play's action seems simple: workmen raise a tent, decorate it and finally pull it down. But the small specifics of everyday life are used to explore the inner hostilities, love and conflict of these apparently ordinary people. "David Storey uses the most ordinary situations to the most extraordinary effect"; observed John J. O'Connor in The New York Times, "his tent metaphor gradually encompassing such themes as the disintegration of the family, the social structure, the British Empire and even Western Civilization. The language is almost always casual, yet incessantly ominous. The selectivity is brilliant."
"A subtle and poetic parable about the nature and joy of skilled work, the meaning of community and the effect of its loss."--London Observer
"A subtle and poetic parable about the nature and joy of skilled work, the meaning of community and the effect of its loss."--London Observer
122 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
9 people want to read
About the author
David Storey
85 books29 followersDavid Storey was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a former professional rugby league player. Storey was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1933, and studied at the Slade School of Art.
His first two novels were both published in 1960, a few months apart: This Sporting Life, which won the Macmillan Fiction Award and was adapted for an award-winning 1963 film, and Flight Into Camden, which won the Somerset Maugham Award. His next novel, Radcliffe (1963) met with widespread critical acclaim in both England and the United States, and during the 1960s and 70s, Storey became widely known for his plays, several of which achieved great success.
He returned to fiction in 1972 with Pasmore, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Saville (1976) won the Booker Prize and has been hailed by at least one critic as the best of all the Booker winners. His last novel was Thin-Ice Skater (2004).
David Storey lived in London. He was married and had four children.
His first two novels were both published in 1960, a few months apart: This Sporting Life, which won the Macmillan Fiction Award and was adapted for an award-winning 1963 film, and Flight Into Camden, which won the Somerset Maugham Award. His next novel, Radcliffe (1963) met with widespread critical acclaim in both England and the United States, and during the 1960s and 70s, Storey became widely known for his plays, several of which achieved great success.
He returned to fiction in 1972 with Pasmore, which won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. Saville (1976) won the Booker Prize and has been hailed by at least one critic as the best of all the Booker winners. His last novel was Thin-Ice Skater (2004).
David Storey lived in London. He was married and had four children.
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July 20, 2016
This is the third play I've read by David Storey. I have yet to find a plot or a point. A bunch of characters who laugh for no good reason. Ugh.
Displaying 1 of 1 review