by Brian Thompson (Author)
Brian Thompson never had to look very hard for trouble. His unorthodox childhood and his eccentric parents guaranteed that. But when, aged eighteen, Brian left home he was determined to enjoy a life of unstinting ordinariness, taking advantage of a Britain that would 'never have it so good'. National Service led to foreign travel to Kenya, skirmishes with the Mau Mau and a request to fix the results of his platoon sergeant's English exam, one Idi Amin. Even when Brian was safe on English soil he was still confounded in his ambition to lead a quiet life. His limp attempt at University entrance - a single letter on some stolen NAAFI headed paper - led to admittance to Trinity College Cambridge and the niceties of middle class student life. And then there was rock and roll. And girls. Suitably confused, Brian did what was considered to be the right thing. He married the Clever Girl.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Edition: Main
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Published: 13 Sep 2007
ISBN 10: 1843545454
ISBN 13: 9781843545453
Book Overview: 'A work of utmost clarity and insight, a moving rite of passage through the embers of Empire and the stillness of a Fifties England not yet born anew... Almost every page contains an observation so baldly funny that you will wish to commit it to memory... Publishers know too well how many people think they can write a valuable memoir and how few really can.' Simon Garfield Observer. Clever Girl is now available in paperback.