Homework
In this work, Geoff Dyer reflects on his childhood and what it means to come of age in England in the 60s and 70s, in a country shaped by the aftermath of the Second World War but accelerating towards change. He was born in Cheltenham in the late fifties, the only child of a dinner lady and a planning engineer. Raised in a working-class area, Geoff and his mates found much joy recreating battles with their beloved Tommy guns, kicking a beachball around until its untimely death, and collecting anything and everything they could find; football cards, conkers and Action Man figures. When Geoff passes his 11-plus exams he gets in to a Cheltenham Grammar School, a school which drastically changes the trajectory of his life.
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Born in 1958, the only child of a dinner lady and a sheet-metal worker, Geoff Dyer grew up in a world shaped by the Second World War. It was a time of Airfix models and wargames, conkers and frugality: having splurged on a mono record player, Geoff's dad discovers it's a portal to endless expenditure and funding for records is abruptly withdrawn.
But far from being a story of hardship overcome, Homework is a celebration of opportunities afforded to Dyer's generation. A grammar-school education leads to books, prog rock (on a new stereo), girls, beer and, eventually, a place at Oxford.
In Homework, Dyer returns to his early life and asks what it means to live through an era of complex social transformation.
Additional information
| Weight | 212 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 198 × 129 × 18 mm |
| Author | |
| Publisher | Canongate |
| Imprint | Canongate |
| Cover | Paperback |
| Pages | 304 |
| Language | English |
| Edition | |
| Dewey | 828.9209 (edition:23) |
| Readership | General – Trade / Code: K |