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Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky
Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky: A London Trilogy | Patrick Hamilton
10 posts | 4 read | 10 to read
Patrick Hamilton may be best known now for the plays Rope and Gaslight and for the classic Alfred Hitchcock and George Cukor movies they inspired, but in his heyday he was no less famous for his brooding tales of London life. Featuring a Dickensian cast of pubcrawlers, prostitutes, lowlifes, and just plain losers who are looking for loveor just an ear to bendHamiltons novels are a triumph of deft characterization, offbeat humor, unlikely compassion, and raw suspense. In recent years, Hamilton has undergone a remarkable revival, with his champions including Doris Lessing, David Lodge, Nick Hornby, and Sarah Waters. Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky is a tale of obsession and betrayal that centers on a seedy pub in a run-down part of London. Bob the waiter skimps and saves and fantasizes about writing a novel, until he falls for the pretty prostitute Jenny and blows it all. Kindly Ella, Bobs co-worker, adores Bob, but is condemned to enjoy nothing more than the attentions of the insufferable Mr. Eccles; Jenny, out on the street, is out of love, hope, and money. We watch with pity and horror as these three vulnerable and yet compellingly ordinary people meet and play out bitter comedies of longing and frustration.
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review
sisilia
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5⭐️ I love this trilogy of unrequited love within the desolate lives of London. Hamilton has a gift for characterization; I was drawn into the madness of the behaviour of each of his characters. It‘s pretty harsh for my weak heart, it‘s heartbreaking, it‘s tragic, and it‘s well worth a read

43 likes1 stack add
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sisilia
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Book 3. Ella works in the same bar as Bob. She loves Bob, but he is not interested in her. She has an elderly admirer instead. An annoying old guy, I must say. The conversations between these two made me want to pull my hair out. Passive aggressive to the max!

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sisilia
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Book 2 💕 This is the story of the birth of Jenny Maple, the prostitute whom Bob (from Book 1) loves very much. Years ago, the prostitute‘s name was Jane Taylor - a poor, pretty girl, whose life took a turn after one night drinking with a friend and two random guys

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sisilia
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The first book of the London trilogy. Bob is a waiter with decent savings, and he fell in love with a beautiful prostitute. The girl is just taking advantage of him, but Bob is blinded with obsession. My heart ached as Bob knowingly walked into his ruin 💔

Cathythoughts Sounds good ! Stacked 3y
sisilia It‘s worth adding to TBR. It‘s a combination of his other work The Slaves of Solitude and Barbara Comyns‘ Our Spoons Came from Woolworths @Cathythoughts 3y
39 likes2 comments
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sisilia
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The art on the cover of the tagged book. The Long House (Red Bathroom/Blue Figure) by Laurie Simmons. Gorgeous! 😍

JamieArc This looks so interesting! 3y
39 likes2 comments
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sisilia
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Saturday 6.47AM, in bed with this book. I‘m enjoying it so far. Patrick Hamilton is sooooo good that he stirs all the emotions in me

erzascarletbookgasm Look forward to your review. The blurb sounds like something I‘ll like. 3y
sisilia @erzascarletbookgasm I‘m enjoying it so far. It‘s very readable 👍🏻 3y
59 likes2 comments
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sisilia
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Starting this… my second Patrick Hamilton. I enjoyed his work in The Slaves of Solitude. I hope this is as good… or better 🤞🏻

kspenmoll Love the cover! 3y
47 likes1 comment
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The_Penniless_Author
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Pickpick

A series of character studies centered around a pub in a backwater, working-class section of London, a perfect setting for outsized hopes and dreams that will never be realized. The cycle of boozing self-aggrandizment, followed by crippling hangovers and self-loathing contains all the pathos and comedy a good writer needs to plumb the depths of the human condition. Fortunately Hamilton is a great writer, and this book is a true gem.

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KateFulfordAuthor
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#inlaws #reviews #others You may never have heard of Patrick Hamilton, but you will have heard the term ‘gaslighting‘. This book is an evocation of lives lived in London in the 1930s. It exquisitely details the minutiae of every day experience

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RowReads1
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