Which novel?

[Pentagon]

Can anyone please identify the novel with this last line? :

And I with my books have not seen him since. It was like saying goodbye to a big part of me, for ever.

[angelap]

is this a recent book or an old book?

[Gnu]

The Decline and Fall of Frankie Buller, in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe