Robert Noonan's masterpiece! - Rated 
What a great read this book is. A superb rendition of a long passed era ....
So much more than than a socialist bible - Rated
To many this is the bible of socialism. True it will reinvigorate the converted and possibly even convert the open minded. But there's much more to it than that.
It is a semi-autobiographical account of the author Robert Tressel. Little is known about Tressel, who died of TB within hours of completing his work, which was published many years later, but he had clearly once enjoyed better times.
The book gives an analysis of the injustices of the capitalist system as perceptive today as it was then. But it also gives a really great historical insight into the sociology of the working class and the class system in that age.
A book that defies you to shut your eyes to reality . . . even today's - Rated
This makes powerful reading. My sense from the start was that the story wasn't fiction outside the names of those peopling it, but in fact the author's own experience of life endured by the working class in England at the turn of 1900. That in itself made it powerful reading.
At times I felt the author's rants about the evils of capitalism and the working class being their own worst enemy tiresome (if true), but then I realised his frustration with the mindset of those he spent his working life with would have made him feel the need to rave. What could be worse than spending your every working day in the company of miserable forelock-tuggers, men who at once idolised and hated their masters, and hated themselves even more. We see much of this frustration in the character Owen and his contempt for his fellow workers for regarding their state of starvation and wretched poverty as a privilege and are fiercely committed to preserving the system that keeps them downtrodden. Kudos to the reader who wrote: 'Not only is capitalism unsustainable but immoral.' One need only look at how far downhill the world had gone (as capitalism has gained a surer foothold) in the hundred years since this book was written to know that. More than ever people find no shame in stepping on (or even stomping on) each other to gain an economic advantage.
When a used-to-be Socialist tells Barrington 'enlightenment will never be brought about by arguing with people,' I couldn't have agreed more. While Barrington took this on board as dishearteningly true, delightfully, it didn't take the fight out of him. If one is passionate about changing injustice, even against the odds, one cannot help but go on fighting the fight to inform and educate others. This book will stay with me for a long time, especially its heroes Owen and Barrington. It's tragic that its author died (apparently in poverty) before its publication and never got to know that people enjoyed reading what he evidently put so much passion into writing. If Tressell were alive today he might weep to see how far down the road of insatiable greed Capitalism has taken more of the world than ever. Who can say if Socialism is the answer to a better world, but it seems to me an alternative to how we now live needs pondering.
Must Read! - Rated
This book is a must read but not for the usually harked reasons. Whilst there is an udoubted socialist line to the book, it is not the be all and end all of the story. Moreover it holds an important historical reference as to working people's lives at the turn of the century, regardless of the politics.
Modern thinkers and the 'left' in particular hold this book as a 'biblical' work of seminal importance (see other reviews!). To me, however, the socialist views contained therein are overplayed in their modern interpretation and I believe the message is more that *people* can triumph rather than any particular political grouping. In fact from the early chapters, I get the distinct impression that Tressle's view is more that ALL politics are stale and offer nothing to working people who are too busy trying to survive to notice anyway.
Regardless of the intended political commentary, however, this book is fantastic in its life and description of the human condition, much of which you will still recognise today.
I write this review as someone with extensive experience in the building industry of the south-east (where the book is set) as well as experience of the left and right of politics and so much rings true even today.
Read it, just remember that it was written in a time when working class people woprked, there was no welfare state and fledgling socialist and trade unions actually had working inetrests at heart rather than todays versions of hyper-salaried 'suits'...!
The best British novel i've read! - Rated
I'll keep this short. This novel is a perfect indictment of capitalism and worker-boss relationships and shows us exactly how the various social elements are used in the subjugation of the workers, such as the "Daily Chloroform" and the corrupt clergyman and false christianity, for the benefit of those who "employ" them.
After all, the "wages of thinking" seem to demand such a high amount of paying and hard graft seems to only beg a pittance of an actual value equating to the work. I agree with Tony Benn, this novel is a torch worth passing down from generation to generation!
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