''The Sweet-Shop Owner'' is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

of English author

Graham Swift Graham Colin Swift FRSL (born 4 May 1949) is an English writer. Born in London, England, he was educated at Dulwich College, London, Queens' College, Cambridge, and later the University of York. Career Some of Swift's books have been filmed, ...

. It was published in 1980 to largely favourable reviews.Triumph of the common man
from ''

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'', Saturday 1 March 2003

Plot introduction

The book is set on a sunny Friday in June 1974 and describes the routine of what turns out to be the last day in the life of Willy Chapman, the eponymous owner of a South London sweet shop. Central to the book is his relationship with his beautiful and yet distant wife Irene who bore him a daughter on the unspoken agreement that no love would be expressed between them. Interspersed with flashbacks to his earlier life, Willy attempts to justify himself to his estranged unforgiving daughter Dorry via an internal monologue.

Reception

*"It might be thought that at moments there is something too writerly about Mr. Chapman's monologue," noted the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', "spoiling its potential pathos with a too poetic or designed articulacy. Even so his final walk across the common on a hot summer day, in excruciating pain from angina, is masterly; intercut with the recollection of a mile race he won at school, the experience is both exciting and deeply poignant." *

Michael Gorra Michael Gorra (born 17 February 1957) is an American professor of English and literature, currently serving as the Mary Augusta Jordan Professor of English Language and Literature at Smith College, where he has taught since 1985. Writing and t ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' criticizes the novel for leaving Irene and Dorry's motives obscure but despite this concludes "''The Sweet-Shop Owner'' is on the whole a remarkable novel - remarkable for its evocation of the catch in the throat of fatherhood, for the sharp comedy with which Mr. Swift describes the bickering of Willy's shop assistants, above all for the skill behind Mr. Swift's ambitious account of the changes time brings to the street where Willy has his shop, to the greengrocer across the way, the barber, the real-estate agent. There is a touch of Joyce in Graham Swift's revelation of the hidden poetry of small men's lives, and ''The Sweet-Shop Owner'' joins ''

Waterland Waterland () is a municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland. It is situated north of Amsterdam, on the western shore of the Markermeer. It is well-known for comprising the touristy towns of Broek in Waterland and M ...

'' in establishing him as one of the brightest promises the English novel has now to offer.

Publication history

*1980, UK, Allan Lane, , Pub date Aug 1980, Hardback *1983, UK, Penguin, , Pub date Feb 1983, Paperback *1985, US, Washington Square Press, , Pub date Jun 1985, Paperback *1986, UK, Penguin, , Pub date Jan 1986, Paperback *1993, UK, Vintage, , Pub date May 1993, Paperback *1997, UK, Picador, , Pub date May 1997, Paperback *1998, Canada, Vintage, , Pub date Sep 1997, Paperback *2010, UK, Picador, , Pub date Apr 2010, Paperback *2011, US, Audiobooks, , Pub date Nov 2011, Audio CD, read by

James Wilby James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor. Early life and education Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...

www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 14 Dec 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet-Shop Owner 1980 British novels Novels set in London Fiction set in 1974 Novels by Graham Swift 1980 debut novels Allen Lane (imprint) books Novels set in one day