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Set in both the present day and the early 1980s, when Maggie Thatcher
ruled the world (or thought she did) and new wave kids were dreaming
up insurrection, The Last Mad Surge of Youth is a novel about bands,
growing up, moving away and getting famous, suicide, staying at
home and getting bored, fanzines, the bomb, love, alcoholism, egotism
and self-doubt.
The narrative begins with the D-I-Y ethos of punk, steering through
major label hype, to tired aftermath. While the protagonist, John
Barrett, holds centre stage, his boyhood pal, Dave Carey, who opted
out of the band for fear of playing live, is left at home, to brood.
The pair meet up years later in controversial circumstances and
ponder how now became then, and what they do next.
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the papers say | MarkHodkinson.com
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