Philip Collins's first novel, The Men from the Boys, heralded the
arrival of a bright new voice on the literary scene. In this second
book he achieves the almost impossible feat of subjecting his
reader to tears of joy and grief within a few brief paragraphs. All
human life is here in the Northern town of Heywood, where Georgie
Lees rules the roost at the Amateur Dramatic Society and her
husband, Preston, runs the local funeral business; life with all
its richness and routine, the daily grind leavened with wit and
absurdity. Georgie lives for the hours she spends on stage as one
of her idols from Oklahoma! or South Pacific. Her family, Preston,
son Bobby and increasingly batty mother, Mary, are the centre of
her world, a world which seems safe and secure. True, Bobby is
being bullied at school, and Preston's fixation with his allotment
is increasingly irritating, but on the whole life is good. When an
agent offers her the chance to audition for the starring role in
Hello Dolly! and wants to take her on tour, Georgie cannot believe
her luck. But should she go off and leave her family behind, when
they all depend on her so much? The decision is cruelly taken out
of her hands when she makes a shocking discovery which will change
her life for ever. As her old world is blown out of the water, she
finds herself back with her mother, clinging to the wreckage of her
childhood home and desperately trying to make sense out of tragedy.
Into her life comes Brian, a quiet, caring man and a brilliant
singer who believes in her utterly, and eventually persuades
Georgie to have faith in herself. There is more sorrow and more
heartbreak for Georgie, but when she has to face this second loss,
she is able to handle it with dignity and grace rather than rage.
Philip Collins has written a poignant book which examines the
effect of bereavement on those left behind, but there is no trace
of mawkishness or gloom. This is a celebration of life and Collins
demands that we should live each day to the full. Ultimately this
is a book about the joy of living, rather than the wretchedness of
dying, and as such it is a book to be cherished. (Kirkus UK)
Second novel from the author of The Men from the Boys. Philip
Collins had an impressive debut with the bestselling The Men from
the Boys. That was a story on male friendship. Now with Bobby
Dazzler he looks at what we make of our lives. The market stall and
the Amateur Dramatic Society are the twin poles of Georgie Lees'
working existence. She is the organiser of the market and the star
of the local theatre. Her son, her mother, and sometimes her
ex-husband, are the cornerstones of her life. Mary, her mother,
one-time publican, popular neighbourhood performer and brilliant
needlework designer, is beginning to show early signs of erratic
behaviour; her son is struggling at school and, at ten, is too old
to be cuddled for comfort but too young to talk to; and his father,
the local funeral director, seems to spend more time talking to the
plants in his allotment than to any of them. Georgie is offered
what she had always wanted: the chance to perform professionally.
But should she - could she - take the opportunity when her family
seem to be in such need? It is the growing difficulties of her
mother that bring a new player into her life, the comical but
efficient, dramatic but stoic Brian. And it is death that
irrevocably changes their lives and asks the question lying behind
all their choices - how should those with no religious faith find
meaning in life?
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