The Loneliness of Resistance: Class, Consumerism and Media in Alan Sillitoe’s “the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner”

Alan Sillitoe's second publication, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (1959), followed the success of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1958) and capitalized on the widespread popularity of the "angry young men" phenomenon. A collection of eight short stories, the volume takes its name from the titular and longest story, centered around the working-class youth Smith and his experiences within a Borstal institution. Sillitoe creates a bright exploration of post-war British class dynamics, resistance to authority, consumerism, and the interpretative flexibility of mass media by the lens of Smith’s story.