The Men from the Boys

by Philip Collins

An entertaining, provocative novel, a fresh look at male bonding and our sense of kinship, by a young, high-flying political consultant.
Living in neighbouring houses on a tough estate in Lancashire, Adam and Kevin were childhood best friends. Kevin child of a problem family, revered fighter and footballer was definitely the leader, while Adam puny, bookish and sensitive rode on the coat-tails of his dominating friend.
However, Kevin's football career is wrecked by a knee injury, leaving him at 18 unemployed with a wife and two children to support. He takes refuge in drink and drugs while Adam, complete with a new set of well-heeled friends, lands a high-flying job in London. The stretch between Strangeways prison and the hallowed cloisters of Cambridge, between the estate's Working Men's Club and London media life, becomes too much for even the best of friends.
But when Adam and Kevin lose the people that mean most to them, they back in their home town again are forced to confront what their roots really are and what means success to them and in doing so they come to know what separates the men from the boys.
Touching, funny and completely unputdownable, Philip Collins's novel of life, love and loss is the unforgettable story of a new generation.
Peopled with wonderful characters and vivid scenes from closing mines to university quads, from unemployment centres and hopeless estates to the upwardly mobile, fast-stream Islington lifestyle, The Men From the Boys is also rich in the questions it poses. Readers of Roddy Doyle, Tony Parsons and Nick Hornby will enjoy The Men From the Boys.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There are multiple authors by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clichéd, clumsy, unoriginal, unconvincing account of the on-going relationship two boyhood friends growing up on a Bury estate – one of whom goes to Cambridge and the BBC before giving it up when splitting with his girlfriend , the other a promising footballer whose career is ended by a tackle and who descends into self pity, drugs and prison. The laboured premise is that the different attitude of their families – the latter thieves and scroungers, the former’s grandfather taking their dole money back every week, led to their different paths. An embarrassing attempt at a first novel.

[Carl Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whilst I liked the overall premise of the book; a story about two childhood friends growing apart, I felt the pacing of the story to be lacking.
At one point it didn't feel like the gaps in time were clear and thus you still got the sense that you were reading about 20 year olds and not nearly 30.
I thought I could relate to the story, however it being a very colloquially focussed novel I found I couldn't totally relate to the overarching theme that was expressed.
The characters were believable, but I felt that, at a particular point in the supposed timeline, the characters were just stagnant.

[Gillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nowhere near as enjoyable as I had hoped!