- Only When I Larf
-
Only When I Larf 
1st edition coverAuthor(s) Len Deighton Country United Kingdom Language English Genre(s) Comic thriller novel Publisher Sphere Books Publication date 1968 Media type Print (Paperback) ISBN 0-7221-2986-6 OCLC Number 255886426 Only When I Larf is a late 1960s British comic thriller describing the activities of a team of three fictional confidence tricksters led by Silas Lowther (late 40s), his girlfriend Liz Mason (late 20s) and wannabe apprentice and Liz-worshipper Bob (early 20s). The novel dates from Len Deighton's experimental period after the three so-called Harry Palmer books (Len Deighton never wrote about a character called Harry Palmer, the spy had no name. Harry Palmer was the name given to the spy in the films. Also, there were 5 books, if you include An Expensive Place to Die, not three) and was published in 1968 by Michael Joseph and in paperback by Sphere. It is currently (2007) out of print.
The novel interleaves first-person narratives from Bob (76 pages in 7 chapters), Liz (78 pages in 6 chapters) and Silas (88 pages in 5 chapters). Their increasingly contradictory descriptions of shared experiences contribute to the humor. This unreliable narration adds to the atmosphere around deceiving "the marks", but the characters' different perspectives on their mutual relationship (interspersed with Silas's day-dreams of a dishonourable wartime incident) look more like self-deception and often add a poignant note. The title is explained in a variety of unlikely anecdotes where in each case a critically injured third party bravely replies this when asked "Does it hurt?". Only When I Larf also continues the Harry Palmer trend of depicting 1960s class relationships as quaintly important to male protagonists as observed by perhaps more objective young women of the time.
Adaptations
A film Only When I Larf[1] adapted from the novel was released in 1968 starring Richard Attenborough as Silas, David Hemmings as Bob and Alexandra Stewart as Liz and has been well reviewed [2][3][4] though some feel it is "a plodding adaptation" of the original novel.[5]
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063390/
- ^ http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=106764
- ^ http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E0CE7D71530E034BC4C51DFB6678383679EDE
- ^ http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117793740.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0
- ^ http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/reviews/66125/only-when-i-larf.html
Works by Len Deighton "Unnamed hero" novels: The IPCRESS File (1962) · Horse Under Water (1963) · Funeral in Berlin (1964) · Billion-Dollar Brain (1966) · An Expensive Place to Die (1967) · Spy Story (1972) · Yesterday's Spy (1975) · Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (1976)Bernard Samson novels: Berlin Game (1983) · Mexico Set (1984) · London Match (1985) · Winter (1987) · Spy Hook (1988) · Spy Line (1989) · Spy Sinker (1990) · Faith (1994) · Hope (1995) · Charity (1996)Other novels: Only When I Larf (1968) · Bomber (1970) · Close-Up (1972) · SS-GB (1978) · XPD (1981) · Goodbye, Mickey Mouse (1982) · MAMista (1991) · City of Gold (1992) · Violent Ward, (1993)Short story collections: Declarations of War (1971) · The Verdict of Us (2006)Non-fiction: Où Est le Garlic (1965) · Len Deighton's Action Cookbook (1965) · Len Deighton's London Dossier (1967) · Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain (1977) · Airshipwreck (1978) · Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk (1979) · Battle of Britain (1980) · Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II (1993)Films directed by Basil Dearden 1940s The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942) · The Goose Steps Out (1942) · The Bells Go Down (1943) · My Learned Friend (1943) · The Halfway House (1944) · Dead of Night (1945) (segment) · They Came to a City (1945) · The Captive Heart (1946) · Frieda (1947) · Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)1950s The Blue Lamp (1950) · Cage of Gold (1950) · Pool of London (1951) · I Believe in You (1952) · The Gentle Gunman (1952) · The Square Ring (1953) · The Rainbow Jacket (1954) · Out of the Clouds (1955) · The Ship That Died of Shame (1955) · Who Done It? (1956) · The Green Man (1956) · The Smallest Show on Earth (1957) · Violent Playground (1958) · Sapphire (1959)1960s The League of Gentlemen (1960) · Man in the Moon (1960) · The Secret Partner (1961) · Victim (1961) · All Night Long (1962) · Life for Ruth (1962) · The Mind Benders (1963) · A Place to Go (1963) · Woman of Straw (1964) · Masquerade (1965) · Khartoum (1966) · Only When I Larf (1968) · The Assassination Bureau (1969)1970s The Man Who Haunted Himself (1970)Categories:- 1968 novels
- British comedy novels
- Novels by Len Deighton
- Fiction with unreliable narrators
- 1960s novel stubs
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
