Beyond A Boundary

Earlier this month I finally got around to reading CLR James' Beyond A Boundary.

I finished it the other day and can only agree with the view that it is a masterpiece. If a forummer starts a new thread on Beyond A Boundary every time they finish reading the book it will not be too soon. There is so much to get out of it and the book is full of elements ripe for discussion.

I particularly liked the section where he spoke of cricket as an art - "not a bastard, or a poor relation, but a full member of the community". I have often tried to express this to many people - sometimes with moderate success. But more often than not I failed to find the words that conveyed what I felt inside.

CLR James perfectly expresses what I have felt and known for years. He has a rare talent of knowing precisely what he wants to say and how to say it.

So many of the reasons why cricket is important to life (and life is important to cricket) are laid out in this book. If you haven't read it already, go out, find a copy and do so. If you've read it before it might be time for you to pick it up again.

Totally agree.

I think it he romanticises a bit much though. But nevertheless it is a true masterpiece.

Am surprised you have only got around to reading this now, Hass.

Years ago I used to live with a student doing a PhD in literacy and she used to scoff at the amount of cricket books I read claiming sports books add nothing to literature. I handed her a copy of Beyond a Boundary and after readibg a page she said the author cannot write and uses too many commas. I moved out after that.

Have it on the bookshelf. Haven't read it yet but looks like it might have moved to next on the list after Hass' recommendation.

And Ponts - good work. The bitch.

Will have to check it out, although I still haven't gotten around to reading Gilly's autobiography yet.

It's wonderful. Poetic, evocative, knowledgeable. Read it and feel a kinship through cricket.

Marvellous sport, that.

Made me feel 'right' for loving cricket for all the good and best reasons. Plus it's nice to read accounts of cricket in the Caribbean at that time, when a lot of things were changing, as well as world cricket.

I've used it as a reference for essays on literature, cricket, psychology, sociology and generally just as a favourite read.

Must read it again soon!

I have been wanting to read it for years and looked for it in many a book shop. I've always shied away from buying things over the net. But I finally signed up to Amazon.com last month and got it shipped out to me.

I agree that James does romanticise a bit too much at times, however I am a romantic so it's just music to me ears. He makes no apologies for it, readily admitting that the book if filtered through nostalgia.

There are times however when he underplays certain aspects, in order to give more weight to his true concern eg.

"The dramatic content of cricket I have purposely pitched low - I am concerned not with degree but kind. In addition to being a dramatic, cricket is also a visual art. This I do not pitch low at all. The whole issue will be settled here."

I love the certainty of that statement. It gives me full confidence in James' authority on the subject and excites me about the prospect of reading on.

And the romatic certainty of his thought shows - if nothing else - that the game can have such a transformative effect on people. If a sports-averse academic is truly curious they will wonder why a game can have such an effect on someone like CLR James.

As for your former flatmate Ponts:

In the book James notes in passing an academic who lamented the fact that a man of his intellect and calibre could believe what he did about cricket ie. that it was an important part of history, culture, politics, art etc. James just laughed and shrugged his shoulders knowingly - there was nothing he could do for him.

Hass wrote:As for your former flatmate Ponts:

In the book James notes in passing an academic who lamented the fact that a man of his intellect and calibre could believe what he did about cricket ie. that it was an important part of history, culture, politics, art etc. James just laughed and shrugged his shoulders knowingly - there was nothing he could do for him.

It appears I embellished things a bit, but the spirit remains the same. Here is the actual quote from the book:

"A professer of political science publicly bewailed that a man of my known political interests should believe that cricket had ethical and social values. I had no wish to answer. I was just sorry for the guy."

It's not just the cricket, it's how it's intertwined with society, politics, the culture of a nation, group of nations. He argues for and explains it so well.

I'd quite like to read 'Letters from London', but I don't suppose there'll be any of the cricket in there.

I love that quote. It's a bit smug, but he's right.

Cricket is life?

Probably the best sports book I have read is Gordon Forbes' "Handfull of Summers"

I've always meant to read it, but never got around to it. There’s always someone who wants to know what a good chrimbo pressie is for me, I’ll tell the ball and chain to convey the information.