Second From Last In The Sack Race

  This is a book about...

On March 13th 1935, at Number 23 Paradise Lane, Thurmarsh, Henry Pratt was born.

This is the story of young Henry's struggle from the poverty of South Yorkshire, through the hardship of World War II and the terror of public school.

Short sighted, plump un-athletic and over imaginative, with a parrot strangler for a father, Henry has the world against him from the outset. Especially with the prospect of war looming and the possibility of Hitler invading our Isles.

Throughout the story Henry tries in vain to find friends, religion, sex and the meaning of his own existence. What he finds is not what he expects.

Yet history loves a loser. And Henry is the typical anti-hero. This book is a thrilling tale of his battle to find frienship and happiness in a world where everyone and everything seems to be against him.

  I especially liked...

The book is pure fiction set in a realistic environment. All the events are real and the comedy arises from the fact that we have all, at some time or another, have found ouselves in a similar predicament to poor Henry. At times the reader will love and loathe our hero yet deep down we discover a part of Henry Pratt in our very selves.

  When I finished this book I wanted to...

Read it again!

  This book made me feel...

I have never laughed so much at one book. There are times when you want to laugh and times when you want to cry, but you will never stop smiling.

  The author of this book...

David Nobbs. Very under-rated. One of the few authors who can combine the very difficult task of writing very funny stories but at the same time making them believable.

  I recommend this book because...

It is light-hearted, funny and everbody can relate to the characters. We all know an Ezra Pratt or a cousin Hilda - we just wouldn't dare writing about them!

  I don't recommend this book because...

The book is set in South Yorkshire and typical English Grammer Schools of the 1940/50's. Some people, if unfamiliar with regional dialects, may struggle to understand some of the humour. But persevere - it's worth it...

  Further Comments...

The book is pure fiction, yet it is written in such brilliant style that one cannot help but feel that somewhere at sometime Henry Pratt lived his hopeless existence. Nobbs manages to make a normal non-descript anti-hero and make him into a very real and lovable character. Very few writers can achieve this and Nobbs must be admired for his skill.

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