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The Bender
A middle class man finds that his life has been ruined by the small size of his inheritance
- GenresFiction
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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About the author
Paul Scott
174 books165 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Paul Mark Scott was an English novelist best known for his tetralogy The Raj Quartet. In the last years of his life, his novel Staying On won the Booker Prize (1977). The series of books was dramatised by Granada Television during the 1980s and won Scott the public and critical acclaim that he had not received during his lifetime.
Born in suburban London, Scott was posted to India, Burma and Malaya during World War II. On return to London he worked as a notable literary agent, before deciding to write full time from 1960. In 1964 he returned to India for a research trip, though he was struggling with ill health and alcoholism. From the material gathered he created the novels that would become The Raj Quartet. In the final years of his life he accepted a visiting professorship at the University of Tulsa, where much of his private archive is held.
Paul Mark Scott was an English novelist best known for his tetralogy The Raj Quartet. In the last years of his life, his novel Staying On won the Booker Prize (1977). The series of books was dramatised by Granada Television during the 1980s and won Scott the public and critical acclaim that he had not received during his lifetime.
Born in suburban London, Scott was posted to India, Burma and Malaya during World War II. On return to London he worked as a notable literary agent, before deciding to write full time from 1960. In 1964 he returned to India for a research trip, though he was struggling with ill health and alcoholism. From the material gathered he created the novels that would become The Raj Quartet. In the final years of his life he accepted a visiting professorship at the University of Tulsa, where much of his private archive is held.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 20, 2022
A difficult one - i think if I hadn't read the Raj Quartet and if I didn't wholeheartedly love it, then I might have been completely stumped by this book. Deceptively short, it was a plodder and took me ages to get through and wasn't easy or enjoyable in some parts, but was beautiful and touching and incredibly well written in others. The final part - the titular Bender - was very moving and uplifting and depressing in equal measures and it did have some sharp humour.
I think if you already know Paul Scott you'll get on with this, but coming to it cold would be puzzling.
I think if you already know Paul Scott you'll get on with this, but coming to it cold would be puzzling.
Displaying 1 of 1 review