|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
Book Reviews Title The
Bonny Lad Fiction-Net
Rating Buy It
From Amazon.co.uk - BUY
NOW! Cover
Story A brilliant new
novel by the author of the Season Ticket, winner of
the Betty Trask Prize and filmed by Mark Herman as
Purely Belter. Sonny Gee is six
years old when his mother abandons him. He is taken
in by his grandfather, Joe, a man he's never met, a
former miner, grim and taciturn. Forced together
and immediately locked in conflict, an inarticulate
tenderness develops between the old man and the
boy. For both of them, however, this new
relationship is increasingly threatened by forces
from the past. Set in Gateshead
over the course of a spring, with humour and
poignancy The Bonny Lad celebrates the redemptive
power of love without flinching from counting its
cost. We
Say Children are
amazingly creatures. For those who love children,
no explanation is necessary and for those who do
not care for children, there is often that one
child that proves that not all children are
distasteful. What is perhaps the most endearing and
exasperating quality about children is their
unpredictability. Ironically, the most
unpredictable children are those who are very
bright. The trouble begins when bright children are
left largely to their own devices. The combination
of poor supervision and brilliance in a child, is a
deadly combination and many an adult is left
shaking their heads at the lost potential of such
children. Jonathan Tulloch examines such a child
and this child's affect on his unhappy grandfather
in his novel, The Bonny Lad. Sonny Gee is a
very bright and active young man who has had little
or no supervision. From all appearances, he seems
to be a "bonny lad," but for those that know him
well, they also know of his propensity for trouble.
Underneath the dirt, grime, foul mouth and general
lack of manners is a young man who longs for love.
His mother has gotten involved with drugs and a
drug dealer and has made poor attempts to properly
bring up her child. Unable to control him and
unable to find anyone who will watch him, she turns
to her last hope. It is perhaps the single most
important decision that she makes for the
well-being of her child. Joe O'Brien is
determined to lead a lonely existence shutting out
the world and all of its disappointments. Forced to
be the caretaker for a grandson he didn't know
existed, Joe finds his heart begin to warm despite
Sonny Gee's uncontrollable behavior. Initially Joe
is insistent that Sonny Gee is not his grandson and
treats Sonny Gee as a temporary nuisance. As Joe
struggles to teach his grandson basic manners, an
endearing relationship between the two begins to
evolve. Sometimes, when
we try to save another we end up saving ourselves.
Jonathan Tulloch does an excellent job telling the
story of Sonny Gee and his Grandfather Joe.
Heartwarming and at times heartbreaking, The Bonny
Lad is a wonderful tale of hope. Sometimes just
when we think we are unable to contribute to
another's well-being, we are proven wrong. Even
though Joe believes his life is over, through Sonny
Gee, that life is just beginning. At a time when
there has been enough tragedy in our world, The
Bonny Lad is an engaging novel that keeps the
reader interested. Clever dialogue and wonderful
characters make this a novel well worth reading.
Congratulations to Jonathan Tulloch on a clever
tale well worth reading. Review by: Yumi
Nagasaki-Taylor |
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
