Laff

(Paperback)

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Description

Irish-Scottish memoir from the author of GALLOWAY STREET John, a teenager, struggles with loneliness and alienation in Ferguslie Park, a rough housing scheme in 1950's Scotland. At school he makes friends with Laff, a Ferguslie boy who shares his dream of escape. Their friendship becomes a fortress against the mockery they face at school and the menace of 'Feegie' - and their dreams are only heightened when rock'n roll, jukeboxes and Teddy Boys erupt like a splash of technicolour into their monochrome lives. They yearn for sex, dream of romance, discover jealousy,get into fights... When tragedy intervenes, John is in danger of 'settling for less' - giving up on their youthful dream. But Laff's influence persists...

Reviews

'Boyle's memories are marked with fondness rather than sentimentality...with a sad twist in the tale guaranteed to grab you' * The Scotsman *
'All the moving, tentative quality of male friendship is caught in flight. The period detail is exact, the ear for dialogue deadly' * Dubliner Magazine *
'The significance of this friendship distinguishes Boyle's memoir from others...Far less self-pitying than Angela's Ashes' * Glasgow Herald *
'Deftly chronicles a 1950s Catholic childhood. Particularly well drawn is the intensity of that first special friendship which one can never fully leave behind' * Sunday Tribune *

Author Bio

John Boyle left Scotland at nineteen and has lived most of his adult life abroad. He taught English in Spain and London, managed language schools in Belgium and Holland, then set up a communications consultancy in Brussels. Now a writer and columnist, he still does commercial voiceovers in Brussels, New York and London. He is the author of Galloway Street and Laff.