The Unfortunates
First UK edition | |
| Author | B. S. Johnson |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Ergodic |
| Publisher | Panther Books (UK) Secker & Warburg (US) |
Publication date | 1969 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Paperback (27 unbound sections in laminated box) |
| Pages | 244 pages |
| OCLC | 40588291 |
The Unfortunates is an experimental "book in a box" published in 1969 by English author B. S. Johnson and reissued in 2008 by New Directions.[1] The 27 sections are unbound, with a first and last chapter specified: the 25 sections between them, ranging from a single paragraph to 12 pages in length, are designed to be read in any order,[1] giving a total of 15.5 septillion possible combinations that the story can be read in.[2] Christopher Fowler described it as "a fairly straightforward meditation on death and friendship, told through memories."[3] Jonathan Coe described it as "one of the lost masterpieces of the sixties".[4]
BBC producer Lorna Pegram employed Johnson to talk about this creation for the TV series "Release" after she was lobbied by Carmen Callil of Panther books. With barely any negotiation the interview was ready months before the book was ready for publication. The film included Johnson holding a mock-up of the book that was not at all similar to the final publication.[5]
Johnson said of the book "I did not think then, and do not think now, that this solved the problem completely… But I continue to believe that my solution was nearer; and even if it was only marginally nearer, then it was still a better solution to the problem of conveying the mind’s randomness than the imposed order of a bound book."[6][7]
Plot
A sportswriter is sent to a city (identifiable through landmarks as Nottingham) on an assignment, only to find himself confronted by ghosts from his past. As he attempts to report on a football match, memories of his friend Tony, a victim of cancer, haunt his mind.
The city visited remains unnamed, however the novel contains an accurate description of Nottingham landmarks, its streetscape, and its environment in 1969, with additional recallings of 1959. The football ground in the novel is Nottingham Forest's City Ground.
Releases and adaptations
Originally published in 1969 by Panther Books, The Unfortunates was re-released by Picador in 1999 with an introduction by Jonathan Coe.[8] In 1969 and as part of the BBC Two arts magazine programme Release, Johnson presented and directed a feature segment about The Unfortunates, detailing the origins of the novel and how it came to be structured. This was later released on DVD as part of the BFI Flipside collection You're Human Like the Rest of Them.[9][10]
When The Unfortunates was first published in Hungary, it was released as a normal paperback. To allow the reader to still read the book in a random order, symbols were printed above each of the twenty-five random sections, with the same symbols reprinted on the back page of the book. The novel then encouraging the reader to cut out the symbols or trace them, put them into a receptacle, and draw them out to create a new order for the reader to follow.[11]
In 2010, The Unfortunates was adapted for BBC Radio 3, with Martin Freeman playing the role of the sportswriter who in the broadcast is named Bryan, this being Johnson's first name.[12] The book was also the subject of an episode of BBC Radio 4 documentary series The Exploding Library in 2023, in which comedian Rob Auton presented the show in a random order similar to the novel.[13]
References
- ^ a b Charles Taylor (22 August 2008). "Piece This One Together". The New York Times.
- ^ Hooper, Mark (14 October 2014). "Why BS Johnson suits the digital age". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Christopher Fowler (18 October 2009). "Forgotten authors No.40: BS Johnson". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022.
- ^ Jonathan Coe (28 May 1997). "I wish I'd written". The Guardian.
- ^ Coe, Jonathan (2005). Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B. S. Johnson. Pan Macmillan. p. 257. ISBN 978-0-330-35049-5.
- ^ "Introduction". Aren't You Rather Young to be Writing Your Memoirs?. Hutchinson. 1973. ISBN 978-0091181413. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009.
- ^ Jonathan Coe (17 October 2002). "Death by Naturalism". Jonathan Coe.
- ^ "The Unfortunates". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "Release". BBC Genome Project. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ Dunn, Sam (15 April 2013). "The return of the Flipside". British Film Institute. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
- ^ Coe, Jonathan (8 October 1999). Introduction. The Unfortunates. By Johnson, B. S. Picador. p. x-xii. ISBN 978-0-330-35329-8.
- ^ "Drama on 3: The Unfortunates, by BS Johnson". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
- ^ "The Exploding Library: The Unfortunates, by BS Johnson". BBC. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
External links
- New Directions Publishing
- Éva Zsizsmann (2005). "Mapping Memory in B. S. Johnson's The Unfortunates" (PDF). Theory and Practice in English Studies 4: Proceedings from the Eighth Conference of British, American and Canadian Studies. 4. ISSN 1805-0859.
- Henry Hitchings (8 November 1999). "Back in print: The Unfortunates". New Statesman.
- Chris Bench. "B. S. Johnson, The Unfortunates. New York: New Directions, 2009" (PDF). Chicago Review. 55 (3–4): 230–233.