The Lowlife (Faber Editions): 'Terrific. Propulsive, funny and touching.' - Sebastian Faulks

One man gambles on not only the racing dogs but his life in this charismatic rediscovered Jewish post-war classic of London's seedy underbelly, introduced by Iain Sinclair.

Never give up hope before the dogs have crossed the finishing-line.

Harryboy Boas is a lowlife gambler. When he''s not at the track, he lives in a Hackney boarding house, reading Zola, eating salt beef, pressing trousers and repressing wartime memories. But when a new family moves into the apartment downstairs, his life starts to unravel and Harryboy soon finds himself sinking into a murky East End underworld where violence, guilt and gangsters are the inevitable result for those who cannot pay their dues.

A celebrated cult classic, The Lowlife brilliantly evokes post-war East London - dog tracks, sandwich shops, tenements, sex workers, newly arrived West Indians and Jews leaving for Finchley - all seen through the tragicomic eyes of Harryboy, our picaresque rogue hero suffering from ''existential burn-out in the shadow of the Holocaust'' (Iain Sinclair) and driven to bet, brag and beg to survive.

''Terrific.'' Sebastian Faulks

• | Author: Alexander Baron
• | Publisher: Faber & Faber
• | Publication Date: May 08, 2025
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Paperback / softback
• | ISBN-13: 9780571393473
• | ISBN-10: 0571393470