Read this without reading his first book Sailor Jack - whilst I enjoyed it, I think it would have benefited from reading the first instalment for some insight to the characters. Having said that, the characters were interesting and it was a great story of family relationships set against the back drop of Brexit and right up to date. A very enjoyable read, told from a male and female perspective.

This was a bit of a sleeper agent for me. Not something I would normally read but it’s such a beautifully evoked portrait of family, and of the individuals within a family, that I was enchanted. Sharp and incisive on politics and religion, it was warm and tender on the connections between people, and the pasts we trail behind us. A delightful surprise.

Many thanks to the author, publishers and Netgalley for a free ARC of this ebook.
Although this book is written with intelligence, humour and political insight, I found little within it to catch my imagination. It wasn't my sort of thing at all and although I think it will appeal to many, I'm not amongst them.
This book is the second outing for a couple of elderly grammar school /. Oxbridge educated, 'done OK for themselves' men. Much I'd it is set in the North West of England, my home turf incidentally. Weirdly these 2 old boys seem to be able to attract younger women. There was a lot of historic left wing, political rambling, a bit of disfunctional family life and it all got quite tedious. I'll score it a 2.5, rounded up to a 3 star review., on the basis of its individuality, and some quite fun characters.

I was misled by the cover of this book and expected a more historical drama. It follows the first novel by this author 'Where's Sailor Jack' which introduced the characters to the reader. However this can be read separately and I thought it's contemporary exploration of Brexit, religion, sexuality and politics might be interesting.
Bob Swarbrick is the narrator - although his partner Wendy takes over at one point. He is now 70 but has young children with Wendy (whose husband is in a care home with dementia). Bob was previously married and the subsequent children from both partners lead to some varied and sometimes lively family meetings. Events such as Christmas, Easter and birthdays often elicited arguments, romance and many dinner table debates on the world as they see it from several perspectives.
But eventually I was worn down by the continued metaphorical dancing around each other. Sexuality in all its forms has been introduced in all its forms. There are some stereotypical images presented and there is often a 'macho' view made through jokes but underlining some toxic undercurrents.
Overall I felt the novel was overlong and could have been better edited. The end was rushed and obviously extended to include the current pandemic. There will be other topical literature around the events of the past years (notably 'Middle England' by Jonathan Coe). Unfortunately I didn't feel Bob and his extended family and friends brought the best to this party.

A sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, look at the modern condition, including brexit, and memories of times past, like Dylans Freewheeling album. All in all a highly readable book, that links the generations.