Product Description

This book is the winner of the inaugural Booker Prize in 1969. It was 1956 and he was in Port Said. About these two facts Townrow was reasonably certain. He had been summoned there, to Egypt, by the widow of his deceased friend, Elie Khoury. Having been found dead in the street, she is convinced he was murdered, but nobody seems to agree with her. What of Leah Strauss, the mistress? And of the invading British paratroops? Only an Englishman, surely, would take for granted that the British would have behaved themselves. In this weirdly disorientating world, Townrow is forced towards a re-examination of the basic rules by which he has been living his life; and into a realization that he too may have something to answer for.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77404 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 284 pages

About the Author
P. H. Newby

Customer Reviews

The First Booker Winner
I would be quite surprised if (m)any readers come to read this book for any reason other than that they are trying to get through the whole Booker winner list. 'Something to Answer For' has long been out of print and now that it has been reprinted in a nice edition by F&F, it's easier to complete the list. I may be wrong about this, but that was my motivation for reading it, anyway!

The book concerns a central character, Townrow, who is in Egypt having left behind a very shady past embezzling funds from a charity in the UK. He is looking for an old lady, and chasing several ghosts of men who may or may not have been killed in connection to his misdeeds. He is also carrying on a love affair with an elusive woman. The problem I had with this novel is that, because of the deliberately ambiguous style of storytelling and construction, the book becomes increasingly harder and harder to follow. The author clearly intended to reflect Townrow's mental state in the actual prose of the novel and in that he certainly succeeded however by the end of the novel I found myself feeling very frustrated and completely at a loss about what was happening, or had happened. This was probably Newby's plan, but it didn't leave a satisfied feeling with this reader, and few other modern readers are likely to enjoy this book on any more than a stylistic level.

It is saved, in part, by descriptions of 1950s Egypt and some vividly drawn scenes (which may have been reality or dream), but overall this novel really is for Booker completists only. Approach with caution (unless you thrive on very elliptical, confusing, highly stylised novels).

A Literary Challenge
P.H. Newby (1917-1997) won the first Booker Prize in 1969 for his novel "Something to Answer For."

I'm working my way through the Booker Prize list and found this novel along with David Storey's "Saville" the most difficult to come by.Indeed, most or all of Newby's eighteen novels seem to be out-of-print.

That's not to say this novel is not worth reading. It is a challenge though. I would call it a piece of fictional deconstruction. Our Hero, or anti-hero, Townrow, is living in England and manages a fund which gives money to deserving causes. Townrow, we learn later, is skimming money from the fund and feeling no remorse about it. He receives a letter from an old friend in Egypt where he was stationed during his years in the service. Mrs. Khoury writes that her husband has died - she suspects he was murdered - and would Townrow come and help her get things in order if she pays for his ticket.
Townrow agrees and off we go! This is where the fictional deconstruction starts. Is Townrow after her money? Is he English or Irish? People along the way call him by different names. Major this or Sergeant that. What exactly was is history in Egypt?
Townrow has a habit of reliving the past again and again in his mind and this is thrown in to the mix muddying the waters. On top of that he is brutally attacked and receives a vicious head injury. Questions lead to more and more questions.

All this is set against the backdrop of Nassar's Egypt in 1956 when the country nationalized the Suez Canal and Britain, France and Israel answered with force.

For me, the deconstruction of the usual advantages of knowing
time, place and identity leave us with a stripped down character of Townrow - with passed uncertain, loyalties uncertain, questionable character and future unclear and no personal relationships - does a man have "Something to Answer For"? It forces the reader to rethink what is truly important to one and where to take a stand and why.

I enjoyed this novel and recommend it to those who want a literary challenge that keeps you thinking long after finishing it. As we all know, writers go in and out of fashion to be rediscovered at a later time. I wonder if this intelligent and thought-provoking writer is due for a resurgence soon.

a very satisfying experience
The order was dispatched and delivered fast, the book arrived in perfect state, all shiny :-) Thanx!