Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Billy Liar was published in 1959 and is set in 1950s Yorkshire. Much has changed in the fifty years or so since then, but the human condition remains the same.
Picture: Billy Liar
Billy Fisher
The eponymous Billy is Billy Fisher, a teenager from a dull working class family in a dull working class Northern town. He lives at home with his family and has a dull job as a clerk in the local undertakers.
Like many people, Billy finds solace in fantasy and escapes from his dreary life in to daydreams. Billy doesn't just dream of becoming a movie star or winning the pools. His daydreams are on a far grander scale and he has invented a whole country called Ambrosia. In Ambrosia he can - depending on his mood - be the world's greatest lover, single-handedly save the country from invasion or have his entire family beheaded.
Unfortunately Billy is unable to keep his imagination in check and it intrudes into "real" life. We've all met people like Billy. He lies almost instinctively, making up stories and presenting them as fact. He's lied about so much for so long that he is very good at it. Sometimes he even forgets that he is lying.
Like many people, Billy finds solace in fantasy and escapes from his dreary life in to daydreams. Billy doesn't just dream of becoming a movie star or winning the pools. His daydreams are on a far grander scale and he has invented a whole country called Ambrosia. In Ambrosia he can - depending on his mood - be the world's greatest lover, single-handedly save the country from invasion or have his entire family beheaded.
Unfortunately Billy is unable to keep his imagination in check and it intrudes into "real" life. We've all met people like Billy. He lies almost instinctively, making up stories and presenting them as fact. He's lied about so much for so long that he is very good at it. Sometimes he even forgets that he is lying.
Plot Synopsis
Billy has managed to get himself engaged to two girls simultaneously, neither of whom he actually likes, and contrives to share one engagement ring between them. He has also told each of them different stories about his family. This juggling act with reality is clearly unsustainable.
Then there is Liz, the girl he really cares for and to whom he is not engaged. Liz is an independent young woman who escaped from the town's clutches years ago and now comes and goes as she sees fit.
Billy's one genuine ambition is to become a comedy scriptwriter. He sends a few gags to a famous comedian in London who replies saying that he can use some of them and will buy them. Billy immediately exaggerates the significance of this and quickly comes to believe that he has been offered a full-time job.
Convinced that he has a show business career waiting in London, Billy plans to leave town and resigns from his job. This precipitates the slow, agonising collapse of the house of cards he has built with his lies. The return of Liz with her freewheeling life-style makes things worse, then everything is put in to perspective by a family problem. Billy has to decide between committing to Liz, running away to London or staying with his family and facing his problems.
Then there is Liz, the girl he really cares for and to whom he is not engaged. Liz is an independent young woman who escaped from the town's clutches years ago and now comes and goes as she sees fit.
Billy's one genuine ambition is to become a comedy scriptwriter. He sends a few gags to a famous comedian in London who replies saying that he can use some of them and will buy them. Billy immediately exaggerates the significance of this and quickly comes to believe that he has been offered a full-time job.
Convinced that he has a show business career waiting in London, Billy plans to leave town and resigns from his job. This precipitates the slow, agonising collapse of the house of cards he has built with his lies. The return of Liz with her freewheeling life-style makes things worse, then everything is put in to perspective by a family problem. Billy has to decide between committing to Liz, running away to London or staying with his family and facing his problems.
Conclusion
Billy Liar is a classic example of "bitter sweet comedy": funny without being laugh-out-loud, touching without being saccharine. It's a light, easy read and at fewer than two hundred pages it won't take you long to finish.
Yes it is dated. There are many cultural references that anchor it in time, especially sexual mores. The England of Billy Liar no longer exists, however the basic themes and story are still relevant. Young people today won't recognise the situation Billy is in, but they will recognise his problems.
It's all about adolescence, rebellion and - just possibly - growing up.
Yes it is dated. There are many cultural references that anchor it in time, especially sexual mores. The England of Billy Liar no longer exists, however the basic themes and story are still relevant. Young people today won't recognise the situation Billy is in, but they will recognise his problems.
It's all about adolescence, rebellion and - just possibly - growing up.
Buy the Book
Buy the DVD
Billy Liar - Criterion Collection
Amazon Price: $35.99 (as of 01/02/2010)
Buy Billy Liar the movie on Region 1 DVD through Amazon
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by trevorm
Hi, I'm Trevor and I live in Edinburgh - the capital of Scotland.
I'm interested in a wide variety of things and love learning. I intend to write a sim...
