“Brilliant. . . . [Sillitoe] has assured himself a place in the history of the English novel.”—The New Yorker
“That rarest of all finds: a genuine no-punches-pulled, unromanticised working class novel. Mr. Sillitoe is a born writer, who knows his milieu and describes it with vivid, loving precision.”—Daily Telegraph
“Sillitoe’s account of the rebellious young factory-fodder hero Arthur Seaton was timely when first published. . . . It is timeless now.”—The Guardian
“One of the best English writers of the day.” —The New York Times Book Review
“There are few writers around who can rival Sillitoe when it comes to the complicated business of noticing things.” —Literary Review
“A master storyteller.” —The Observer
“Miles nearer the real thing than D.H. Lawrence’s mystic, brooding working-men ever came.”—Sunday Express
“Outspoken and vivid.”—Sunday Times, London
