Made in Britain by Gavin James Bower

I've blogged recently about the joys of finding new writers and writing styles in the e-book format for mere pennies and I am pleased to have proved myself right, having just finished Made in Britain by Gavin James Bower. This is Bower's second novel, the first being a novel set in London's modelling world Dazed and Aroused. (Turns out that Mr Bower is a former model himself and really terribly easy on the eye - bonus.)

This second novel is a world away from the subject matter of the first, and focuses on a trio of sixteen year olds living in Burnley. The book is the story of a teenage love triangle between Charlie, the bad boy; Russell, the goth; and Hayley, the virgin. Far from pandering to stereotypes however, these characters are crafted with empathy. These are characters that will stay with you. The prose is short (just 200 pages) and to the point but there is a real tension in the book, a sense that this cannot end well. 

The novel charts these three lives through the pivotal time that is the GCSE exams. We see Charlie's slow descent into the world of drugs and crime as he is sucked into a local gang and his struggles to deal with an abusive and alcoholic father. Russell longs to escape and dreams of a life in Leeds away from his depressed and clingy mother and spends his days trying to avoid tormentors. Hayley is caught between giving into her own longings and the drives of the sexualised society around her, and being the good girl that her widowed father so badly wants her to be. All three are "good kids" and I found myself with a real affection for them all.

The overwhelming presence in the book is the the town, though. Bower grew up in Burnley so this is his hometown, and he writes with a passion. You can almost taste the bitter disappointment, the despair and the downright rage of the inhabitants. Drugs are ubiquitous and are mistaken for a means of escape but are inevitably the trap. Waj, the brilliantly menacing drug dealer is one of the few characters who doesn't partake and is therefore able to walk away. Everyone else is bound into the framework, unable to move.

Frequent references to the lack of job opportunities and the demise of the manufacturing in the North as well as poignant remarks about the scars of the race riots, pepper the book and the lives of these three kids. They are told to work hard, to do well at school but when Russell visits the local library he finds it closed "until further notice" and Charlie knows that even with good results university is way beyond his reach. He cannot see why playing by the rules and a life of unemployment and poverty would be better than the drug deals that are filling his holdall with more cash than knows what to do with. Charlie’s story is truly tragic as you see door after door close on him and realise that there is no way out. It throws an ever harsher light on the current debates about the availability of higher education to children from these areas and backgrounds and indeed on the motives behind the recent riots in Britain.

At the base of this story is of course sexuality. But rather than a gentle blossoming flower portrayed in some older coming of age tales, sex is thrust upon these kids with a bang. Charlie's experiences are in a haze of alcohol and drugs and seem to bring him little joy. Russell is dreaming fruitlessly of a love that is pure and romantic but ultimately unrealistic. Hayley is confused by what is expected of her, what her deceased mother would want and what she wants. Her final scenes are heartbreaking. The only piece of the puzzle I felt was a little stiff to fit was Hayley's teacher, Mr Mitchell. I understood his role as the predatory male but I felt that Hayley's character really didn't need this to convey vulnerability.

Covering racism, homophobia, drug abuse, domestic violence, depression and suicide - this book is not an easy read but I would argue that is not a completely bleak outlook. What you are left with is a sense of injustice and tragedy but also of the goodness of people, of our children. In a time when finger-pointing and talk of “feral youth” is rife, it’s good to remind ourselves that the world these kids are living in, is not necessarily the world they want and it definitely isn’t the world they made. 

Made in Britain is available in Kindle format for £1.99 at the moment.