Borstal Boy
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Borstal Boy (1958) is an autobiographical novel by Irish nationalist Brendan Behan, recounting his imprisonment at Hollesley Bay for carrying explosives into the United Kingdom, with intent to cause explosions on a mission for the I.R.A.. The story takes its name from the Borstal, a British jail for juveniles, of which Hollesley was one. The book was banned in Ireland on the grounds of obscenity.
The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan who loses his naivete over the three years of his sentence, softening his radical stance and warming to the other prisoners. From a technical standpoint, the novel is chiefly notable for the art with which it captures the lively dialog of the Borstal inmates, with all the variety of the British Isles' many subtly distinctive accents intact on the page.
In 1967, the story debuted as a play, adapted by Frank McMahon and staged at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, with Frank Grimes as the young Behan. McMahon won a Tony Award in 1971 for his adaptation, while Grimes received a Best Actor nomination.
The Faces wrote a song about the book and included it on their 1973 album, Ooh La La. Then, in 2000, the book was adapted again, as a film, directed by Peter Sheridan, starring Shawn Hatosy and Danny Dyer.
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