White Trash

Description

John King, best-selling author of The Football Factory, chronicles the struggle between rich and poor in this strong defence of socialised medicine. Ruby James lives life to the full, the state-run hospital where she works as a nurse a microcosm of the community in which she was born and bred. While some outsiders might label the people of this town 'white trash', she knows different, revelling in a vibrant society that values people over money, actions above words. The epitome of positive thinking, Ruby sees the best in everyone - until the day true evil arrives

John King's first book, The Football Factory, was an instant word-of-mouth success and was later turned into a high-profile film. Sales in the UK now top a quarter of a million copies. The novels Headhunters, England Away, Human Punk, White Trash, The Prison House, and Skinheads followed. He has long been associated with fanzines, writing for various titles over the years and running Two Sevens in the early 1990s. He currently publishes and edits Verbal, a fiction-based publication. Other interests include a regular Human Punk night at London's legendary 100 Club. He lives in London.

"Complete and unique, all stitched up and marvellous, the two sides of the equation brought together, realistic yet philosophical." --Alan Sillitoe, author of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning "There are no white trash--that's the point of the title.... The cumulative effect of King's style is astonishingly powerful in its detail and depth. A quarter of a century after punk rock, the core punk ethos--of a robust and adaptable form of resistance, based on inclusive, DIY community-making and a concentration on immediacy--is still inspiring some of our most vital writers. An immensely timely and necessary book: stylish, witty, and passionate. It's about time someone slapped the smugness from the face of broadsheet Britain." --Mat Coward, The Independent "King is a writer who adeptly avoids cliche and caricature and is one of the most accomplished chroniclers of contemporary life. White Trash is very much a state of the nation book." --Big Issue North "The sharpest commentator on modern times is back, with a plot running so close to the bone it's almost skeletal." --The List "White Trash tones down the severe language of King's football hooligan trilogy, but his themes--rich versus poor, state versus individual--remain as explicit as ever." --GQ