Dave's Book Blog: "Living" by Henry Green

Saturday, 18 April 2026

"Living" by Henry Green

Set in Birmingham and written in 1929, this novel chronicles the lives of workers at an iron foundry. The old boss dies and his son takes over, intent on bringing the business up to date. Lily, the daughter of one of the workers Joe Gates, who cooks and cleans for old man Craigan and lodger Jim Dale who seems to believe she will marry him. However, she is going out with Bert Jones, a rather less reliable worker, with whom she elopes.

The narration is third person omniscient, in the past tense. So much, so Victorian. But the language of the novel is remarkable, being written with few conjunctions or articles. For example: “Evening. Was spring. Heavy blue clouds stayed over above. In small back garden of villa small tree was with yellow buds. On table in back room daffodils, faded, were between ferns in a vase.” (Ch 1)

It is also narrative-heavy, with relatively little description (although there are one or two nuggets of lyricism): eg, “Water dripped from tap on wall into basin and into water there. Sun. Water drops made rings in clear coloured water. Sun in there shook on the walls and ceiling. As rings went out round trembling over the water shadows of light from sun in these trembled on walls. On the ceiling.” (Ch 5)

The dialogue is more akin to the halting forms of speech used in real life than is normal in a novel: eg, “‘It am right,’ said Mr Connolly. ‘I told ‘im right but ‘e wouldn't listen. ‘It am a grand country’ said ‘e to me, ‘this be a poor sodding place for a poor bleeder,’ ‘e said. ‘I’m for going’. I said ‘don’t be a fool ‘erbert, sure as your name’s Tomson you’ll be back within they year without you go Christmas time and where’ll you be then?’” (Ch 3)

These things mark the book out as modernist.

Some people argue that it is in the genre of proletarian literature, despite the author being an Old Etonian.

Selected quotes:

“When I am with her I echo as a landscape by Claude echoes.” (Ch 4) It is noticeable that the boss's son uses a different register to speak (and think) in compared to the working people
“He leant towards fire which made room thick hot.” (Ch 7)
“She lay, above town, with Jones. Autumn. Light from sky grew dark over town.” (Ch 8)
“It was not governments nor good times or bad that raised wages, but the demand for men.” (Ch 14)
“It was not poverty you saw in this quarter, the artisan class lived here, but a kind of terrible respectability on too little money.” (Ch 15)
“When men who have worked these regular hours are now deprived of work, so, often, their lives come to be like puddles on the beach where tide no longer reaches.” (Ch 17)
“When we think - it might be flock of pigeons flying in the sky so many things go to make our thought, the number of pigeons, and they don't fly straight. Now one pigeon will fly away from the greater number, now another: sometimes half the flock will follow one, half the other till they join again.” (Ch 17)
“Man played on instrument, which was kind of xylophone, laid flat in the doorway. As the air sweats on metal so little balls of notes this man made hung on smell of stale beer which was like a slab outside the door.” (Ch 19)