Lovers And Losers
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Review
While the core of Burston's novel lies in its nostalgic account of the excesses of the New Romantics, the underlying theme couldn't be timelier. Moving between the 80s and today, an astute sense of each cultural climate is clear . . . Whether you're from the Heat generation or go teary over neon makeup, go buy this book (GAY TIMES )
A page turner set amidst the gender bending bands of the 80s with a bit of Noughties thrown in for good measure (BOYZ )
A star-studded romp through the 80s and beyond . . . Lovers and Losers is for anyone with a fondness for the early 80s music scene or who once stumbled around blinded by a Phil Oakey fringe (OUT Magazine )
Like his earlier novels, Burton's latest is fast-moving, compellingly plotted and very funny. But LOVERS AND LOSERS is also by turns exciting and convincingly moving, and its diverting structure bounces the reader back and forth through two timelines. Th (TIME OUT )
A page turner set amidst the gender bending bands of the 80s with a bit of Noughties thrown in for good measure (BOYZ )
A star-studded romp through the 80s and beyond . . . Lovers and Losers is for anyone with a fondness for the early 80s music scene or who once stumbled around blinded by a Phil Oakey fringe (OUT Magazine )
Like his earlier novels, Burton's latest is fast-moving, compellingly plotted and very funny. But LOVERS AND LOSERS is also by turns exciting and convincingly moving, and its diverting structure bounces the reader back and forth through two timelines. Th (TIME OUT )
ATTITUDE
'A wise and witty exploration of friendship, ambition, love and
loss'
loss'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Burston's preoccupation in his novels with glamour, camp and gender-bending all find their natural home in his latest novel, an entertaining romp through the New Romantic movement of the 1980s, with some mild satire - or perhaps it's a fond appreciation for - the post-celebrity platform of modern reality TV shows and tabloid headlines.
The story charts the progress of 'A Boy And His Diva', a fictional composite of The Human League, Culture Club, Soft Cell and numerous other sexually ambiguous acts from the heyday of the early 1980s. Put together by a young gay man, Tony with a rebellious young friend he once met as a punk teenager, Katrina, the duo ride the crest of the New Romantic wave, competing in the charts with the likes of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, while bitching in the press with Boy George and Pete Burns, only to share in their inevitable descent of the glamorous lifestyle of drugs and "artistic differences". Many years later Tony's manager tries to revive his career by contracting him into a reality TV show set in a prison - 'The Clink', but the former pop-star will also need to make amends with Katrina, if she can be found.
Despite some attempts to reflect on other aspects of the this period with a subplot about a young man who has died from AIDS, Burston skims through the rise and fall of the New Romantics with shallow superficiality, with neither Tony or Katrina, nor their career as pop stars being depicted as anything more than a bunch of rock industry clichés. That said, Lovers and Losers is a fun read for those who remember the music and the outrageous fashion of the period with some amount of embarrassment and fondness.
The story charts the progress of 'A Boy And His Diva', a fictional composite of The Human League, Culture Club, Soft Cell and numerous other sexually ambiguous acts from the heyday of the early 1980s. Put together by a young gay man, Tony with a rebellious young friend he once met as a punk teenager, Katrina, the duo ride the crest of the New Romantic wave, competing in the charts with the likes of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet, while bitching in the press with Boy George and Pete Burns, only to share in their inevitable descent of the glamorous lifestyle of drugs and "artistic differences". Many years later Tony's manager tries to revive his career by contracting him into a reality TV show set in a prison - 'The Clink', but the former pop-star will also need to make amends with Katrina, if she can be found.
Despite some attempts to reflect on other aspects of the this period with a subplot about a young man who has died from AIDS, Burston skims through the rise and fall of the New Romantics with shallow superficiality, with neither Tony or Katrina, nor their career as pop stars being depicted as anything more than a bunch of rock industry clichés. That said, Lovers and Losers is a fun read for those who remember the music and the outrageous fashion of the period with some amount of embarrassment and fondness.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Reading Paul Burston's books is always exciting. I love his humour, intelligence and point of view about life. His work is fantastic and I will recommend it to everyone wants to experience a great read.
Paul Burston's world and imagination will transport you to a labyrinth of great emotions and situations.
GL
Paul Burston's world and imagination will transport you to a labyrinth of great emotions and situations.
GL
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This delightful book didn't just speak to me; it sang to me. `Lovers & Losers' is a story of a broken friendship that takes the reader on a journey through the music and trends of the eighties. Paul Burston captures the mood of this remarkable period of experimentation and discovery with its punks and New Romantics as he tells the story of Anthony and Katy, two school friends who are spring-boarded from small-town Wales to the razzle-dazzle world of international celebrity. It's funny, sad, touching and insightful.
The story is told from two time perspectives. We meet Anthony and Katy as teenagers but see them out as Tony and Katrina, the musical duo formerly known as `The Boy and his Diva'. They're older, wounded and wary. The world has changed.
I adored the references to the music and fashion of the eighties but more so, I loved the way Burston captured the intimacy that is unique to a friendship between a gay man and a woman. I know this friendship well and was moved by the authenticity of Burston's words. His portrayal of Katy/Katrina is particularly sensitive and well-rounded.
A delight.
The story is told from two time perspectives. We meet Anthony and Katy as teenagers but see them out as Tony and Katrina, the musical duo formerly known as `The Boy and his Diva'. They're older, wounded and wary. The world has changed.
I adored the references to the music and fashion of the eighties but more so, I loved the way Burston captured the intimacy that is unique to a friendship between a gay man and a woman. I know this friendship well and was moved by the authenticity of Burston's words. His portrayal of Katy/Katrina is particularly sensitive and well-rounded.
A delight.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great for fans of 80s music
Anthony & Katy meet in Pontins, in Wales, in the 70s and quickly become inseparable - he's gay and influenced by Bowie, she's a typical outsider. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mark West
A great book
A story that could have been the biog of Yazoo with a twist of Steve Strange!
A great fun book - hopefully one day it'll be a tv show ;-)
A great fun book - hopefully one day it'll be a tv show ;-)
Published 21 months ago by Roland Saunders
Loving the Losers
This is the first one of Burston's novels I've read. I shy away from "gay" literature not, of course, because I am in denial about my sexuality but because it has normally left me... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Timothy Hughes
Read this and you will be a winner not a loser!!
WOW!
A friend bought me 'Lovers and Losers' last week and wrote' this reminded me of you,ENJOY' - in the front cover!!.
I didnt expect to enjoy it quite so much. Read more
A friend bought me 'Lovers and Losers' last week and wrote' this reminded me of you,ENJOY' - in the front cover!!.
I didnt expect to enjoy it quite so much. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2009 by Mark Fearn
The 80's revisited.
This neatly told story, which takes place in the 1980's and the present day, has all the major music, fashions and fads from both eras interwoven into the story of Tony and... Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2008 by John-John
Poptasic!
During the 1980's Tony was one half of `A Boy and His Diva', a pop duo who had a series of chart hits. Read more
Published on 17 Oct 2007 by Sarah Durston
Definitely NOT a Loser
Ah, the 80's revisited in the inimitable style of Paul Burston. For those of us who remember those times it's especially a blast. Read more
Published on 10 April 2007 by Mrs. Caroline E. Mccartan
A must for all Bowie fans...
... being FAR too young to know much about the pop & fashions of the late 70s/early 80s I found this read fascinating. Read more
Published on 4 April 2007 by playinthesunshine
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