B. S. Johnson - The Unfortunates

Now back in print in a limited quantity, B.S. Johnson’s lost classic has been showered with praise: New York Magazine named The Unfortunates one of their Ten Best Books of 2008, listed in The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2008, and The L.A. Times declared it to be “his most daring work.”

A legendary 1960s experiment in form, The Unfortunates is B. S. Johnson’s famous “book in a box,” in which the chapters are presented unbound, to be read in any order the reader chooses. A sportswriter, sent to a Midlands town on a weekly assignment, finds himself confronted by ghosts from the past when he disembarks at the train station. Memories of one of his best, most trusted friends, a tragically young victim of cancer, begin to flood through his mind as he attempts to go about the routine business of reporting a soccer match.

An Aye-Aye Books British Art Show 7  artist recommendation
We asked artists exhibiting in British Art Show 7: In the Days of the Comet to nominate books they would like visitors to the show to read.
This book was recommended by George Shaw.

Publisher: New Directions Publishing
ISBN: 9780811217439
Pages:  176
Binding: Unbound folio’d pages in a box
Introduction by Jonathan Coe
Dimensions: 210 x 130 mm

Price: £17.99

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