Sum Total

by Ray Gosling

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2004

Reviews

[Patrick Notchtree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this recently for the first time, largely because as a teenager I knew Ray during the "Leicester Thing". The dedication in the book is also to my mother.
It is written in what can best be described as 'stream of conciousness' style. It is his autobiography written when he was just 23 and he had already led a varied and at times scary life. Once one gets used to the style it can be read easily. I knew back then that Ray was gay and I was interested to see how that would be reflected in the book. As it was written in 1962, perhaps I should not have been surprised that this not referred to, even obliquely, even once. Ray later became a noted gay rights activist as well as an award winning journalist and broadcaster. Those who remember and admire Ray's later work would find this book interesting as it shows what made the man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Gosling

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/20...

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A febrile, experimental stream of consciousness autobiography of adolescence. At best hypnotically intense,at worst repetitive and pretentious.

[Terence Bly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written when he was just 21, Ray takes you back in time, to different parts of the country and relates his formative experiences in his sometime raged stream of conciousness style