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Amazon.co.uk Review
The impact a return to the past can have on the present is the theme of this delicately crafted novel by Whitbread winner and Booker nominee Justin Cartwright. Dan Silas, who has been living in his native England for the last 27 years returns to the American town where he grew up for his high school reunion. The place resonates with poignant reminders of his teenage years, not least his deeply cherished memories of Gloria, his childhood sweetheart. But a journey back cannot fail to disrupt one's perceptions of one's past, and Dan discovers that not only are his memories of his relationship with Gloria a false recording of reality but that she gave birth to their daughter soon after he left America. That daughter, of whom he never knew, is now dead, killed by a serial killer a few years previously. Furthermore, his oldest friend Gary has suffered a breakdown and now believes himself to be the brother of a dead Indian chief. Dan tries to resolve his sense of helplessness in the face of a present and a past that no longer make sense by visiting his daughter's killer in prison and by retrieving some "stolen" Indian artefacts from a museum for Gary. Cartwright explores well the dislocation Dan experiences as a consequence of this sudden radical corruption of his life and the way his necessary readjustment throws his present life into sharper focus. At times the novel suffers from a sugary American pathos that is a little cloying, and some incidents, Gary's illness for example, are treated with frustrating simplicity. Despite this, the novel is a haunting examination of the fragile relationship between experience and identity. --Perry Chaser
Amazon.co.uk Review
The impact a return to the past can have on the present is the theme of this delicately crafted novel by Whitbread winner and Booker nominee Justin Cartwright. Dan Silas, who has been living in his native England for the last 27 years returns to the American town where he grew up for his High School reunion. The place resonates with poignant reminders of his teenage years, not least his deeply cherished memories of Gloria, his childhood sweetheart. But a journey back cannot fail to disrupt one's perceptions of one's past, and Dan discovers that not only are his memories of his relationship with Gloria a false recording of reality but that she gave birth to their daughter soon after he left America. That daughter, of whom he never knew, is now dead, killed by a serial killer a few years previously. Furthermore, his oldest friend Gary has suffered a breakdown and now believes himself to be the brother of a dead Indian chief. Dan tries to resolve his sense of helplessness in the face of a present and a past that no longer make sense by visiting his daughter's killer in prison and by retrieving some "stolen" Indian artefacts from a musuem for Gary. Cartwright explores well the dislocation Dan experiences as a consequence of this sudden radical corruption of his life, and the way his necessary readjustment throws his present life into sharper focus. At times the novel suffers from a sugary American pathos that is a little cloying, and some incidents, Gary's illness for example, are treated with fustrating simplicity. Despite this, the novel is a haunting examination of the fragile relationship between experience and identity.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Leading the Cheers, winner of the Whitbread Novel of the Year award earlier this year, tells the story of a man called Dan Silas who returns to his old high school in Michigan. There many surprises await him. One of his friends believes he is the reincarnation of a Native American chief and his cheerleader girlfriend says she has had a child by him. It was conceived in Thomas Jefferson's house on a school trip. This is warm but quite incisive portrait of small town America, and our relationship with America. Absolutely the best book of the year.Truly magical.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The premise for this book is gripping - a man going to his school reunion finds out that his girlfriend of the time claims to have had his child (who has recently been murdered) and his best friend thinks he is a reincarnated Indian chief. The characters are well rounded and cleverly drawn but sadly the action moves too quickly. One minute Dan is told about the daughter he never knew he had, the next minute he is off to prison to visit her killer (even though he is unsure that the child is his). After a brief reunion with his best friend he agrees to steal artefacts from the British Museum for him - even though he is aware that his friend has had a break-down. All in all it just doesn't ring true and it feels as though Cartwright is trying to make the best of two extreme ideas he came up with. His characters are ordinary and brilliantly created, sadly the world he has created for them is just too extraordinary to ring true.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the story of an Englishman who goes back to his high school reunion. It's funny, witty, profound and very original...One of the best reads I have had in years. END
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very disappointing
After reading the glowing reports of other reviewers, I feel I have to register my astonishment. This is not a great book. It's barely even a mediocre book. Read more
Published on 14 July 1999
Probably the best contemporary fiction of the year.
This is a stunning story of an Englishman who returns to America after a number of years, to find that all his expectations of his past have been confounded. Read more
Published on 17 May 1999
A well deserved Whitbread Novel winner
This was an excellent book, better even than his 'Masai Dreaming'. His acute pyschological observations never fail to strike a chord. Read more
Published on 5 Mar 1999
Probably the best contemporary fiction of the year.
This is a stunning story of an Englishman who returns to America after a number of years, to find that all his expectations of his past have been confounded. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 1999
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