Corker's Freedom

by John Berger

Booker Prize-winning author John Berger brings us this tender and bittersweet novel is a book of dreams of freedom and romance, dreams that intoxicate and redeem, dreams that have the power to exalt their dreamers or dash them against hard truth.
 
It is the unforgettable, often comical portrait of a dreamer, one William Corker, the genteel proprietor of a London employment agency, who, in his sixty-third year, has just moved out of the house he shared with his overbearing sister. As Corker takes his first steps into a life of passions, Berger creates a character of astonishing depth and liveliness—a man whose fantasies and ambitions are at once splendid and tragic.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

John Peter Berger was an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a college text.

Later he was self exiled to continental Europe, living between the french Alps in summer and the suburbs of Paris in winter. Since then, his production has increased considerably, including a variety of genres, from novel to social essay, or poetry. One of the most common themes that appears on his books is the dialectics established between modernity and memory and loss,

Another of his most remarkable works has been the trilogy titled Into Their Labours, that includes the books Pig Earth (1979), Once In Europa (1983) Lilac And Flag (1990). With those books, Berger makes a meditation about the way of the peasant, that changes one poverty for another in the city. This theme is also observed in his novel King, but there his focus is more in the rural diaspora and the bitter side of the urban way of life.

Reviews

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever. The story is very simple, but the language Berger uses to tell it is amazing.

[Michael Bradshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it, I thought it gripping. It's written very differently from most novels I've read. Snatches of thought are interspersed between the dialogue, often from different characters. The first part of the book makes you work hard but I enjoy that. The plot was unpredictable.

[victoria marie]

Not yet published • Expected 14 Apr 26

[Rachel Kowal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this book is pretty disjointed, and it took me much longer to get through it than it should have. But I'm feeling generous. Berger is doing some interesting things here stylistically, and there is joy in these pages amidst the dark undertones. Read pages 83-133. I'd read him again, though the second half of this book dragged on for far too long.

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned that I am glad I do not have to look for a job as a housekeeper in London in the 60s.

[Rowena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was great as expected; can't quite remember details of the plot, but this was a good read.