Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan - Classic Irish Autobiography & Novel (Nonpareil Books) | Perfect for Literature Lovers, Book Clubs & Irish History Enthusiasts

I gave Borstal Boy five stars not because it is by any means a literary masterpiece, but simply because it is a unique account of a juvenile experience of imprisonment by one of Ireland's most extraordinary 20th-century characters. Behan would become a sort of "enfant grotesque" of the mid-20th-century literary world, but this memoir captures (no pun intended) him in sensitive and sensible mode long before his transition into celebrated if unruly raconteur and writer. There is a lot of Behan here, his Irish Nationalism, his love of song and story, his brave-hearted warm nature, his openness to others, and his ability to be liked by others, often with a cheerful song at the drop of a hat. In essence Behan seems to find a home within the Borstal system, and his account, while there are some rough encounters, is marked moreso by innocence camaraderie good-humour and even kindliness even on the part of the warders or "screws"... I did struggle in the beginning and felt the book was long and slow-moving... But I do think Behan was happy to be back in the world he was remembering. He does not wallow in nostalgia, but there is a wealth of it here... Apart from anything this book will provide a useful and informative insider account of the workings of the juvenile prison system in mid-20th-century England. Complete with rude language and some unsavoury subjects and characters, as you would expect...The older Behan would become a monster devouring himself. There are unsparing accounts of the older Behan in John Ryan's "Remembering How We Stood" (Ryan is perhaps overly gentle with him!), in Anthony Cronin's "Dead as Doornails" (very harsh, dark, true…), and J.P. Donleavy's "The History of the Ginger Man" (equally hilarious and hair-raising!)...This autobiographical account of Brendan Behan's arrest and imprisonment from 1939 until around 1943 in a British Borstal (youth correctional facility)is an outstanding piece of literature.There are four primary strenghts to this great work.First, the language is witty, charming, and creative. I found the mixture of Irish and British male adolescent working class slang to be musical and amusing. Behan had a wonderful sense of dialogue and the manner in which young men verbally duel with each other, striving for rank and dominance and friendship.Second, the story is unique. A 17 year old IRA terrorist is arrested and sent to a youth facility full of adolescent petty criminals. The worlds of incarcerated vs. free; adult vs. adolescent; Catholic vs. Protestant; Irish vs. English: and criminal vs. political prisoner are just a few of the wonderful tensions and juxtapositions that Behan creates.Third, is Behan's slow pace and ability to observe the most remote details, describe them uniquely, and then weave these streams of images together to create a world and to populate it with characters that ring true with every word.Fourth, the story is a tremendous testament to the goodness of mankind. Underneath the tensions, the rivalry, the ideology, the story reveals the simple common kindness of mankind. Brendan Behan may have evoked this kindness through his own exceptional openness and acceptance of his fellowman or he may have observed this kindness through this insightful but possibly biased vision of the innate goodness of mankind; but, none the less, his faith in our sometimes distorted and crippled species shines through the autobiography like a beacon of hope.I wish I could have given more than 5 stars to this superb work. Don't rush through this book. Let Behan take you into his experiences and his kind view of the world of man.Nothing ReferenceI ran across this writer while digging up quotes. Was quite surprised to find such a treasure, like an aged bottle of whisky, without the hangover.Brendan Behan's memoir of his time incarcerated in England , is a comical, sympathetic and humanistic work of art. As a young IRA member arrested in Liverpool at the age of 16 in possession of explosives he demonstrated a remarkably fatalistic viewpoint for someone so young and seemed to take in the experience as an observant participant in a human drama without a hint of self pity.As he begins in a remanded prison before his transfer to London and ultimately to a Borstal (reform school) he meets with a variety of characters both fellow prisoners and "screws" or guards and they populate his story that also includes incredibly detailed descriptions of the routine of a life behind bars.Behan became famous as a playwright and notorious drinker in his later years and died tragically young apparently from years of heavy drinking. He is a writer of great insight and power and should not be missed by anyone interested in Irish literature.Brendan Behan may have been dead these 50 years but this book is like sitting next to him on a barstool telling this slice of his life story. As a teenager, Behan was arrested for his IRA activities and spent some time in custody at various English correctional facilities. He makes friends, he deals with prejudice, he deals with stupid rules. Really nothing happens in this book and yet it was entertaining. Wicked sense of humor and wonderful sense of the man both come through in this story of a young Republican serving his time.Borstal Boy makes me laugh out loud and also reminds me of my time in the British Royal Navy. One of the young Brendan Behan's fellow prisoners in the English young peoples' prison is a sailor named Charlie. The book shows some of the horrors of prison life but also a lot of the camaraderie that goes on whenever boys get together. Brendan Behan is very humorous, especially when writing about his court appearances, and when he's singing in prison. His descriptive language is brilliant, this from the first page, "A young one, with a blonde, Herrenvolk head and a B.B.C. accent shouted, 'I say, greb him, the bestud.' I have read this book at least four times, and will continue to be entertained by the wit and skill of the author. GREAT READ!!!I had heard a lot about this book or would say that it is "famous" and therefore I assumed it was a great piece of literature and had always intended to read it at some point, which I've just done. It is indeed a good story and undoubtedly told by a great raconteur and an intelligent character who lives off his wits. The borstal boy's streetwise confidence and vanity is apparent but his ultimate kindness and fairness also shine through. It rambled on a bit though, with plenty of "blarney" and became rather repetitive. Once you've read a good chunk you more or less get the picture. I felt like I wanted to get to the end once I was half way though, although the last few pages as he leaves and then returns home are actually some of the best. Apparently its autobiographical but I suspect only loosely so. I imagine there's an amount of poetic licence and doubt that all the events and dialogue happened exactly as described unless he has a sensational memory. It was first published nearly 20 years after the events.This book was given to me when I was in my early twenties with the proviso that when I'd finished it I must pass it on. The copy was a 60's Pan paperback - its pages were dog-eared, its spine was broken, the body of the text had fallen into three parts (attempts had been made to hold it together with sticky tape). This was a many times read volume.I kept my part of the bargain and passed it on after I had read it. I know that the friend I gave it to also passed it on. How many more people were able to read it before it finally fell to bits I know not.I can't think of a higher reccomendation for a text.However - one word of warning. This is the (true) story of a teenage IRA Volunteer who came to mainland Britain to engineer an atrocity. This might put off certain readers in the United Kingdom and, given the current political climate and fear of international terrorism, elsewhere in the world.Its an important caveat for terrorism is a difficult issue. One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist and all that.Irish politics does not weigh heavily on the text which is really about the struggle for survival and dignity in the face of the adversity of the penal system. Behan's humanity, courage and basic decency shines throughout and makes this an incredibly uplifting read.His mantra when totally up against it - " What can't be cured must be endured" has stayed with me for the last 25 years and served me well.This is an important book. Read it and pass it on!Read this book years ago but enjoy reading again.This book is brilliant, the language and dialect is so rich you'll re-read sentences again and again, there's some really quite brilliant observed bits of dialogue in here. Behan remembers little nuances in people's speach and character and magnifies it ten fold for the book.Excellent book. CAn't recommend it enough.For a celebrated Irish wit his patter is utter guff.