Clayhanger


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(4.3 stars; 28 reviews)

This first of a trilogy of novels is a coming-of-age story set in the Midlands of Victorian England, following Edwin Clayhanger as he leaves school, takes over the family business, and falls in love.
The books are set in Bennett's usual setting of "the 5 Towns", a thinly-disguised version of the six towns of "the Potteries" which amalgamated (at the time of which Bennett was writing) into the borough (and later city) of Stoke-on-Trent.
In one of the earlier chapters in the book, Bennett writes that Edwin had only heard of a philosopher as 'someone who made the best of a bad job' and in some ways that is what Edwin has to do in the book - survive under a stifling layer of conduct imposed by his father, his church and the society he is part of.
(Introduction by Wikipedia, summarised by seasound11) (21 hr 2 min)

Chapters

01 The Last of a Schoolboy 16:43 Read by meyerli
02 The Flame 17:36 Read by Fareeda Amir
03 Entry into the World 20:20 Read by meyerli
04 The Child-Man 17:36 Read by meyerli
05 Mr Shushion's Tear Explained 7:33 Read by meyerli
06 In the House 16:33 Read by meyerli
07 Auntie Hamps 28:24 Read by meyerli
08 In the Shop 15:03 Read by meyerli
09 The Town 18:52 Read by meyerli
10 Free and Easy 24:46 Read by meyerli
11 Son and Father 17:46 Read by meyerli
12 Machinery 29:38 Read by meyerli
13 One Result of Courage 18:57 Read by meyerli
14 The Architect 17:38 Read by meyerli
15 A Decision 15:13 Read by meyerli
16 The Letter 20:27 Read by meyerli
17 End of a Struggle 23:05 Read by meyerli
18 The Visit 21:38 Read by meyerli
19 Father and Son after Seven Years 16:13 Read by meyerli
20 The New House 19:11 Read by meyerli
21 The Two Gardens 19:05 Read by meyerli
22 Clothes 11:11 Read by meyerli
23 Janet Loses her Bet 12:18 Read by meyerli
24 Lane End House 24:32 Read by meyerli
25 The Family Supper 11:36 Read by meyerli
26 In the Porch 25:29 Read by meyerli
27 The Centenary 25:38 Read by meyerli
28 The Bottom of the Square 9:48 Read by meyerli
29 The Top of the Square 14:55 Read by meyerli
30 The Oldest Sunday School Teacher 16:36 Read by meyerli
31 Money 24:39 Read by meyerli
32 The Insult 9:08 Read by meyerli
33 The Sequel 9:50 Read by meyerli
34 Challenge and Response 22:51 Read by meyerli
35 Curiosity 21:55 Read by meyerli
36 A Catastrophe 10:07 Read by meyerli
37 The Man 24:07 Read by meyerli
38 The Marriage 31:11 Read by meyerli
39 After a Funeral 30:32 Read by meyerli
40 The Conclave 21:21 Read by meyerli
41 The Name 13:43 Read by meyerli
42 The Victim of Sympathy 14:58 Read by meyerli
43 The Slave's Fear 13:39 Read by meyerli
44 Keys and Cheques 11:59 Read by meyerli
45 Laid Aside 25:07 Read by meyerli
46 A Change of Mind 19:35 Read by meyerli
47 The Ox 12:55 Read by meyerli
48 Mrs Hamp's as a Young Man 10:41 Read by meyerli
49 An Hour 10:14 Read by meyerli
50 Revenge 10:33 Read by meyerli
51 The Journey Upstairs 13:42 Read by meyerli
52 The Watch 14:29 Read by meyerli
53 The Banquet 20:36 Read by meyerli
54 After the Banquet 22:23 Read by meyerli
55 The Chain Broken 19:44 Read by meyerli
56 The Birthday Visit 23:39 Read by meyerli
57 Janet's Nephew 20:59 Read by meyerli
58 Adventure 23:28 Read by meyerli
59 In Preston Street 21:41 Read by meyerli
60 The Bully 18:29 Read by meyerli
61 The Rendezvous 19:25 Read by meyerli
62 The Wall 13:05 Read by meyerli
63 The Friendship 17:09 Read by meyerli
64 The Arrival 25:21 Read by meyerli
65 George and the Vicar 19:24 Read by meyerli
66 Beginning of the Night 27:13 Read by meyerli
67 End of the Night 21:40 Read by meyerli
68 Her Heart 17:07 Read by meyerli

Reviews

Intolerable reader


(1 stars)

I honestly can't attest to the quality of the story, as I didn't make it to the end of the first chapter. The reader disregards all commas, full stops and other grammar that would denote a pause, which I found incredibly irking.


(3 stars)

The book great until the last chapter. That chapter was confusing and ended abruptly. However the reader was wonderful.


(5 stars)

A interesting,funny,sad story of a man's life.