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Keenly observed autobiographical fiction and journal entries from acclaimed writer Denton Welch, featuring an introduction by William S. Burroughs "In Youth Is Pleasure" recounts the summer vacation of Orvil Pym-a sensitive, withdrawn, and deeply unhappy boy of fifteen. Following a trying year at public school, Orvil spends the summer with his father and two older brothers. The quotidian events of a seemingly ordinary summer are rendered dazzling by the intensity of adolescence and Welch's gift for human observation. First published in 1945, "In Youth Is Pleasure" is based closely on Welch's own adolescent experiences of solitude and introspection. This volume also includes "I Left My Grandfather's House," an unforgettable account of a walking tour through the British countryside. These two works feature Welch at his autobiographical best.
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Reviews
"Beauty goes hand in hand with terror, formal elegance with informal brutality, the archaic with the modern."
The New York Times Book Review
"When asked what writer has most directly influenced my own work I can answer without hesitation: Denton Welch."
William S. Burroughs
"So precious, so beyond gay, so deliciously subversive, [it] is enough to make illiteracy a worse social crime than hunger. Maybe there is no better novel in the world than Denton Welch's In Youth Is Pleasure."
William S. Burroughs