The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

More about the book

This collection features nine classic short stories that explore themes of isolation, criminality, morality, and rebellion within the working class, written by acclaimed author Alan Sillitoe. The lead story centers on a seventeen-year-old inmate, referred to only as Smith, in a juvenile detention center. Despite being a talented runner, winning the national long-distance running competition would only serve to validate the oppressive system that confines him. “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner” is celebrated as a literary and cinematic masterpiece, adapted into a classic film by Sillitoe in 1962. In “Uncle Ernest,” a traumatized World War II veteran leads a solitary existence, shunned by society after his wife leaves and his brothers move away. His newfound friendship with two young girls at a café raises eyebrows among local authorities. “Mr. Raynor the School Teacher” presents a different kind of isolation, focusing on a voyeuristic teacher whose violent tendencies emerge when his students interrupt his fantasies about women in a nearby shop. The remaining six stories further solidify Sillitoe’s status as a leading British storyteller, championing the condemned, oppressed, and overlooked. This ebook also includes an illustrated biography of Sillitoe, featuring rare images from his estate.