(1888PressRelease)
May 23, 2009 - THE BALL GAME by Fran Brady is a fascinating new novel dedicated to “all those who remember the sixties - and those who don’t – even if they were there.”
This is a two-worlds-collide drama where pretentious undergraduates at an ancient university contrast with hard-working, plain-speaking farming folk. The link is one of the main characters, a girl from a farming family in North East Scotland who has “gone up” to St Andrews University.
The 1960’s setting is vibrantly alive with the music, the clothes, the language and the teenage culture of the time. The swinging sixties are beginning to reach even as far north as Forfar!
Behind the young people stands the older generation, doing what parents do best - and worst: meddling, spoiling, refusing to accept their children’s career choices, trying to live their own lives again through their children; or wrapped up in their own pleasures, ignoring their responsibilities.
One indulgent mother has given her immature son a dangerous toy: a less-than-roadworthy old sports car, an MG-TF. These are the days before MOT tests or serious drink-driving laws. It is a lethal combination. An inexperienced, intoxicated driver and a fast car in poor condition provide the pivotal event of the plot.
The two different worlds are brilliantly portrayed. The Ball Game “captures university and home life of the period with attention to detail and dialogue that is credible and authentic”.
(Alistair Forrest, author of Libertas, publ. by Quaestor 2000)
The dialogue sparkles and the narrative has a light, sure touch. But, beneath the light-hearted banter and fast plot, lurks a darker theme of youth blighted by bigotry, prejudice, insecurity and mental illness. The book is an anthem to youth tinged with regret for those whose youthful joy has been stolen from them. Youth’s a stuff will not endure is the Shakespeare quote that leads us into the first chapter and echoes the author’s sigh.
Racy, pacey, an absorbing plot with wonderful characters. To be enjoyed as a walk down memory lane for older readers and a glimpse into the vanished world of not-so-long-ago for younger ones.
###
