Book recommendation

Alfie Adams comes at life sideways.

After unexpectedly losing his job in television, and having the script he’s worked so hard on unceremoniously dropped, Alfie turns up at his oldest friend, Jam’s, birthday party drunk, pretty sure his world has ended, and that he’s about to hit rock bottom with a bone-cracking thud.

But it’s funny how Jam’s little brother, Benji, seems to know exactly what Alfie needs. For the past twelve months Alfie has thrown himself into his job and tried hard not to think about beautiful punk-loving Benji—tried not to see how the sweet kid he used to look out for, and who used to trail so adoringly after him, has grown up into a big lad with an even bigger heart. As Alfie sobers up, he begins to see things with a new perspective, and Benji has his full attention.

If only Alfie can admit what it is he wants.

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Last week, I read something wonderful. I was scrolling my Kindle app and found Everybody in the Place that I downloaded a few months back when it was free but still hadn’t read. So I decided that it was time, and I was delightfully surprised. Everybody in the Place is a short, slice-of-life story about two wonderful characters that touched me deeply. Everyone, including the side characters, are genuinely nice and interesting, and the relationship between Alfie and Benji (but also his BFF Jam) is very heart-warming.

But what gripped me the most was Suki Fleet‘s language. Some people just have a way with words, and Suki Fleet is one of them. Every word, every sentence, just got to me in the most wonderful way.

I mean:

I’m pretty sure I’m not walking properly, rather I feel like I’m a little glittery fish swimming across the sea of the park, pulled along by a warm safe ocean current that has Benji’s face. I could swim forever.

or

Jam joins us and the three of us dance crazily together. I am nothing but a beat. A glimmer of light. A gasp of smoke. God, I’ve missed this. 

I could fill this entire blog post with quotes from this story, but that would get me in trouble for abusing the fair use doctrine, and we wouldn’t want that. 🙂

If you’re in the mood for a short, British story about one very significant day in the lives of two young men, I warmly recommend this book. And if you, like me, are awed by beautiful language, this is a must-read.

Amazon link