- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Sceptre; New edition edition (19 Oct 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0340751479
- ISBN-13: 978-0340751473
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 936,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Toy Soldiers
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Hanif Kureishi (The Buddha of Suburbia, The Black Album) has described Toy Soldiers as "painfully honest and deeply affecting". Certainly, Thompson's first novel--a mix of reportage and personal narrative--gains from his background in journalism; this is an exposé of a life lived out on the edge of crime, drugs and friendship.
The epigraph from Albert Camus--"The aim is to live lucidly in a world where dispersion is the rule"--strikes the tone of a novel which struggles to portray the existentialist grief, and rebellion, of Gabriel, a young black man who, at the very beginning of the book, is looking for "a refuge, a sanctuary, a place to save himself from himself". He finds that refuge in a Notting Hill drug rehab centre and the very contemporary experience, at once prosaic and poetic, of communal, therapeutic living. It's an experience which drives Gabriel to write; Part Two of Toy Soldiers shifts to a first-person narrative as Gabriel uncovers his history from schooldays to drug days, from petty crime to the "Short Sharp Shock" of youth detention to the perils of dealing on the streets of Hackney. His subject matter may be potentially explosive but Thompson's prose is measured, distanced; it tells a history: "Before long, they'd colonised a corner of the snooker hall. Yardie corner, we called it. I have to admit I found it fascinating to watch them." Watching, Thompson let's his readers watch too--and remain curiously dispassionate about Gabriel's fate, the cure by love which this novel seems to hold out as one version of the sanctuary, and the change, for which it is seeking. --Vicky Lebeau --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'A compelling, urban tale. Gritty, yet filled with inspired prose...' (Courttia Newland )
'Beautifully written, painfully honest and deeply affecting. Stephen Thompson's debut novel is terrific' (Hanif Kureshi )
'A sensitive, subtle and fascinating account of a young black man's fight against crack addiction...Thompson's writing is compelling' (The Times )
'Beautifully written, painfully honest and deeply affecting. Stephen Thompson's debut novel is terrific' (Hanif Kureshi )
'A sensitive, subtle and fascinating account of a young black man's fight against crack addiction...Thompson's writing is compelling' (The Times )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was a revelation to me. From the first page I realised I was in the company of a very gifted author. It's seems almost incredible that this is Mr Thompson's first novel. And what a timely one. The themes of disaffection and disillusionment are very relevant to the youth of today, especially black youth, who for decades have felt disenfranchised and marginalised from mainstream society. This book is a hymn to their hopes and aspirations, and Thompson is a writer I shall be looking out for in the future. Of the current crop of black authors, he is, without doubt, the best.
Format:Paperback
It takes a really interesting, non "wordy" book to hold my attention. This book did that and then some. I was so drawn in I had to read it twice. Toy Soldiers will hold a place as number 1 in my top 5 books ever read. To be knocked off that spot, the next book is gonna have to be incredible!
Format:Paperback
I read this book a few years ago.
A light hilarious read! Will have you in stitches!
It was especially dear to me because Thompson sets the story in Hackney, which I am very familiar to, and got the streets down to A-Z detail!! Also the characters are very realistic, and easy to identify with.
If you like this I recommend 'East Of Acre Lane' by Alex Wheatle!
'Toy Soldiers' & 'East of Acre Lane' both are in my Listmaina!!!
Was looking forward to similar humour in Thompson's other book 'Missing Joe', but did not find it! Good book though! ;-)
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