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Book Reviews Title Man And
Boy Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story Harry Silver has
it all: a beautiful wife, a wonderful son, a great
job in the media - but in one night he throws it
all away. Then Harry must start to learn what life
and love are really all about. We
Say A simple premise
for the most moving book I have read this year. As
Tony Parsons is best known as a tabloid journalist,
I didn't expect such sensitivity in this story but
he writes unashamedly, with his heart on his
sleeve. When central
character Harry Silver's wife leaves him he is left
alone with their young son, Pat. The presentation
of single parenthood, where there is no rulebook
and no instructions is shown to be a difficult and
at times, frustrating job. Complicating
things further is the prejudice that Harry faces as
that rare breed, a single father. His life is
turned upside-down and only once he is able to get
beyond his own heartbreak and see what is really
important does he find the rewards. Alongside this
runs the story of Harry's relationship with his own
father, based around a far more traditional family
set-up in which happiness is the state of normality
and this is taken for granted. I don't know to
what extent this is based on Parsons' own
experiences as a father and ex-husband of
journalist and writer, Julie Burchill, and to be
honest it's irrelevant, the fact is it works.
Parsons examines the modern culture of
relationships in which courts decide who the better
parent is and a child cannot assume they will have
the kind of family life that past generations had.
It's heartbreaking to see the journey that Harry
has to take to understand his responsibility for
this in spite of his love for his son and his
ultimate power to make amends. It's great to
read a book that is thoroughly modern without being
cold, cool and cynical. Parsons really gets inside
his characters' emotions and expresses them in all
their pain and confusion. If you're not crying at
some point in this book or, if female, not slightly
in love with Harry, then you must have a heart of
pure, white marble. Review by: Rachel
Taylor |
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