Made in Britain
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Review
'Gavin James Bower's second novel is a timely portrayal of this country's disaffected youth, an uncompromising portrait of a community that offers no options, where the only 'happy ending' is the kind you pay for...this is an uncomfortably bleak, but ultimately necessary, read.'--Independent
'A poignant tale of the "feral underclass"...what makes the book special is its portrayal of the particular fates of three teenagers who stand for a generation while being utterly and completely themselves.'--Jenn Ashworth, Guardian
'In a world of closed factories and stinking canals, of sex in the school loos, of knives and drugs and moral and economic disintegration, this novel could have been one enormous cliché. It isn’t, though. While not excusing, or attempting to excuse, its protagonists it does succeed in explaining and humanising them. A visceral look at modern society...it will haunt the reader.'--Observer
'A beautifully written story of post-industrial youth.'--Owen Jones, author of CHAVS
'Thanks to the riots, you can't move for hapless explanations for disaffected teenagers. Bower knows what he's talking about. The dark young novelist is the writer pontificating politicians should have on the bedside table.'--GQ
'Made in Britain reveals the moment in our lives when we begin to shed off our childhood and wait impatiently to become adults. With studied detail, Gavin James Bower has crafted a blistering novel about desire and longing out of the conflicting aspirations of British youth. I loved it.'--Lee Rourke, award-winning author of The Canal
'As British as sex behind the bike sheds or a kebab shop punch up.'--Iain Aitch, author of We're British, Innit: An Irreverent A to Z of All Things British
'Bloody, brutal and swift...like Brighton Rock with sexting.'--Gay Times
'Drugs and sex and violence are simply something to pass the time with in places where manufacturing has died. This novel doesn’t shy away from the unpretty racial tension, either. It’s a lean book about having to survive but not quite letting your dreams go. Gavin James Bower evokes the escape exits from those post-industrial towns so well. Sadly for many they remain simply chemical.'--Suzanne Moore
'A serious attempt at writing about the 1990s generation...Bower gets into the teenage head so well that you start to think the book was written by a teenager...the language is so emotive at times it makes you wince.'--3:AM Magazine
'If I was 16, trying to learn the difference between right and wrong in a country where it's ok for chief execs and bankers to take what they want at the same time as we chastise a few hoodies for smashing windows, Gavin James Bower might be the voice of my generation.'--Bookmunch
'Our disgustingly out of touch Prime Minister would do well to read this shocking, heart-wrenching tale of no-hope in the recession hit, morally devalued North.'--Daily Mirror
'A subtle yet powerful insight into the type of youngsters society normally marginalises...there is an Orwellian anger about this book that makes it hard to put down.'--Huffington Post
'A poignant tale of the "feral underclass"...what makes the book special is its portrayal of the particular fates of three teenagers who stand for a generation while being utterly and completely themselves.'--Jenn Ashworth, Guardian
'In a world of closed factories and stinking canals, of sex in the school loos, of knives and drugs and moral and economic disintegration, this novel could have been one enormous cliché. It isn’t, though. While not excusing, or attempting to excuse, its protagonists it does succeed in explaining and humanising them. A visceral look at modern society...it will haunt the reader.'--Observer
'A beautifully written story of post-industrial youth.'--Owen Jones, author of CHAVS
'Thanks to the riots, you can't move for hapless explanations for disaffected teenagers. Bower knows what he's talking about. The dark young novelist is the writer pontificating politicians should have on the bedside table.'--GQ
'Made in Britain reveals the moment in our lives when we begin to shed off our childhood and wait impatiently to become adults. With studied detail, Gavin James Bower has crafted a blistering novel about desire and longing out of the conflicting aspirations of British youth. I loved it.'--Lee Rourke, award-winning author of The Canal
'As British as sex behind the bike sheds or a kebab shop punch up.'--Iain Aitch, author of We're British, Innit: An Irreverent A to Z of All Things British
'Bloody, brutal and swift...like Brighton Rock with sexting.'--Gay Times
'Drugs and sex and violence are simply something to pass the time with in places where manufacturing has died. This novel doesn’t shy away from the unpretty racial tension, either. It’s a lean book about having to survive but not quite letting your dreams go. Gavin James Bower evokes the escape exits from those post-industrial towns so well. Sadly for many they remain simply chemical.'--Suzanne Moore
'A serious attempt at writing about the 1990s generation...Bower gets into the teenage head so well that you start to think the book was written by a teenager...the language is so emotive at times it makes you wince.'--3:AM Magazine
'If I was 16, trying to learn the difference between right and wrong in a country where it's ok for chief execs and bankers to take what they want at the same time as we chastise a few hoodies for smashing windows, Gavin James Bower might be the voice of my generation.'--Bookmunch
'Our disgustingly out of touch Prime Minister would do well to read this shocking, heart-wrenching tale of no-hope in the recession hit, morally devalued North.'--Daily Mirror
'A subtle yet powerful insight into the type of youngsters society normally marginalises...there is an Orwellian anger about this book that makes it hard to put down.'--Huffington Post
Product Description
Welcome to Every Town in Britain, an awesome abyss where cultures and communities come together, but only with the help of riot gear, and where drugs aren't a trendy cliché but a necessary evil, consumed not just to get off but to get by. Post-industrial but far from post-class, the people in this forgotten corner of the world are waiting for what comes next - and running out of patience. Made in Britain is a story about growing up in a place like this. Connected by circumstance, the three sixteen-year-old narrators weave a twisted tale of love, lost youth and good old-fashioned violence spanning school, GCSEs and the longest summer holiday of their lives. A novel of both hope and despair, Made in Britain follows the love-hate relationship between a next generation at a crossroads - and the place they call 'home'.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Made in Britain tells the story of Russell, Charlie and Hayley, three teenagers growing up in a northern town turned post-industrial wasteland. Alternately narrated from each of the protagonists' point of view, the novel perfectly captures the claustrophobia of adolescent ennui and the desperate longing to escape from the place that is home, but can offer no protection and ultimately no future. This vividness of description is largely due to Made in Britain's great stylistic achievement: the accomplished and convincing rendering of the individual narrative voices.
A truly wonderful book - heartbreaking in its moments of despair, yet even more so in its moments of hope.
A truly wonderful book - heartbreaking in its moments of despair, yet even more so in its moments of hope.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I loved this. A gritty, darkly humourous novel about three intertwining lives in northern England. The author has a good eye for the realities of modern life, be they grim or hopeful, and the book is full of well-observed cultural references. I was hooked after the first chapter and finished the book within a couple of days. Would recommend to any lover of contemporary fiction.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Many areas of Britain are broken and stumbling along, the rules being made by individuals and groups I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (ok maybe I would), but this is the reality for many, and particularly for the young. Leaving school with little or no hope for the future, they're trying to find their way through a reality vastly different to that faced by children a couple of generations ago.
Made in Britain tells the story of three individuals at this period in their lives and Gavin James Bower skillfully creates the different characters through their voices, opinions and actions. Their lives cross and meet and move on again, heartbreaking portraits of adolescent hope and despair.
Everyone should read this, especially those who don't recognise characters like those in the book. It's a tale of modern Britain and it's breaking out near you right now.
Made in Britain tells the story of three individuals at this period in their lives and Gavin James Bower skillfully creates the different characters through their voices, opinions and actions. Their lives cross and meet and move on again, heartbreaking portraits of adolescent hope and despair.
Everyone should read this, especially those who don't recognise characters like those in the book. It's a tale of modern Britain and it's breaking out near you right now.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Smarty-pants clever
`Every Town', the near-mythical setting of Gavin James Bower's post-industrial landscape is peopled with dysfunctional families, suffused with social disengagement, law-breaking... Read more
Published 6 days ago by BookRambler
Quality Over Quantity
Gavin James Bower's second novel, `Made in Britain' I found to be an extremely engaging and original piece of work. Read more
Published 7 months ago by HelenJB
Very enjoyable novel
Brilliant coming of age novel - like Catcher in the Rye if Holden were northern and partial to speed and a scrap. Punchy, vivid, dark - and unsettling. Brutally good.
Published 7 months ago by sophie
A Masterful Follow-Up
GJB's first book was a gritty take on the fashion world - a far cry from the desolate northern town depicted in this, his second novel, which tells the story of 3 teenagers growing... Read more
Published 7 months ago by AndyB
Kept me awake all night
I started reading Made in Britain when I went to bed about ten thirty at night and couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lou Ice
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