Superman, Dracula, The Avengers, Treasure Island...when you’re ten years old, you can fall in love with any story so long as it’s a good one. But what if you’re growing up in a house without books? Christopher Fowler's memoir captures life in suburban London as it has rarely been seen: through the eyes of a lonely boy who spends his days between the library and the cinema, devouring novels, comics, cereal packets - anything that might reveal a story. But it’s 1960, and after fifteen years of post-war belt-tightening, his family is not ready to indulge a child cursed with too much imagination... Caught between an ever-sensible but exhausted mother and a DIY-obsessed father fighting his own demons, Christopher takes refuge in words. His parents try to understand their son’s peculiar obsessions, but fast lose patience with him - and each other. The war of nerves escalates to include every member of the Fowler family, and something has to give, but does it mean that a boy must always give up his dreams for the tough lessons of real life? Beautifully written, this rich and astute evocation of a time and a place recalls a childhood at once eccentric and endearingly ordinary.
Paperboy
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Review
'Entrancing, funny, deeply moving and wonderfully written. Please read it'
-- ELIZABETH BUCHAN
'One of the funniest books I've read in a long time. In fact, these pages are packed with so many good lines, even the footnotes are a joy to read...Witty and wise, moving but never mawkish, this is the kind of memoir that puts most others to shame.'
-- Time Out, June 2009
'The book is fabulous, and I hope it sells forever' -- JOANNE HARRIS
-- ELIZABETH BUCHAN
'One of the funniest books I've read in a long time. In fact, these pages are packed with so many good lines, even the footnotes are a joy to read...Witty and wise, moving but never mawkish, this is the kind of memoir that puts most others to shame.'
-- Time Out, June 2009
'The book is fabulous, and I hope it sells forever' -- JOANNE HARRIS
Review
'Entrancing, funny, deeply moving and wonderfully written. Please read it'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By S. Groves
Format:Hardcover
Paperboy by Christopher Fowler.
Reviewed by Stephen Groves
First I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading the biographical story of the early life of Mr Fowler, as I am not a great reader of biographies myself and tend to find them heavy going and sometimes boring. Believe me no worries on that count here. This is a book that evokes memories of a 1960 lonely suburban London boy with a passion for reading and dreams of being a writer, living with the fashions, toys, attitudes, household products, strange foods and films and television of the time, a must for readers born in those years and it also handily explains them to those who were not.
The inventiveness and imagination of Christopher Fowlers childhood, the rebellion of youth, the mistakes and experiences all causing the reader to turn the next page, I finished this book in two sittings so enthralled had I become with the Fowler story.
This book has that rare power to transport the reader to long forgotten memories and experiences of their own life as Mr Fowlers family life unfolds. Many parts of the book made me laugh out loud remembering the fads and home DIY, the eccentric relatives and some made me just reflect upon the poignant intimate family moments. The mother who encouraged her son's dreams of being a writer is both moving and inspiring, small acts of courage and sacrifice by parents hidden amongst the daily chaos of family life and a difficult marriage.
The relationship between father and son is explored with those moments of lost chances and in the latter part of the book simple acts of love, compassion and understanding that hit home hardest. This book should be made into a film - it's the Billy Elliot for writers !
I simply urge you to read this book.
Reviewed by Stephen Groves
First I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading the biographical story of the early life of Mr Fowler, as I am not a great reader of biographies myself and tend to find them heavy going and sometimes boring. Believe me no worries on that count here. This is a book that evokes memories of a 1960 lonely suburban London boy with a passion for reading and dreams of being a writer, living with the fashions, toys, attitudes, household products, strange foods and films and television of the time, a must for readers born in those years and it also handily explains them to those who were not.
The inventiveness and imagination of Christopher Fowlers childhood, the rebellion of youth, the mistakes and experiences all causing the reader to turn the next page, I finished this book in two sittings so enthralled had I become with the Fowler story.
This book has that rare power to transport the reader to long forgotten memories and experiences of their own life as Mr Fowlers family life unfolds. Many parts of the book made me laugh out loud remembering the fads and home DIY, the eccentric relatives and some made me just reflect upon the poignant intimate family moments. The mother who encouraged her son's dreams of being a writer is both moving and inspiring, small acts of courage and sacrifice by parents hidden amongst the daily chaos of family life and a difficult marriage.
The relationship between father and son is explored with those moments of lost chances and in the latter part of the book simple acts of love, compassion and understanding that hit home hardest. This book should be made into a film - it's the Billy Elliot for writers !
I simply urge you to read this book.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By R. Gray
Format:Hardcover
Paperboy is simply one of the best, most charming, delightful, magical, warm, heartbreaking, laugh out loud and at the same time touching books I have read in many a year, if ever. It's a book that gathers you up from the first page and drags you by the hand, like an excited but slightly solemn child, into a past that even though not yours, gives you the feeling of recollection from some forgotten room of once discarded memories.
Ostensibly it is the story of a youngster (Christopher) growing up and discovering the joys, and terrors, of reading in a household where there were precious few books and even less understanding for an imaginative boy! It is also a glimpse into an England fast disappearing, if not altogether gone. An England parts of which we were glad to see the back of, post war austerity, terrible TV entertainment and dreadful food. And some we wish we could recapture, endless childhood summers, the quiet nature of our streets and a sense that big brother wasn't looking over our shoulder every second of every day.
And don't worry if these days are, to you, nothing more than entries in a contemporary history text or cultural blanks due to one being of a foreign disposition, the more obscure or forgotten references are explained in a series of illuminating and hilarious footnotes! It is a book that quite simply makes the past come to life and does so through it's affectionate recollections of the small things, a neighbours rabbit, a defunct chocolate bar and all the little details that are almost always overlooked in more hulking biographies. It also captures effortlessly the strange, almost surreal world; to a growing child; of the adults that inhabited the streets of South London in the 60s.... Read more ›
Ostensibly it is the story of a youngster (Christopher) growing up and discovering the joys, and terrors, of reading in a household where there were precious few books and even less understanding for an imaginative boy! It is also a glimpse into an England fast disappearing, if not altogether gone. An England parts of which we were glad to see the back of, post war austerity, terrible TV entertainment and dreadful food. And some we wish we could recapture, endless childhood summers, the quiet nature of our streets and a sense that big brother wasn't looking over our shoulder every second of every day.
And don't worry if these days are, to you, nothing more than entries in a contemporary history text or cultural blanks due to one being of a foreign disposition, the more obscure or forgotten references are explained in a series of illuminating and hilarious footnotes! It is a book that quite simply makes the past come to life and does so through it's affectionate recollections of the small things, a neighbours rabbit, a defunct chocolate bar and all the little details that are almost always overlooked in more hulking biographies. It also captures effortlessly the strange, almost surreal world; to a growing child; of the adults that inhabited the streets of South London in the 60s.... Read more ›
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the autobiography of the popular writer Christopher Fowler and like many of his short stories it has the power to make you laugh, make you think and to ultimately recognize elements of yourself within its pages. It details his early life up to when he leaves school, but much more than this it gives the reader a small insight into the workings of his imagination, a glimpse of the creative process. There is a saying that 'the child is the father of the man', meaning that our early influences continue to affect us throughout our lives and it is quite clear that this is true of Mr Fowler and his writing. After reading 'Paperboy' I revisited his short stories and discovered many more layers of meaning to them. I defy anyone to read 'Paperboy' and then the short story 'One Night Out' (in Demonized) and not wipe away a tear, whilst the story 'Black day at Bad Rock' (in Sharper Knives) is virtually a word for word retelling of a formative event in his school days... but you'll have to read that one for yourself! I understand that Mr Fowler is currently writing a follow on to 'Paperboy' and it is this reviewers' wish to see it published soon! In short, if you are a follower of his fiction, you need to read this book. But a word of warning - Christopher Fowler is a professional writer of mysteries who controls his narrative in order to maintain suspense; his autobiography, perhaps unsurprisingly, is therefore as revealing for its omissions as for its contents...!
Paperboy
Demonized (Five Star Paperback)
Sharper Knives
Paperboy
Demonized (Five Star Paperback)
Sharper Knives
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book
I laughed all the way through. A really good read and an interesting insight into the mind of one of my favourite authors.
Published 3 months ago by MRS LINDA C PRATT
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great memoir
I read this book in a few days. Chris grows up in the 50's and uses books and movies as an escapism from his family life. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Lara Croft
4.0 out of 5 stars
Now I know where Christopher Fowler is coming from!
I enjoyed this book very much. I am a fan of the author's 'Bryant & May' oddball detective stories and reading this autobiography helped to understand just where he was coming... Read more
Published 7 months ago by C. A. Godden
4.0 out of 5 stars
re-entry to my own childhood
Essential reading for every Englishman in his fifties! Only four stars from me, though, as the final quarter of the book becomes maudlin and the brilliant comedy drains away. Read more
Published 13 months ago by charlie
4.0 out of 5 stars
most enjoyable
most entertaining nostalgic story about growing up in the 1960s . Would had liked rather less of the cinema trips and the comics [ because I dont really know about these] but I... Read more
Published 23 months ago by cartoon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
Since Christopher Fowler and I are of an age and a similar background, I found much of this slightly nostalgic. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2011 by Music addict
3.0 out of 5 stars
nope, this is a very bad book
Think of each and any cliché ever produced about life in 1950's Britain - especially those derived from black and white films. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2011 by E. Clarke
5.0 out of 5 stars
Echos from the past
Paperboy is a wonderful book with has been elegantly written. I could hear echos of my own life in so much of what Christopher Fowler has written and I think anyone born during the... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2011 by Joe N
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sharp and nostalgic---no-one from the baby boomer generation should...
This is a book to cherish. Christopher Fowler (author of the hugely enjoyable urban fantasies, Roofworld and Calabash, as well as many great spooky short stories)is just a few... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2010 by Goth lady
4.0 out of 5 stars
Life during the not-so-swinging sixties . . .
I bought this book on the strength of these reviews - and at the time of writing my own, "Paperboy" still only has 5 star reviews. Sorry, but I've got to break the pattern. Read more
Published on 18 April 2010 by Roger Risborough
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