The Sweet-Shop Owner

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The Sweet-Shop Owner
TheSweetShopOwner.jpg
First edition
Author Graham Swift
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Publisher Allen Lane
Publication date
August 1980
Media typePrint
Pages221
ISBN 0-7139-1247-2

The Sweet-Shop Owner is the debut novel of English author Graham Swift. It was published in 1980 to largely favourable reviews. [1]

Contents

Plot introduction

The book is set on a sunny Friday in June 1974 and describes the routine of what turns out to be the last day in the life of Willy Chapman, the eponymous owner of a South London sweet shop. [2] [3] Central to the book is his relationship with his beautiful and yet distant wife Irene who bore him a daughter on the unspoken agreement that no love would be expressed between them. [4] Interspersed with flashbacks to his earlier life, Willy attempts to justify himself to his estranged unforgiving daughter Dorry via an internal monologue.

Reception

Publication history

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References

  1. 1 2 O'Mahony, John (1 March 2003). "Triumph of the common man". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  2. "The Sweet-Shop Owner by Graham Swift: 9780679739807 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  3. "The Sweet-Shop Owner | novel by Swift | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  4. "The Sweet Shop Owner: An Introduction". www.postcolonialweb.org. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  5. Gorra, Michael (23 July 1985). "WHEN LIFE CLOSES IN". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  6. "The Sweet Shop Owner by Graham Swift". www.fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved 23 March 2024.