Only When I Larf
Encyclopedia
Only When I Larf is a late 1960s British comic thriller describing the activities of a team of three fictional confidence trick
sters 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 narrative
s 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.
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 though some feel it is "a plodding adaptation" of the original novel.
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
sters 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
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
experimental period after the three so-called Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer
Harry Palmer is the name of the protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in the films based on three of the first four of the published novels featuring this character, and also later in two films not...
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
Sphere Books
-History:Founded in 1961, Sphere Books began work on its first publication, the 1962 paperback edition of Gottfried Benn's The Trainee Man. Originally part of The Thomson Corporation, Sphere was sold to Pearson PLC in 1985 and became part of Penguin...
. It is currently (2007) out of print.
The novel interleaves first-person narrative
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
s 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
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
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 LarfOnly When I Larf (film)
Only When I Larf is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Richard Attenborough, David Hemmings and Alexandra Stewart...
adapted from the novel was released in 1968 starring Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Silas, David Hemmings
David Hemmings
David Edward Leslie Hemmings was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer....
as Bob and Alexandra Stewart
Alexandra Stewart
Alexandra Stewart is a Canadian actress.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Alexandra Stewart left for Paris, France, in 1958, to study art...
as Liz and has been well reviewed though some feel it is "a plodding adaptation" of the original novel.