We don't always get to choose when we grow up
Jacob Polley is one of the country's most talented young poets; in TALK OF THE TOWN he tries his hand at fiction for the first time with stunning results - think Trainspotting, but set in Carlisle. Christopher's not looking for trouble; he's just looking for his best mate. Tomorrow, Chris goes back to school after the long summer holidays, but what he's just heard has got him wondering. TALK OF THE TOWN follows him as he sets out on a perilous journey that takes him from the phone box on the corner, to the cemetery and the arcades, across town and into the fields beyond. On the way, Chris must avoid many obstacles, including the menacing Booby Grove and his psychotic sidekick, Carl 'the Black' Hole, but he'll discover along the way that while we all have to grow up sometime, we can't always decide when.
" TALK OF THE TOWN, with its sensitive, deeply perceptive portrayal of childhood, adolescence, and the often-painful path to adulthood, is full of truths and observations that will resonate with all
" Set in the '80s, it depicts both rural and urban working class life in north of England with rich colour and a powerful sense of place and time.