“Billy the Liar” by Keith Waterhouse

“Billy the Liar” by Keith Waterhouse
“Billy the Liar” by Keith Waterhouse

“Billy the Liar”

Coming from a working-class background, Waterhouse achieved enormous success with this comedy about the setbacks of a boy stuck in a town in the north of England, who dreams of going to London to write sketches. In the meantime, he works in funeral homes and invents crazy stories. He sometimes gets caught up in his lies at work or with his friends…

Full of freshness and melancholy, the novel was associated with the writings of angry young men, this generation which cast a disenchanted look at post-war England. It left a lasting mark on pop culture, inspiring a series, a musical and an Oasis music video, “The Importance of Being Idle”. Waterhouse will continue his career as a novelist and screenwriter in complete discretion. Legend says he worked on The torn curtain by Alfred Hitchcock, without being credited in the credits. He wasn't one to seek the light. To a journalist who asked him what cause he wanted to defend with his novels, he replied: “The cause of those who don’t break people’s feet. »

by Keith Waterhouse, translated from English by Sarah Londin (Les Éditions du Typhon)


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