| The Unfortunates | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | B.S. Johnson |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Secker & Warburg |
| Publication date | 1969 |
| Media type | Paperback (27 unbound sections in laminated box) |
| Pages | 244 pages |
| ISBN | 0330353292 |
| OCLC Number | 40588291 |
| Preceded by | Trawl |
| Followed by | House Mother Normal |
The Unfortunates is an experimental "book in a box" written in 1969 by English author B. S. Johnson and reissued in 2008 by New Directions. The 27 chapters are unbound, with a first and last chapter specified. The other 25 sections are designed to be read in any order in between.
A sportswriter is sent to a small city (Nottingham) on an assignment, only to find himself confronted by ghosts from his past. As he attempts to report an association football 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's City Ground, from whence the fictional football club 'City' comes. Part of the unique pleasure of the novel for those who know Nottingham is gradually realising that it is Nottingham being described; making it somewhat Proustian in this regard.
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