'Geoff Dyer['s] voice is unmistakable' Guardian
'Intellectually playful and Stylistically distinctive' Spectator
'Moving, atmospheric, trutheful, perceptive and hilariously funny' TESSA HADLEY
'Perfect' The Times
Born in 1958, the only child of a dinner lady and a sheet-metal worker, Geoff Dyer grew up in a world shaped by memories of shortages and the Second World War. But far from being a story of hardship overcome, Homework is a celebration of opportunities afforded by the post-war settlement.
It captures his time at primary school - discovering the tactile delights of Airfix, the combative seasons of conkers and plagues of verrucas at the local swimming baths. Then, at eleven, comes the crux, the exam that decided the future of generations of British school kids: splitting them between secondary modern and grammar schools. One of the lucky winners, Dyer goes to Cheltenham Grammar School to face the tribulations of teenage life - sport, gig-going, romantic fumblings, fights (well, getting punched in the face) - and other misadventures a place where he develops a love of literature (and beer and prog rock). At the threshold of university, Dyer gets his first intimations that a short geographical journey - just forty miles up the A40 - might drastically change the trajectory of his life.
Recalling an eroded but strangely resilient England, Homework traces roots that extend into the deep foundations of class society. Dyer carries us back, with characteristic comic affection, to the joys and lingering questions of every childhood, and asks what it means to live through an era of intense transformation.
Write a Review
Homework 9781837261987 Hardback
-
Homework by Geoff Dyer
I bought this on the back of a recommendation in The Times, that this was a witty, well written book. Yes, it does capture something of what it was like growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, but in a very academic and matter of fact way. Geoff Dyer did not warm to this reader, nor did he engender any emp…
I bought this on the back of a recommendation in The Times, that this was a witty, well written book. Yes, it does capture something of what it was like growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, but in a very academic and matter of fact way. Geoff Dyer did not warm to this reader, nor did he engender any empathy with his younger self. On the contrary, his (cynical?) view of his parents and relatives left me cold. He decided not to include a childhood nickname, as he hated it, yet was happy to divulge an issue his mother had with her birth marks. Early in the book Geoff Dyer relates to a number of photographs, talking as if we are privy to them, I searched the book and although there were some photographs, the ones mentioned were not displayed. Unless you are a massive Geoff Dyer fan, I wouldn't recommend this as a casual holiday read. Sorry!
- Authors:
- Dyer, Geoff
- Year Published:
- 2025
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Publisher:
- Canongate Books
- Publication Date:
- 29/05/2025
- Format:
- Hardback
- Number of Pages:
- 288
- ISBN:
- 9781837261987
- Illustrations Note:
- B&W photos/images throughout
- Place of Publication:
- Edinburgh
- Language:
- English
- Imprint:
- Canongate Books
- SKU:
- 9781837261987