Author:John King
Skinheads is the story of a way of life, told through three generations of a family: Terry English, original ska-loving skinhead and boss of a mini-cab firm; Nutty Ray, street-punk skin and active football hooligan; and Lol, son of Terry, nephew of Ray, a fifteen-year-old kid just starting out.
Terry is sick and not sure he's going to make his fiftieth birthday, but is kept going by his music, his lovely assistant Angie, and his discovery of the abandoned Union Jack Club, which he decides to clean up and re-open. Ray, meanwhile, is out driving mini-cabs and struggling to control his anger - his only release: days out with Chelsea's finest. But when he takes the law into his own hands in an explosion of righteous violence, his future starts to darken.
King...offers a nuanced argument for skinhead culture
—— ArenaAn energetic and technically adroit writer
—— Sunday TelegraphKing's achievement since his debut has been enormous: creating a modern, proletarian English literature at once genuinely modern, genuinely proletarian, genuinely English and genuinely literature. His novels immerse his readers in the stream of consciousness of people who, as routinely depicted in the media, barely have consciousness at all
—— IndependentKing is a master of idiom and street slang. He speaks with a voice that appears to be the true expression of disaffected white British youth
—— The TimesBeaumont has spread his wings with Small World, ditching the out and out comedy for some sharp social analysis, but retaining his knack for a witty, punchy story
—— MetroHeartfelt story of illicit love ... What's so interesting about Addonia's novel, though, is that it shows a man suffering from the consequences of the repression of women ... The frustration and loneliness he experiences living in a male-oriented world are powerfully depicted, as are the inertia, corruption and hypocrisy that flourish when morality is regulated by the state
—— Literary ReviewThis tale of forbidden passion is tense and provocative... Compelling
—— Maire ClaireAn intense and moving glimpse into a world where love is an impossible dream
—— The TimesBeautifully written, with an imaginative and poetic narrative style
—— AestheticaA treat for literature lovers who appreciate complexity in their novels and aren't afraid to deal with tough topics
—— Library JournalHarvey's novel bravely reimagines the horrors of Alzheimer's from within the ever-narrowing parameters of an architect's mind
—— New York TimesCloser to Virginia Woolf's meditative novels than anything else I can think of
—— Washington PostA forensic examination of loss and misunderstanding, a paean to the vital force of stories, and an incredibly moving look at a sword of Damocles that hangs over us all.
—— Tom Webber , ObserverHarvey shows her remarkable powers of empathy and her no less remarkable literary skill. To write about a disordered mind is to court the danger of creating a work that is itself disordered. But from start to finish her control is absolute....I can think of few more distinguished literary debuts in recent years
—— Francis King , Literary ReviewMoving, convincing, adroit- it is a remarkably accomplished first novel and a beautiful jacket
—— Susan Hill , The LadyHarvey's is certainly the outstanding fictional debut to have come my way this year
—— Francis King , The OldieIntricately and delicately woven
—— Lucy Atkins , Sunday TimesImpressive first novel [which] plays some original tricks with narrative
—— Ophelia Field , Sunday Telegraph MagazineAn extremely gifted writer
—— Independent on SundayDeeply original and captivating...The lyrical power of these shifting and competing narratives is matched by the absolute emotional realism of Jake's own desperate plight: his shame and anger and impotence are devastatingly recorded. And yet this is not a depressing novel, but rather one so full of urgent life that it rouses even as it terrifies.
—— Olivia Laing , The ObserverMany novels have documented the trials of living with dementia, but this mind-bending debut throws us straight into the skewed recesses of a sufferer's brain... An exhilarating trip, but for the thought that this is a place some of us might visit one day.
—— Emma Hagestadt , Independent