''The Unfortunates'' is an experimental "book in a box" published in 1969 by English author

B. S. Johnson Bryan Stanley William Johnson (5 February 1933 – 13 November 1973) was an English experimental novelist, poet and literary critic. He also produced television programmes and made films. Early life Johnson was born into a working-class family, ...

and reissued in 2008 by New Directions. The 27 sections are unbound, with a first and last chapter specified: the 25 sections between them, ranging from a single paragraph to 12 pages in length, are designed to be read in any order, giving a total of 15.5 septillion possible combinations that the story can be read in.

Christopher Fowler Christopher Fowler (born 26 March 1953) is an English thriller writer. While working in the British film industry he became the author of fifty novels and short-story collections, including the Bryant & May mysteries, which record the adventures ...

described it as "a fairly straightforward meditation on death and friendship, told through memories."

Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, '' What a ...

described it as "one of the lost masterpieces of the sixties". BBC producer

Lorna Pegram Lorna Pegram born Lorna Gladys Hurst Woods (October 25, 1926 – May 16, 1993) was a British television producer and novelist. She produced '' The Shock of the New'', a series about the development of modern art for the BBC. Pegram wrote seven ...

employed Johnson to talk about this creation for the TV series "Release" after she was lobbied by

Carmen Callil Dame Carmen Thérèse Callil, (15 July 1938 – 17 October 2022) was an Australian publisher, writer and critic who spent most of her career in the United Kingdom. She founded Virago Press in 1973 and received the Benson Medal from the Royal ...

of Panther books. With barely any negotiation the interview was ready months before the book was ready for publication. The film included Johnson holding a mock-up of the book that was not at all similar to the final publication. Johnson said of the book "I did not think then, and do not think now, that this solved the problem completely… But I continue to believe that my solution was nearer; and even if it was only marginally nearer, then it was still a better solution to the problem of conveying the mind’s randomness than the imposed order of a bound book."

Plot

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

is sent to a city (identifiable through landmarks as

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

) on an assignment, only to find himself confronted by ghosts from his past. As he attempts to report an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match, memories of his friend, a tragic victim of cancer, haunt his mind. The city visited remains unnamed, however the novel contains an accurate description of Nottingham landmarks, its streetscape, and its environment in 1969, with additional recallings of 1959. The football ground in the novel is obviously

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...

, whence the fictional football club 'City' comes.

References

External links

New Directions Publishing
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unfortunates 1969 British novels English novels Novels set in Nottinghamshire Panther Books books Nottingham