Room at the Top by John Braine

I can't remember when I last picked up a book by John Braine so, when this one sort of placed itself under my hand, I had to give it another go.

Room at the Top is the gritty story of Joe Lampton, an ambitious young man from a dirty mill town somewhere in the north of England. It's set in the years just after WWII, so some of the references might be lost on modern readers, but that doesn't detract from the brilliance of Braine's writing.

Joe has left his home town, to which he returned after war service, to take a new job in the town hall of a more prosperous area. He falls in love with the town, and is desperate to join the life he sees in the big houses and clubs. He's sensitive and defensive of his origins but desperate to be accepted in his new home. He's handsome, intelligent and ambitious but does his ambition take him too far and too fast? Tragedy and success come in equal measure but Joe finds that adjusting to both harder than he imagined.

Braine engages us with his characters from the first page. His language is lyrical, poetic and beautiful. The Sunday Times said, when the book was published, that it was "Remarkable". I entirely agree, and hope that doesn't sound arrogant. Thoroughly recommended.

Room at the Top is currently published (as a classic) by Arrow Books, ISBN 978-0-099-44536-4