Andrew Collins was born 37 years ago in Northampton. His parents never split up, in fact they rarely exchanged a cross word. No-one abused him. Nobody died. He got on well with his brother and sister and none of his friends drowned in a canal. He has never stayed overnight in a hospital and has no emotional scars from his upbringing, except a slight lingering resentment that Anita Barker once mocked the stabilisers on his bike. Where Did It All Go Right? is a jealous memoir written by someone who occasionally wishes life had dealt him a few more juicy marketable blows. The author delves back into his first 18 years in search of something - anything - that might have left him deeply and irreparably damaged. With tales of bikes, telly, sweets, good health, domestic harmony and happy holidays, Andrew aims to bring a little hope to all those out there living with the emotional after-effects of a really nice childhood. Andrew Collins kept a diary from the age of five, so he really can remember what he had for tea everyday and what he did at school, excerpts from his diary run throughout the book and it is this detail which makes his story so compelling. (20030513)
Where Did It All Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s
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Review
"This is a book to indulge in, the literary equivalent of Horlicks before bed, guaranteed to leave you feeling all warm inside" (The Observer 20040218)
"A lovely tongue-in-cheek memoir...a wonderful antidote to all those tales of childhood woe pouring from the presses; read and enjoy" (Publishing News )
"A welcome visitor into any home that houses a Nick Hornby or a Tony Parsons." (Glasgow Herald )
"An unashamed nostalgia fest . . . comic gold." (Time Out )
"Warm moments . . . thanks to the author's grasp of the anecdote." (Word )
"A lovely tongue-in-cheek memoir...a wonderful antidote to all those tales of childhood woe pouring from the presses; read and enjoy" (Publishing News )
"A welcome visitor into any home that houses a Nick Hornby or a Tony Parsons." (Glasgow Herald )
"An unashamed nostalgia fest . . . comic gold." (Time Out )
"Warm moments . . . thanks to the author's grasp of the anecdote." (Word )
Book Description
A feel-good childhood memoir for the Friends Reunited generation (20030513)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By vintagefan
Format:Paperback
This book is the literary equivalent of hot buttered toast or crumpets -feelgood, nostalgic and harmlessly addictive. Ideal to read when you are feeling under the weather or need cheering up - there are lots of funny moments - also it can easily be dipped into a bit at a time. So what happens? You've read the other reviews: bright , precocious Northampton boy grows up in a happy home in the 1970s and 25 years later turns his childhood diary entries and largely unventful schooldays memories (though he seems have had enviable success with the ladies from an early age, must be those cheeky Robbie Williams-like good looks !) into an antidote to the Dave Peltzer -style doom and gloom childhood memoirs. Well done Andrew 10/10.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Bruce Timson
Format:Paperback
For those of us lucky enough to be brought up in the new suburban housing estates of the 1960's, Andrew Collins' account of a happy uneventful childhood is a must. Ours was the last Post War generation; the last breath of what socialist historian Eric Hobsbawm described as 'the Golden Age'. We were raised on a cocktail of Airfix models, Welfare State milk and play centred education, While readers under 30 will find the references to class structure and '70's politically incorrect television both anachronistic and baffling; Collins' self deprecatory humour paints a fairly accurate picture of the Jackanory generation.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Darryl Green
Format:Paperback
I am only a few years older than andrew, so much of what he wrote about found a parralel in my own childhood. even the later part where he got into punk (or new wave in his case) Although i was less into his faves The Cure and Cocteau twins as much as Theatre of Hate and King Kurt. A good thing about this book is the pictures and diary extracts. Makes me wish id kept my own diary though. Fantastic read, buy it and you'll see.
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3.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
An easy read
Although a little disapponting, it was a good walk down memory lane. I didn't enjoy the verbatim diary entries from childhood - why? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kevin Geddes
5.0 out of 5 stars
light relief from angst
great witty book, describing a childhood which a lot of people experienced in the 70s and 80s. enjoyed it thoroughly
Published 5 months ago by Sally McPherson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Got to like this book
A likeable book, though I sometimes wanted to like it more than I did. It could have been juicier ... but that was the point. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Natasha Holme
1.0 out of 5 stars
nostalgia or ljst?
I bought this book with expections of stirred memoiries but all i got was a seris of lists and self indulgent footnotes l find iextremley hard to read with very little content... Read more
Published 13 months ago by baz1
3.0 out of 5 stars
Didnt go right enough.
A holiday read picked because I've enjoyed the authors broadcasting on the radio and Podcasts.
However the book is sections of his teenage years diary but the diary of... Read more
However the book is sections of his teenage years diary but the diary of... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Lord Of All He Surveys
1.0 out of 5 stars
a let down
I was really looking forward to reading this been born 1965 the same as Andrew. I thought it would be like A tent a bucket and me. It sounded like a trip back to my childhood. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mrs. H. E. Birch
2.0 out of 5 stars
a bit boring
I was born the same year as this writer,i can remember some of the TV programmes he talks about,but the endless talking about friends and relations was quite boring,also the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by M. Stretford
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magpie and a quarter of salted peanuts...
It's taken me 6 years to write something about this book, i first saw it on the shelf in WHSmith at Manchester Airport as i was waiting to fly to Greece in 2004 and i bought it for... Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by Chris Whitaker
2.0 out of 5 stars
Growing up dull, smug and suburban in the 70s
I quite liked the premise of this book - a riposte by someone who'd had a normal, happy childhood to the ranks of misery lit tomes detailing the horrors of traumatic childhoods. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2009 by Not quite rabid
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fellow 'good childhood' survivor - at last!
In a publishing world swamped with terrible stories of child abuse, this book is as refreshing as a rain shower on a hot day.
At last the other side of the coin can be shown. Read more
At last the other side of the coin can be shown. Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2008 by Meerkat
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