Barry Desmond is a Wanker (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

Barry Desmond is a wanker. Masturbation has formed the unwelcome backdrop to his life; from his early teens when he was tortured by the belief he was the only one of his peer group doing this thing to himself to the current day when he thinks he must be the only man over 50 still doing it. Barry was the only child born to parents whose own marriage was borne of desperation. Smothered by his parents’ over protective eccentricity his schooldays were difficult and coupled with the guilt over his burgeoning self-abuse, Barry fails to form relationships outside of the family home. He follows his father into a clerical career with the Empire Bank and finds his feet to an extent. He ends up under-achieving by running the Archives Department but eventually doubles it size by employing Danny Holloway as his assistant. For the next twenty-five years the two men manage to keep their heads below the corporate parapet and at home Barry watches as old age engulfs his parents.Then seismic events upturn Barry’s life. His parents die in quick succession and the Empire Bank is seen as a relic of old Britain and is taken over by the Americans. Barry’s job disappears along with his family. Stricken by acute loneliness but blessed with relative inherited and accumulated wealth he resolves to change his life. To go out into the world and form relationships and to live a life. He knows he has to interact with people other than himself and forces himself to do so. Barry’s shares the ethos of his parents’ generation and believes that people are fundamentally decent. But is this really the case in the 21st century? Despite being ill-equipped for an entry into 2000s British society Barry Desmond emerges as the only hero in this final episode of his life.About the AuthorMartin Knight is a British author born in Epsom in Surrey in 1957 mainly associated with working class culture and football literature. In 1999 "Hoolifan" and "The Naughty Nineties" were released; both books dealing with the subject, culture and history of football hooliganism. Knight was co-author with Martin King whose hooligan memoirs form the core of the books. As partners, Knight and King produced "On the Cobbles" the story of Jimmy Stockin a renowned gypsy prize fighter, "Ossie - King of The Bridge" - the autobiography of Chelsea footballing legend Peter and "Grass" covering the exploits of major drug smuggler and Howard Marks’ cohort Phil Sparrowhawk.In 2000 Knight produced his first novel "Common People". In 2003 he collaborated with George Best on his final memoirs before his death, "Scoring At Half Time". In 2004 "The Real Mackay" was released being the autobiography of Spurs, Derby and Scotland football hard man Dave Mackay. 2006 saw the launch of "Battersea Girl" a partly fictionalised account of Knight's grandmother and an biography of Chelsea, Dundee and Aberdeen maestro Charlie Cooke.In partnership with author John King, London Books was launched in 2006. King and Knight edited the company's first title "The Special Ones", a collection of memories and opinions of Chelsea fans and in 2007 books by vintage authors Gerald Kersh, James Curtis and Alan Sillitoe were republished. In 2009 "Gypsy Joe: Bareknuckle Fighter and Professional Golfer" was selected by The Observer as their Sports Book of the Year. His latest book, We Are Not Manslaughterer’s 2010, deals with the events surrounding the Epsom Riot of 1919.Knight also had a long business career starting as a library assistant at the Financial Times and then working for Arab Banking Corporation in Bahrain before founding PressWatch Media now part of Kantar and co-founding Precise Media which was sold to 3i in 2005.