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Publication
Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1982.
Description
'Unlike any other person I had come across, Welch seemed to be speaking particularly to me' Alan Bennett 'Vivid ... surprising ... an exquisite balance of pain and beauty' Guardian Orvil Pym does not fit in. A waifish, eccentric, sensitive fifteen-year-old, he hates school and longs to be alone. Spending his Summer holidays in a genteel Surrey hotel with his mysterious father and two brothers who don't understand him, he explores ancient churches, spies on a man rowing in the river and collects antiques, escaping into his own singular aesthetic world. First published in 1945, this is an unforgettable portrayal of a young man's sensuous coming-of-age. 'A heightened, sensual journey ... it is Orvil's vibrant energy that allows this book to bubble ... beautifully odd ... spectacular' Independent… (more)
Media reviews
[...] an exquisite balance of pain and beauty – an aspect of the sublime [...]
User reviews
LibraryThing member trinityofone
I find this book both fascinating and strange--high praise from me. *g* It's the semi-autobiographical story of an English teenager, Orvil Pym, on his school holidays, and what's great about it is not so much what happens to Orvil, but the way he experiences everything that happens: he's got a
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wonderfully morbid imagination, and he looks at everything with an amazingly real combination of sadness and wonder. This one's going to stay with me for a long time. Show Less
LibraryThing member presto
Denton Welch writes about a fifteen year old boy's summer holiday around 1930 spent with his father and two older brothers, the boy's name in the book is Orvil, although this is in fact basically autobiographical.
The main part of Orvil's holiday is spent in a Surrey at a hotel near the River
What makes this a fascinating account is the unusual charm and honesty of the young boy. A boy with a fascination for small antique objects, no matter if they are damaged, in fact he is happy to find such for it means he is more likely to be able to afford them, and even in such matters as this his honesty is apparent, for it is clearly the object for its own sake that appeals rather than the object as thing of monetary value or for show. He is honest too in his analysis of the boy's thinking, often angry on the inside with others, or selfish in his reasoning, but rarely openly displaying such - although there are times when this aspect gets the better of him and he lashes out.
For a fifteen year old boy he is remarkably sensitive and visually aware or observant. In addition to his liking for small objects he has a great appreciation for architecture, especially older buildings, and is quite knowledgeable about such, and not without his own views either.
This is a most charming and beautifully written account about a young, somewhat tortured yet creative boy, an individual who does not and conform and is often at odds with those around him. The account concludes with his eventual return to school (for what in fact will be the last time), and there is a lovely incident in which Ben, his older brother by two years, who is also returning with him on the train to their school when seeing Orvil being taken advantage of unhesitatingly and very forcibly comes to his rescue - a moving conclusion to a delightful book.
The main part of Orvil's holiday is spent in a Surrey at a hotel near the River
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Thames, and while his two older brothers and at times some of their friends are there Orvil spends much of his time in his own company - apart from a few days spent with a school friend and his family in Hastings. Orvil is a inquisitive and adventurous boy with a vivid imagination, and people and places he sees conjure in his mind fascinating scenarios. He is especially taken by the sight of a man with two younger boys he sees rowing on the river, and sets out to spy on them, later he will encounter the man alone and spend some time with him, a curios meeting. This along with a number of other events clearly hint at Orvil's (Denton's) unmentioned sexual proclivities.What makes this a fascinating account is the unusual charm and honesty of the young boy. A boy with a fascination for small antique objects, no matter if they are damaged, in fact he is happy to find such for it means he is more likely to be able to afford them, and even in such matters as this his honesty is apparent, for it is clearly the object for its own sake that appeals rather than the object as thing of monetary value or for show. He is honest too in his analysis of the boy's thinking, often angry on the inside with others, or selfish in his reasoning, but rarely openly displaying such - although there are times when this aspect gets the better of him and he lashes out.
For a fifteen year old boy he is remarkably sensitive and visually aware or observant. In addition to his liking for small objects he has a great appreciation for architecture, especially older buildings, and is quite knowledgeable about such, and not without his own views either.
This is a most charming and beautifully written account about a young, somewhat tortured yet creative boy, an individual who does not and conform and is often at odds with those around him. The account concludes with his eventual return to school (for what in fact will be the last time), and there is a lovely incident in which Ben, his older brother by two years, who is also returning with him on the train to their school when seeing Orvil being taken advantage of unhesitatingly and very forcibly comes to his rescue - a moving conclusion to a delightful book.
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LibraryThing member oh_that_zoe
This is a lovely book by Denton Welch. It is probably mostly autobiographical, but is presented as fiction. In the meanest terms, it's the story of a boy's summer holiday with his family, which consists of two older brothers and his father. Orvil's mother passed away when he was twelve. A record of
For those new to Denton Welch, this would be a good book with which to start. It's only 154 pages; an easy to devour morsel no less exquisite for its brevity. (By the way, reading Welch will have the adverse effect of making you talk or write like this, as well as using more Ys: tyger, tyre, pyjamas).
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this summer's events from another person's perspective would be quite dull, but Welch infuses Orvil with all of his sensitivity, peculiarity and introspection. With these qualities, Orvil's minor misadventures and social gaffs take on a mythic quality.For those new to Denton Welch, this would be a good book with which to start. It's only 154 pages; an easy to devour morsel no less exquisite for its brevity. (By the way, reading Welch will have the adverse effect of making you talk or write like this, as well as using more Ys: tyger, tyre, pyjamas).
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LibraryThing member edwinbcn
Denton Welch lived but a short life, and died early, several years after a car accident he had at the age of 20, and suffered from the remainder of his life. The paintings he has left show an extraordinary talent and great originality. Likewise, his prose, most of it composed in the final years of
Denton Welch prose has a very poetic quality. Like I left my grandfather's house, In youth is pleasure is a shortish novel of fictionalized autobiography looking back to his early youth as a young teenager on a summer holiday.
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his life, is highly original and externalises his innermost feelings. The prose style is somewhat reminiscent of the writing of Stella Gibbons, as it highlights peculiarities in people, characterizing their features and speech.Denton Welch prose has a very poetic quality. Like I left my grandfather's house, In youth is pleasure is a shortish novel of fictionalized autobiography looking back to his early youth as a young teenager on a summer holiday.
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Language
Original publication date
1945
Physical description
ix, 154 p.; 20 cm
ISBN
0192813633 / 9780192813633
Local notes
OCLC = 312