Slow Down Arthur, Stick to Thirty

by HarlandMiller (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $3.44

  An achingly funny and moving story of the dizzying highs and lows of growing up in the early Eighties, and of the differences between getting out of it and just getting out. It is 1980 and Kid Glover has been away in Scotland on Doctor's orders, recovering after a bit of a breakdown. Back in his home town in Yorkshire, he is struggling to fit back into the scheme of things. The Yorkshire Ripper has emptied the streets and New Wave has exploded. Ziggy Hero, a David Bowie impersonator from Halifax, appears to be the one marshalling the changes, and Kid quickly falls under his spell. After an argument with his Dad, Kid moves into the Wigwam, the last remaining house on a condemned terrace occupied by Si, Ovo and Deeb, tragi-comic malcontents the lot of them. They are all looking forward to seeing Ziggy play. But when Ziggy suddenly disappears the week before his long-awaited public appearance it is Kid alone who continues to search for him long after everyone else has given him up.

• Used

  Paperback
  2001

  $3.25

  The achingly funny and moving story of the dizzying highs and lows of growing up in the North of England at the height of New Wave.

  1980: Billy `Kid' Glover is seeing things in triplicate and the doc prescribes a rest cure. When he returns to Yorkshire, `Vienna' is on the radio and, although subtle, there have been some changes. The seventies have given way to a new decade and the young folk of the old town are waiting in the cold for the opportunities that might come with it. The change is slow and not always welcome. The pits are being closed and the police can't catch the Ripper. But Ziggy Hero, David Bowie impersonator and ghost rider is planning a gig. He will prove that some things really are worth waiting for.

  Sex, drugs and ropey pubs: Harland Miller's unconventional rites-of-passage novel.