The Alternative Hero
Tim Thornton
The plug for this debut novel by Thornton on the fictional website says it all:
“By the time most people hit 30, they’ve managed to do one of the following things:
1. Grow up
2.. Meet one of their heroes
3. Move on a bit from the music they were obsessed with at the age of 17.”
The premise of this book is outstanding Take a teen aged boy who never really fit in but is obsessed with a band “The Thieving Magpies”. He never really feels alive until he sees them perform live for the first time and even then becomes more obsessed.
Fast forward that band obsessed kid to a grown up in a dead end job who still longs for the glory of ‘back in the day’. Who wishes he could have been the rock journalist he swore he would be. Instead of stuck in a dead end job in a rank flat with a boring girl, drinking too much and complaining too often.
Now take that same 30 something and have his teen aged rock band idol move in right down the street from him. The hilarity comes up with the absolute insane ways he goes about scheming to meet him and the ramifications of his hair brained ideas. This novel rang true in so many senses that it was tough to put down. The only snag along the way is Thornton is incredibly British and as a Yank threes alot of stop start to gather meaning to some of the humor. Other than that its full steam ahead.
There you have the premise for this cheeky brit lit story of Clive Beresford. Who through a series of hysterical ins and outs and fake names and hide outs actually gets to know and relive the glory days of the London 80s alt scene with his hero. Talk of stage diving and drunken singalongs, scores and delusions of grandeur. A dream come true right?
I wont blow the plot for you but I will highly recommend this if you had any interest at all in or were in attendance at the New Wave / Punk scene of the 80’s. This book is going to whip you right back there and you’ll be smiling about it no matter how it all worked out for you.
Now to get a feel for whats in store for you check out the website it gives a fantastic vibe of what its about. If any of you have read it I would love to hear your spin on it.
http://www.alternativehero.co.uk/index.asp