who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

Grim Gateshead, 23 Aug 2002
MAKE NO MISTAKE, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting". Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmagorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as "Trainspotting". Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrought, read "Danziger's Britain
, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

It's grim up north, 16 Jul 2002
This is an ultimately depressing book which somehow manages to find amusement in a very dour look at life in Newcastle. The author does tend to make out that things haven't changed much since the forties, and to a certain extent, if you are from the south it re-inforces all your stereo typical opinions on the cold miserable desperate life north of Watford.

For all that, it it genuienly funny in places and there are moments of real humour to be found, the bungled robbery being one of them. It also manages to step beyond being a 'football' book despite it's subject matter, and should enjoy appeal to anyone who wants a gritty, urban comedy drama.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2001
Make no mistake, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmigorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as Trainspotting. Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrough, read Danziger's Britain, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

A suburb story of friendship, hardship and the love of footy, 06 Jan 2001
This is one of the best books i have read for a while. The Author using a mixture of Decription, Diolog and plot to create a suburb account of the lifestyles of the poor in Gateshead, Newcastle. It shows the importance of friendship and family, along with being often very funny. There are bits init that will make you cringe in discust. His descriptions are very acurate and he uses similies extreamly well. Its about two young boys who have dropped out of school and seek excapes from the average life of a street thug by setting their sites on two Newcastle Season tickets, it is there dream. See there hilarious schemes to ern/steal money for there beloved season tickets....

Zooming in on 'invisibles', 26 Nov 2000
Gerry and Sewell are hell bent on getting a season ticket. To go and watch 'The Lads' (Newcastle United) play is the dream which will lift them from the mundanity of the impoverished existence they were unlucky enough to be born into. This is the story of how they set about raising the money.

Tulloch's vivid portrayal of the corner of low life Gateshead which is the teenage truants' territory leaves one in no doubt as to their challenge, and provides an emotionally charged backdrop for the dramatic execution of their numerous madcap schemes in which twoc (taking without consent) features large. But Tulloch treads carefully so that as a reader one is invested in the plight of the boys. On the other hand one can only feel disdain for the grisly schoolteacher whose home on the middle-class housing estate the boys break into; one can and does regret the unfortunate and unexpected outcome of robbing the local shop, but so do they boys and so it is possible to remain on their side.

There is a myriad adventures along the way, but this is essentially a tale of a loyal friendship which sustains the two, to whom home is a place where the TV is forever under threat of removal by the bailiffs, and sugar in a cup of tea is a luxury.

Gerry and Sewell are a pair of lads, the like of whom might be seen on any streetcorner, huddling in a bus shelter, or kicking heels on any piece of waste land, but mostly they wouldn't be given a second glance. Tulloch has not only taken a second look, he has zoomed in on the two, followed them along the banks of the Tyne, through the dirty, rainy streets and into their sparse lives. True to fiction's form this novel, a joy to read, does more to illuminate the lives of these young have-nots of our society than might any fly-on-the-wall documentary.

One possible problem: the boys' conversations are transcribed in dialect. It was not a problem for me as I hail from the North East, but newcomers to Geordie may find themselves lagging behind. But it's worth keeping up to find out whether they achieve their dream - or their come-uppance.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

Grim Gateshead, 23 Aug 2002
MAKE NO MISTAKE, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting". Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmagorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as "Trainspotting". Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrought, read "Danziger's Britain
, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

It's grim up north, 16 Jul 2002
This is an ultimately depressing book which somehow manages to find amusement in a very dour look at life in Newcastle. The author does tend to make out that things haven't changed much since the forties, and to a certain extent, if you are from the south it re-inforces all your stereo typical opinions on the cold miserable desperate life north of Watford.

For all that, it it genuienly funny in places and there are moments of real humour to be found, the bungled robbery being one of them. It also manages to step beyond being a 'football' book despite it's subject matter, and should enjoy appeal to anyone who wants a gritty, urban comedy drama.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2001
Make no mistake, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmigorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as Trainspotting. Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrough, read Danziger's Britain, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

A suburb story of friendship, hardship and the love of footy, 06 Jan 2001
This is one of the best books i have read for a while. The Author using a mixture of Decription, Diolog and plot to create a suburb account of the lifestyles of the poor in Gateshead, Newcastle. It shows the importance of friendship and family, along with being often very funny. There are bits init that will make you cringe in discust. His descriptions are very acurate and he uses similies extreamly well. Its about two young boys who have dropped out of school and seek excapes from the average life of a street thug by setting their sites on two Newcastle Season tickets, it is there dream. See there hilarious schemes to ern/steal money for there beloved season tickets....

Zooming in on 'invisibles', 26 Nov 2000
Gerry and Sewell are hell bent on getting a season ticket. To go and watch 'The Lads' (Newcastle United) play is the dream which will lift them from the mundanity of the impoverished existence they were unlucky enough to be born into. This is the story of how they set about raising the money.

Tulloch's vivid portrayal of the corner of low life Gateshead which is the teenage truants' territory leaves one in no doubt as to their challenge, and provides an emotionally charged backdrop for the dramatic execution of their numerous madcap schemes in which twoc (taking without consent) features large. But Tulloch treads carefully so that as a reader one is invested in the plight of the boys. On the other hand one can only feel disdain for the grisly schoolteacher whose home on the middle-class housing estate the boys break into; one can and does regret the unfortunate and unexpected outcome of robbing the local shop, but so do they boys and so it is possible to remain on their side.

There is a myriad adventures along the way, but this is essentially a tale of a loyal friendship which sustains the two, to whom home is a place where the TV is forever under threat of removal by the bailiffs, and sugar in a cup of tea is a luxury.

Gerry and Sewell are a pair of lads, the like of whom might be seen on any streetcorner, huddling in a bus shelter, or kicking heels on any piece of waste land, but mostly they wouldn't be given a second glance. Tulloch has not only taken a second look, he has zoomed in on the two, followed them along the banks of the Tyne, through the dirty, rainy streets and into their sparse lives. True to fiction's form this novel, a joy to read, does more to illuminate the lives of these young have-nots of our society than might any fly-on-the-wall documentary.

One possible problem: the boys' conversations are transcribed in dialect. It was not a problem for me as I hail from the North East, but newcomers to Geordie may find themselves lagging behind. But it's worth keeping up to find out whether they achieve their dream - or their come-uppance.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

Grim Gateshead, 23 Aug 2002
MAKE NO MISTAKE, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting". Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmagorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as "Trainspotting". Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrought, read "Danziger's Britain
, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

It's grim up north, 16 Jul 2002
This is an ultimately depressing book which somehow manages to find amusement in a very dour look at life in Newcastle. The author does tend to make out that things haven't changed much since the forties, and to a certain extent, if you are from the south it re-inforces all your stereo typical opinions on the cold miserable desperate life north of Watford.

For all that, it it genuienly funny in places and there are moments of real humour to be found, the bungled robbery being one of them. It also manages to step beyond being a 'football' book despite it's subject matter, and should enjoy appeal to anyone who wants a gritty, urban comedy drama.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2001
Make no mistake, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmigorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as Trainspotting. Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrough, read Danziger's Britain, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

A suburb story of friendship, hardship and the love of footy, 06 Jan 2001
This is one of the best books i have read for a while. The Author using a mixture of Decription, Diolog and plot to create a suburb account of the lifestyles of the poor in Gateshead, Newcastle. It shows the importance of friendship and family, along with being often very funny. There are bits init that will make you cringe in discust. His descriptions are very acurate and he uses similies extreamly well. Its about two young boys who have dropped out of school and seek excapes from the average life of a street thug by setting their sites on two Newcastle Season tickets, it is there dream. See there hilarious schemes to ern/steal money for there beloved season tickets....

Zooming in on 'invisibles', 26 Nov 2000
Gerry and Sewell are hell bent on getting a season ticket. To go and watch 'The Lads' (Newcastle United) play is the dream which will lift them from the mundanity of the impoverished existence they were unlucky enough to be born into. This is the story of how they set about raising the money.

Tulloch's vivid portrayal of the corner of low life Gateshead which is the teenage truants' territory leaves one in no doubt as to their challenge, and provides an emotionally charged backdrop for the dramatic execution of their numerous madcap schemes in which twoc (taking without consent) features large. But Tulloch treads carefully so that as a reader one is invested in the plight of the boys. On the other hand one can only feel disdain for the grisly schoolteacher whose home on the middle-class housing estate the boys break into; one can and does regret the unfortunate and unexpected outcome of robbing the local shop, but so do they boys and so it is possible to remain on their side.

There is a myriad adventures along the way, but this is essentially a tale of a loyal friendship which sustains the two, to whom home is a place where the TV is forever under threat of removal by the bailiffs, and sugar in a cup of tea is a luxury.

Gerry and Sewell are a pair of lads, the like of whom might be seen on any streetcorner, huddling in a bus shelter, or kicking heels on any piece of waste land, but mostly they wouldn't be given a second glance. Tulloch has not only taken a second look, he has zoomed in on the two, followed them along the banks of the Tyne, through the dirty, rainy streets and into their sparse lives. True to fiction's form this novel, a joy to read, does more to illuminate the lives of these young have-nots of our society than might any fly-on-the-wall documentary.

One possible problem: the boys' conversations are transcribed in dialect. It was not a problem for me as I hail from the North East, but newcomers to Geordie may find themselves lagging behind. But it's worth keeping up to find out whether they achieve their dream - or their come-uppance.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

A Disappointing Misstep, 25 Dec 2003
Winning the lottery isn't exactly the freshest or strongest premise for a novel. The main problem is that it's a very predictable scenario—someone wins a ton of cash and their life is changed. The core themes invariably explore how people respond to such windfalls and change. It's such a flimsy narrative framework that it should be no surprise that writers usually apply it to conventional genres like the comic crime caper (Mrs. Million by Pete Hautman and Lucky You by Carl Hiassen), international thriller (The Winner by David Baldacci), mystery (The Rich Detective by HRF Keating and Sub Rosa by Ralph McInerny), and romance (Make Believe Matrimony by Kathern Shaw and Pot of Gold by Judith Michael). Writers willing to employ the premise in a serious work of fiction are rare, and until now only Jim Kokoris (The Rich Part of Life) had taken the challenge.

Tulloch's two previous books (The Season Ticket and The Bonny Lad) were extremely good pieces of fiction set in the Gatehead district of Newcastle, and this book continues his chronicling of that ghetto, with several characters reappearing. The central characters are Audrey (a 50ish grandmother and cleaning lady at a local mall), and her husband Ronny (a mild-mannered dreamer and cowboy builder). Like everyone else in their tower block, they struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their grandchildren and other neglected local kids. Audrey is a tough matriarch with heart of gold type, and Ronny is as softhearted as they come. This setup is all good and fine, but when they hit it big and win a £3 million jackpot in the lottery, the book starts a long and disappointing slope toward cliché.

With the burgeoning of local and national lotteries in the last two decades, the profile of the average hardworking person winning the lottery has become a newspaper staple. Similarly, the tale of the lottery winner whose win ironically brings misery has clearly entered the collective unconscious. So when Audrey and Ronny's win gradually turns sour as weaknesses come to light, jealousies spring to life, and family starts to disintegrate, one keeps waiting for a new twist on the theme, and is disappointed when it never comes. Which is not to say that Tulloch's descriptive powers are any weaker, or that he doesn't tackle it all with his blend of tenderness and poignant humor—but rather to lament his having fallen into the lottery winner story's familiar pattern. Hopefully his next book will see him return to the form of his first two.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

Grim Gateshead, 23 Aug 2002
MAKE NO MISTAKE, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting". Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmagorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as "Trainspotting". Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrought, read "Danziger's Britain
, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

It's grim up north, 16 Jul 2002
This is an ultimately depressing book which somehow manages to find amusement in a very dour look at life in Newcastle. The author does tend to make out that things haven't changed much since the forties, and to a certain extent, if you are from the south it re-inforces all your stereo typical opinions on the cold miserable desperate life north of Watford.

For all that, it it genuienly funny in places and there are moments of real humour to be found, the bungled robbery being one of them. It also manages to step beyond being a 'football' book despite it's subject matter, and should enjoy appeal to anyone who wants a gritty, urban comedy drama.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2001
Make no mistake, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmigorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as Trainspotting. Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrough, read Danziger's Britain, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

A suburb story of friendship, hardship and the love of footy, 06 Jan 2001
This is one of the best books i have read for a while. The Author using a mixture of Decription, Diolog and plot to create a suburb account of the lifestyles of the poor in Gateshead, Newcastle. It shows the importance of friendship and family, along with being often very funny. There are bits init that will make you cringe in discust. His descriptions are very acurate and he uses similies extreamly well. Its about two young boys who have dropped out of school and seek excapes from the average life of a street thug by setting their sites on two Newcastle Season tickets, it is there dream. See there hilarious schemes to ern/steal money for there beloved season tickets....

Zooming in on 'invisibles', 26 Nov 2000
Gerry and Sewell are hell bent on getting a season ticket. To go and watch 'The Lads' (Newcastle United) play is the dream which will lift them from the mundanity of the impoverished existence they were unlucky enough to be born into. This is the story of how they set about raising the money.

Tulloch's vivid portrayal of the corner of low life Gateshead which is the teenage truants' territory leaves one in no doubt as to their challenge, and provides an emotionally charged backdrop for the dramatic execution of their numerous madcap schemes in which twoc (taking without consent) features large. But Tulloch treads carefully so that as a reader one is invested in the plight of the boys. On the other hand one can only feel disdain for the grisly schoolteacher whose home on the middle-class housing estate the boys break into; one can and does regret the unfortunate and unexpected outcome of robbing the local shop, but so do they boys and so it is possible to remain on their side.

There is a myriad adventures along the way, but this is essentially a tale of a loyal friendship which sustains the two, to whom home is a place where the TV is forever under threat of removal by the bailiffs, and sugar in a cup of tea is a luxury.

Gerry and Sewell are a pair of lads, the like of whom might be seen on any streetcorner, huddling in a bus shelter, or kicking heels on any piece of waste land, but mostly they wouldn't be given a second glance. Tulloch has not only taken a second look, he has zoomed in on the two, followed them along the banks of the Tyne, through the dirty, rainy streets and into their sparse lives. True to fiction's form this novel, a joy to read, does more to illuminate the lives of these young have-nots of our society than might any fly-on-the-wall documentary.

One possible problem: the boys' conversations are transcribed in dialect. It was not a problem for me as I hail from the North East, but newcomers to Geordie may find themselves lagging behind. But it's worth keeping up to find out whether they achieve their dream - or their come-uppance.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

A Disappointing Misstep, 25 Dec 2003
Winning the lottery isn't exactly the freshest or strongest premise for a novel. The main problem is that it's a very predictable scenario—someone wins a ton of cash and their life is changed. The core themes invariably explore how people respond to such windfalls and change. It's such a flimsy narrative framework that it should be no surprise that writers usually apply it to conventional genres like the comic crime caper (Mrs. Million by Pete Hautman and Lucky You by Carl Hiassen), international thriller (The Winner by David Baldacci), mystery (The Rich Detective by HRF Keating and Sub Rosa by Ralph McInerny), and romance (Make Believe Matrimony by Kathern Shaw and Pot of Gold by Judith Michael). Writers willing to employ the premise in a serious work of fiction are rare, and until now only Jim Kokoris (The Rich Part of Life) had taken the challenge.

Tulloch's two previous books (The Season Ticket and The Bonny Lad) were extremely good pieces of fiction set in the Gatehead district of Newcastle, and this book continues his chronicling of that ghetto, with several characters reappearing. The central characters are Audrey (a 50ish grandmother and cleaning lady at a local mall), and her husband Ronny (a mild-mannered dreamer and cowboy builder). Like everyone else in their tower block, they struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their grandchildren and other neglected local kids. Audrey is a tough matriarch with heart of gold type, and Ronny is as softhearted as they come. This setup is all good and fine, but when they hit it big and win a £3 million jackpot in the lottery, the book starts a long and disappointing slope toward cliché.

With the burgeoning of local and national lotteries in the last two decades, the profile of the average hardworking person winning the lottery has become a newspaper staple. Similarly, the tale of the lottery winner whose win ironically brings misery has clearly entered the collective unconscious. So when Audrey and Ronny's win gradually turns sour as weaknesses come to light, jealousies spring to life, and family starts to disintegrate, one keeps waiting for a new twist on the theme, and is disappointed when it never comes. Which is not to say that Tulloch's descriptive powers are any weaker, or that he doesn't tackle it all with his blend of tenderness and poignant humor—but rather to lament his having fallen into the lottery winner story's familiar pattern. Hopefully his next book will see him return to the form of his first two.

A Disappointing Misstep, 25 Dec 2003
Winning the lottery isn't exactly the freshest or strongest premise for a novel. The main problem is that it's a very predictable scenario—someone wins a ton of cash and their life is changed. The core themes invariably explore how people respond to such windfalls and change. It's such a flimsy narrative framework that it should be no surprise that writers usually apply it to conventional genres like the comic crime caper (Mrs. Million by Pete Hautman and Lucky You by Carl Hiassen), international thriller (The Winner by David Baldacci), mystery (The Rich Detective by HRF Keating and Sub Rosa by Ralph McInerny), and romance (Make Believe Matrimony by Kathern Shaw and Pot of Gold by Judith Michael). Writers willing to employ the premise in a serious work of fiction are rare, and until now only Jim Kokoris (The Rich Part of Life) had taken the challenge.

Tulloch's two previous books (The Season Ticket and The Bonny Lad) were extremely good pieces of fiction set in the Gatehead district of Newcastle, and this book continues his chronicling of that ghetto, with several characters reappearing. The central characters are Audrey (a 50ish grandmother and cleaning lady at a local mall), and her husband Ronny (a mild-mannered dreamer and cowboy builder). Like everyone else in their tower block, they struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their grandchildren and other neglected local kids. Audrey is a tough matriarch with heart of gold type, and Ronny is as softhearted as they come. This setup is all good and fine, but when they hit it big and win a £3 million jackpot in the lottery, the book starts a long and disappointing slope toward cliché.

With the burgeoning of local and national lotteries in the last two decades, the profile of the average hardworking person winning the lottery has become a newspaper staple. Similarly, the tale of the lottery winner whose win ironically brings misery has clearly entered the collective unconscious. So when Audrey and Ronny's win gradually turns sour as weaknesses come to light, jealousies spring to life, and family starts to disintegrate, one keeps waiting for a new twist on the theme, and is disappointed when it never comes. Which is not to say that Tulloch's descriptive powers are any weaker, or that he doesn't tackle it all with his blend of tenderness and poignant humor—but rather to lament his having fallen into the lottery winner story's familiar pattern. Hopefully his next book will see him return to the form of his first two.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.

Grim Gateshead, 23 Aug 2002
MAKE NO MISTAKE, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting". Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmagorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as "Trainspotting". Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrought, read "Danziger's Britain
, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

It's grim up north, 16 Jul 2002
This is an ultimately depressing book which somehow manages to find amusement in a very dour look at life in Newcastle. The author does tend to make out that things haven't changed much since the forties, and to a certain extent, if you are from the south it re-inforces all your stereo typical opinions on the cold miserable desperate life north of Watford.

For all that, it it genuienly funny in places and there are moments of real humour to be found, the bungled robbery being one of them. It also manages to step beyond being a 'football' book despite it's subject matter, and should enjoy appeal to anyone who wants a gritty, urban comedy drama.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2001
Make no mistake, this is a brilliant novel. And while most people seem to want to compare it to one of Roddy Doyle's Barrytown works, it more properly belongs alongside Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting. Like Welsh's breakthrough book, conversations are transcribed in local dialect and slang (the Geordie of Newcastle), once you get the rhythm of it, it's lovely. And as in Trainspotting, Tulloch is interested in humanizing the inhabitants of modern Britain's slums and ghettos-here through Gerry and Sewell, two teenage boys living in Gateshead. They play truant from school, wandering aimlessly, joyriding and thieving until they give voice their dream: to save up enough money to buy season tickets for Newcastle United. From that point on, all their half-baked scams and grafting are focused on attaining that prize. In the background is Gerry's impoverished family life: his mother slowly dying, a sister missing on the streets, a baby nephew and grandmother who need caring for, repo men coming for the TV, not enough money for sugar, and always lurking in the shadows, an abusive and alcoholic father who they all must hide from. Rescuing this from being a simple portrait of poverty is the loyal friendship between crafty Gerry and large but slow dog-loving Sewell (bringing to mind Of Mice and Men). The two are minor criminals, but it's hard not to keep rooting for them, even when one of their schemes goes nastily awry. To be fair to the comparisons to Roddy Doyle, Tulloch's narrative is more linear, he doesn't engage in the kind of phantasmigorical pyrotechnics Welsh does, not is it as formless as Trainspotting. Rather, the book is a masterpiece of bittersweet minimalist observation. If Alan Sillitoe had been born 35 years later, this is a book he might have written. Oh yes, and if anyone thinks the portrayal of Gateshead is overwrough, read Danziger's Britain, and prepare to be depressed about the state of modern Britain.

A suburb story of friendship, hardship and the love of footy, 06 Jan 2001
This is one of the best books i have read for a while. The Author using a mixture of Decription, Diolog and plot to create a suburb account of the lifestyles of the poor in Gateshead, Newcastle. It shows the importance of friendship and family, along with being often very funny. There are bits init that will make you cringe in discust. His descriptions are very acurate and he uses similies extreamly well. Its about two young boys who have dropped out of school and seek excapes from the average life of a street thug by setting their sites on two Newcastle Season tickets, it is there dream. See there hilarious schemes to ern/steal money for there beloved season tickets....

Zooming in on 'invisibles', 26 Nov 2000
Gerry and Sewell are hell bent on getting a season ticket. To go and watch 'The Lads' (Newcastle United) play is the dream which will lift them from the mundanity of the impoverished existence they were unlucky enough to be born into. This is the story of how they set about raising the money.

Tulloch's vivid portrayal of the corner of low life Gateshead which is the teenage truants' territory leaves one in no doubt as to their challenge, and provides an emotionally charged backdrop for the dramatic execution of their numerous madcap schemes in which twoc (taking without consent) features large. But Tulloch treads carefully so that as a reader one is invested in the plight of the boys. On the other hand one can only feel disdain for the grisly schoolteacher whose home on the middle-class housing estate the boys break into; one can and does regret the unfortunate and unexpected outcome of robbing the local shop, but so do they boys and so it is possible to remain on their side.

There is a myriad adventures along the way, but this is essentially a tale of a loyal friendship which sustains the two, to whom home is a place where the TV is forever under threat of removal by the bailiffs, and sugar in a cup of tea is a luxury.

Gerry and Sewell are a pair of lads, the like of whom might be seen on any streetcorner, huddling in a bus shelter, or kicking heels on any piece of waste land, but mostly they wouldn't be given a second glance. Tulloch has not only taken a second look, he has zoomed in on the two, followed them along the banks of the Tyne, through the dirty, rainy streets and into their sparse lives. True to fiction's form this novel, a joy to read, does more to illuminate the lives of these young have-nots of our society than might any fly-on-the-wall documentary.

One possible problem: the boys' conversations are transcribed in dialect. It was not a problem for me as I hail from the North East, but newcomers to Geordie may find themselves lagging behind. But it's worth keeping up to find out whether they achieve their dream - or their come-uppance.

who'd be a priest?, 14 Jul 2007
Having read one of Jonathan Tulloch's previous books, The Lottery, I was expecting a bit more humour. There is some here but it's a dark humour and fairly well buried in the bleak story of a priest, Father Tom Carey, at odds with a lifetime of faith. He seems to be troubled not with the existence of his God, but with his love of Him and His creation. A change of parish, suggested by his Bishop, creates more confusion in him than clarity as he is, at one point almost literally, immersed in the dregs of society in and around a North-East sea port on the River Tees.
Encounters with an aggressive Russian shipmaster and his terrified Filipino crew, prostitutes plying trade outside his presbytery and a tramp who continually rings the doorbell at all hours build a rage within him he seems unlikely to contain. Only a re-forming of an old close friendship with a nun from his time in the seminary seems to raise his spirit.
With a style reminiscent of Graham Swift, Jonathan Tulloch can pull the reader's emotions from anxiety to joy and back again on the same page.
Although slow to start, the story gathers pace well and kept me awake well into the night. I sympathised easily with the frustration of Father Tom, but felt his troubles remained ultimately unresolved. Perhaps that was Tulloch's intention. With this latest novel, a departure from the humour of his earlier work, Tulloch proves he is one of the best writers around today.

Best Yet, 19 Jul 2005
This is Tulloch's best novel yet. He is the only author writng accessible contemporary literary fiction and is not only brilliant to read but try to catch him performing at a readers festival-outstanding Dickensian entertainment

A Disappointing Misstep, 25 Dec 2003
Winning the lottery isn't exactly the freshest or strongest premise for a novel. The main problem is that it's a very predictable scenario—someone wins a ton of cash and their life is changed. The core themes invariably explore how people respond to such windfalls and change. It's such a flimsy narrative framework that it should be no surprise that writers usually apply it to conventional genres like the comic crime caper (Mrs. Million by Pete Hautman and Lucky You by Carl Hiassen), international thriller (The Winner by David Baldacci), mystery (The Rich Detective by HRF Keating and Sub Rosa by Ralph McInerny), and romance (Make Believe Matrimony by Kathern Shaw and Pot of Gold by Judith Michael). Writers willing to employ the premise in a serious work of fiction are rare, and until now only Jim Kokoris (The Rich Part of Life) had taken the challenge.

Tulloch's two previous books (The Season Ticket and The Bonny Lad) were extremely good pieces of fiction set in the Gatehead district of Newcastle, and this book continues his chronicling of that ghetto, with several characters reappearing. The central characters are Audrey (a 50ish grandmother and cleaning lady at a local mall), and her husband Ronny (a mild-mannered dreamer and cowboy builder). Like everyone else in their tower block, they struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their grandchildren and other neglected local kids. Audrey is a tough matriarch with heart of gold type, and Ronny is as softhearted as they come. This setup is all good and fine, but when they hit it big and win a £3 million jackpot in the lottery, the book starts a long and disappointing slope toward cliché.

With the burgeoning of local and national lotteries in the last two decades, the profile of the average hardworking person winning the lottery has become a newspaper staple. Similarly, the tale of the lottery winner whose win ironically brings misery has clearly entered the collective unconscious. So when Audrey and Ronny's win gradually turns sour as weaknesses come to light, jealousies spring to life, and family starts to disintegrate, one keeps waiting for a new twist on the theme, and is disappointed when it never comes. Which is not to say that Tulloch's descriptive powers are any weaker, or that he doesn't tackle it all with his blend of tenderness and poignant humor—but rather to lament his having fallen into the lottery winner story's familiar pattern. Hopefully his next book will see him return to the form of his first two.

A Disappointing Misstep, 25 Dec 2003
Winning the lottery isn't exactly the freshest or strongest premise for a novel. The main problem is that it's a very predictable scenario—someone wins a ton of cash and their life is changed. The core themes invariably explore how people respond to such windfalls and change. It's such a flimsy narrative framework that it should be no surprise that writers usually apply it to conventional genres like the comic crime caper (Mrs. Million by Pete Hautman and Lucky You by Carl Hiassen), international thriller (The Winner by David Baldacci), mystery (The Rich Detective by HRF Keating and Sub Rosa by Ralph McInerny), and romance (Make Believe Matrimony by Kathern Shaw and Pot of Gold by Judith Michael). Writers willing to employ the premise in a serious work of fiction are rare, and until now only Jim Kokoris (The Rich Part of Life) had taken the challenge.

Tulloch's two previous books (The Season Ticket and The Bonny Lad) were extremely good pieces of fiction set in the Gatehead district of Newcastle, and this book continues his chronicling of that ghetto, with several characters reappearing. The central characters are Audrey (a 50ish grandmother and cleaning lady at a local mall), and her husband Ronny (a mild-mannered dreamer and cowboy builder). Like everyone else in their tower block, they struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table for their grandchildren and other neglected local kids. Audrey is a tough matriarch with heart of gold type, and Ronny is as softhearted as they come. This setup is all good and fine, but when they hit it big and win a £3 million jackpot in the lottery, the book starts a long and disappointing slope toward cliché.

With the burgeoning of local and national lotteries in the last two decades, the profile of the average hardworking person winning the lottery has become a newspaper staple. Similarly, the tale of the lottery winner whose win ironically brings misery has clearly entered the collective unconscious. So when Audrey and Ronny's win gradually turns sour as weaknesses come to light, jealousies spring to life, and family starts to disintegrate, one keeps waiting for a new twist on the theme, and is disappointed when it never comes. Which is not to say that Tulloch's descriptive powers are any weaker, or that he doesn't tackle it all with his blend of tenderness and poignant humor—but rather to lament his having fallen into the lottery winner story's familiar pattern. Hopefully his next book will see him return to the form of his first two.

Absolutely brilliant, 14 Jun 2006
I loved this book so much. It was funny, moving and kept you guessing right up to the very last sentence. At first I thought the written Geordie dialect would put me off but after a few pages I soon got used to it and was soon sounding like a Geordie in my head. I would recommend this book to anyone.

The Bonny Lad, 05 Jan 2006
The book itself is a magnificent insight into human relationships. The relationship between the boy and the old man, so very moving. The Gramdma and her numerous grandchildren. A cast of characters out of this world and all delivered with such rapour you want to hurry the narrator along so as to enjoy the next chuckle,the next tear, the next belly laugh. The narrator performs the characters to perfection. A wonderful listen. A wonderful read.

A totally enthralling book., 06 Apr 2001
When I began reading this book I found the Geordie dialect difficult to interprate and thought about giving up.However,by the end of the first chapter I wanted to know what happened next.The characters were so full of life that I felt I could picture them vividly in my mind.I still don't know what half of the words meant but it did not stop me enjoying the book to the end.

Funny, heartwarming and very humitarian., 11 Mar 2001
This is a good novel, this is a good tale. This is the kind of book you feel better for having read. Tulloch takes a massive stride from his debut novel and, basically, touches you. Sonny Gee is the kind of character you want to read about - the dispossessed, the left behind. This is a political novel with a heart of gold. You could almost call it retro in the way that it deals with real emotions as the story unfurls. Almost in direct opposition to pretentious books that concern themselves more with the form and literary tradition. This is a book for people who like reading books. Together with writers such as post Gen X Coupland, this is a page-turner that documents the times that maybe don't appear in the newspapers and gossip columns. Real life...which we all experience.

Back, Better, Belter, 01 Mar 2001
Il magglior fabbro of Gateshead is back. For some it was Tulloch's gift for dialogue that first grabbed their attention in his fine debut The Season Ticket. For some it was the juxtapositions of poverty and beauty, of humnour and sadness. Comparisons with Roddy Doyle and Dickens were drawn quickly. For others it was the moral force - greed in football and the the common man's pricing out of the game.

The Bonny Lad does all this and it does more. The cast is larger this time. The young but tough Sonny Gee is left with his gradnfather Joe O'Brien, a former miner, disabled and taciturn. The friendship and comedy: both try to look after the other blossoms into a deep friendship. And it will make you weep. anyoine who reads chapters ten and eleven with a dry eye is unworthy of being a human being - I personally felt my chest swell with pride when Joe sings his song in the abandoned mansion. Gemma, Rusty and Macka all make returns...and watch for a huge revelation about Sewell. The characters, particularly Joe are very well drawn, and you will find writing to make you cry and laugh out aloud in a way so little fiction does these days.