Slings and Arrows
By Nick McLoughlin
Format: Paperback
(2 customer reviews)
Publication Date: 28 Mar 2024
£9.99
Want to buy as an ebook? Click hereCategories: Contemporary
ISBN: 9781916668317eISBN: 9781835740705
Description
It’s January 1982, and Britain will soon be at war with Argentina. But that’s not why Terry’s life is falling apart. Forty-five and recently redundant from the only job he’s ever had, he and his wife Pat are forced to sell their home and move into a static caravan.
The only chink of light is the unlikely success of the White Hart darts team, but Terry’s teammates face problems of their own: Phil suspects his wife is having an affair, while Tom’s is depressed about their inability to conceive. Then Terry’s son reveals some surprising news, and Terry makes a visit to the doctor that leaves him with no choice but to consider what matters most in his life.
Slings and Arrows is a funny and moving novel about love, family, friendship – and darts.
Nick McLoughlin grew up in Derby, where his debut novel Slings and Arrows is set. He is an alumnus of the renowned Faber Writing Academy. After university, he trained to become a teacher but instead escaped to the French Alps to go skiing. He lives in a converted cowshed on the side of a mountain with his wife and two children.
Reviews
Steve Couch (Guest Review) - 17 Apr, 2024
This is a wonderful, warm-hearted read. Terry’s progress in the big darts tournament, along with other challenges he meets along the way, provides a framework for a thoughtful exploration of friendship and family, with a range of well-drawn characters. Set in the early 80s, the book is so much more than just an exercise in nostalgia for readers of a certain age (although, as a reader of a certain age myself, I enjoyed the way the references to music, television and the politics of the day ground the book in its setting). The ending was a surprise, but an entirely fitting one that crowned a thoroughly enjoyable, page-turning read. Nick McLoughlin managed to finish with a bullseye.
L. Sellick (Guest Review) - 23 Apr, 2024
In the acknowledgements the author thanks the reader for taking the time to read Slings and Arrows. He goes on to say 'if you laugh only once, feel empathy towards any of the characters, or are pleased in some some way by the rhythm of a single sentence, then I shall consider that I have not failed.' Well he has certainly succeeded as I connected with each of those statements and thoroughly enjoyed the book from beginning to end. Thank you for taking me back to the 80's. I loved the cover too, the milk bottle brought intrigue before I even opened the first page.
