'the book is a compelling read, both for the development of Joe through the decades and for the backdrop of Britain changing just as much in the same period. There are some great political comments - again, something I normally don't like too much in fiction, but here they really work well (perhaps because I agree with them!). In this book you can really feel Britain being ripped apart in the 80s, limping through the 90s, and sinking to such a new depth of banality in the Blair years that the only sensible response is to leave the country.
It's a bleak book but shot through with humour and hope. Joe appears to have 'given up' for much of his life, living on the dole and drinking himself into oblivion, but really he's like that because he hasn't given up, can't give up on his dream of a better life, a better world and finding love. He's self-destructive but I understand why, and although it takes him years to make progress, and he often goes back more often than forward, he does get there in the end, just about, having paid a huge price, and isn't that really how most of us live our lives?'
To read the review in full click here
Lucy
Comments