The Likes of Us — Stan Barstow

This classic selection of the best of Stan Barstow's stories covers the last five decades of British life. A group of young tearaways on a night out that begins with horseplay and ends in tragedy; the loneliness of a drunken miner's wife; a war-shocked ex-sailor forced beyond endurance; and a factory worker finding his way through his marriage are just a few of the real and involving slices of life that feature ordinary men and women struggling and succeeding. Along with Alan Sillitoe and John Braine, Stan Barstow was considered one of the pioneers of the 1960s school of northern literary realism, paving the way for contemporary authors such Nick Hornby; The Likes of Us will be appreciated by all short story enthusiasts and readers of fiction and literature.