Always the Sun

by Neil Cross

What do you do when your son is bullied? How far will you go to protect him from those who seek to cause him harm? Jamie is thirteen years old, an only child. His mother has recently died. He and his father Sam have moved to Sam's home town. A fresh start. An aunt to lend support. A new job for Sam, a new school for Jamie. But one day Jamie comes home, bearing the scars of every parent's nightmare. Something must be done....So it begins.

Genres: Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Literary Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Neil was born in Bristol in 1969. He lived in Edinburgh, Brighton, Leeds and London before settling down. He is the author of several novels including Always the Sun, Burial and Captured as well as the bestselling memoir Heartland. He was lead scriptwriter for the acclaimed series 6 and series 7 of the BBC spy drama series Spooks and is the creator of the forthcoming BBC crime thriller Luther, which is scheduled to appear on BBC1 in 2010, starring Idris Elba. Following the British publication of Captured in January 2010, he is working on his next novel and continues to write for the screen. He lives in New Zealand with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the recent death of his wife, Sam returns to his hometown. Things have been tough lately, but he hopes in time things will get better. Sam's only child, thirteen year old Jamie has also struggled since he lost his mother.

Bringing up a teenage son on his own was never going to be easy, but Sam is shocked when he finds out that Jamie is being bullied at school. Wanting to protect Jamie is one thing, but Sam must try and find out who and why he is being bullied before it gets too out of hand.

For some reason I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. An enjoyable story and at times heart wrenching tale. Recommended.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read Neil Cross before and found him to be an excellent author who weaves a compelling tale.
This was one of his earlier novels but very powerful, and indeed a tale with a message - a clear message.
Startling in it's content, it's not a happy-clappy story of good luck and redemption, in reality it's quite the opposite. Gritty, but well worth a read. I loved it for it's rawness and attitude.

[Shazi A · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is absolutely rubbish!! The ending was terrible and it didn't even end properly. I'd been worried about how the book would end, but the ending I got was the worst possible. If you don't want to be depressed for the next week I advise you don't bother reading this book.

[Lou Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like Neil Cross’ writing style, but wasn’t so enamoured with this book. It just didn’t seem very believable and hated the ending. But still enough of a good story for me to read it quite speedily and for it to warrant 3*.

[Karen Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more a 3.5. Started well, but went way over the top.

[Ian Mapp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started off thinking this was OK. The ending was simply horrible, abrupt, unlikely and deeply unsatisfying.

The story is a famuly drama.... Sam has lost his wife so moves his 13 year old son to a new school in his home town. Meeting up with his sister and the ultimate Deus ex Machina - his ex-Brother in Law - an elderly, hardly credible elderly biker. Who will come in handy later.

So it muddles along until Sam thinks his son is being bullied at school. What follows is beyond rational belief as he takes on the potential bully and his rough family.

The lack of credibility of these actions is bad enough but the writing is engaging and the reading is easy.

The real problem for me is the end. It may have been deliberately abrupt but it reads like a lack of ideas on how to close the book down. Didn't seem to fit with the story at all and left the key aspect of the book rather ambiguous.

[Thomas Devine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read. Pulls you into the fictional situation. Occupation of main character should have helped him deal more effectively with his son - not wholly believable for that reason. Surprise/shock at the end is very abrupt. Just when everything seems to be coming right it is a real wrench for the reader. An unhappy end so startling does not make you feel satified with the read.

Still, I've heard the writer talk live so I can understand why unhaoppy endings may appeal to him.

The copy I bought had 4 pages missing.

[Hassaan bin Tariq · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely pathetic "Essay" on lunacy (I really can't call this a book). It should be renamed "the Sociopaths Guide to bad Parenting". I just don't understand how such fools get published. Not even worth the paper it's written on! My optimistic rating 0.3 out of 10. PLEASE DON'T READ IT IF YOU VALUE YOUR COMMON SENSE &/OR YOUR FREE TIME!!!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One's dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered." Michael J.Fox

As the book opens Sam’s wife Justine has just cruelly died from a degenerative brain disorder and he decides to move back to his home-town with his thirteen year old son, Jamie. Assisted by Sam’s sister, Mel, Sam and Jamie move into their new home, Sam gets a job as a psychiatric nurse at the local mental hospital, and Jamie begins school at Churchill Comprehensive. Initially the move goes well but when Sam realises that Jamie is the object of bullying things begin to go downhill. Faced with an indifferent school administration Sam takes matters into his own hands.

Always the Sun is not what you would call an uplifting or inspiring read by any means. What's more I certainly wouldn't recommend this to some one who who was already struggling with depression or had themselves suffered at the hand of bullies. My copy of this book had the tagline on the front cover of "All he wanted to do is keep his son safe" but as I have seen on other copies the question should be “How far would you go to protect your child?” This isn't because of the actual bullying which despite being undoubtedly cruel is subtle rather than vicious but rather the emotions that it instils in the reader and certainly the book left me with an uncomfortable after-taste when I finished it.

As a parent I thought that Always the Sun was certainly depressing, unsettling and disturbing, but it is also an impressive piece of writing. Author Neil Cross might take things to extremes but at the centre of this story asks his readers to question what we would do if we were in Sam’s shoes and that in my books can be no bad thing. Oddly I wanted to dislike this book but it was like watching a runaway train racing downhill out of control, you knew it would result in disaster but you can't help hoping that by some miracle disaster would be avoided right at the end.

"Knowing what's right doesn't mean much unless you do what's right." Theodore Roosevelt

[George K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ο Νιλ Κρος είναι δημιουργός και σεναριογράφος της γνωστής σειράς Luther και παραγωγός της σειράς Crossbones, ενώ έχει γράψει και κάποια ενδιαφέροντα θρίλερ, ανάμεσα τους και το Luther: The Calling, που παίρνει παντού εξαιρετικές κριτικές, όπως και η σειρά. Το "Πατέρας και γιος" (aka Always The Sun), είναι από τα πιο γνωστά του έργα, όμως και το πιο μέτριο. Δεν παίρνει και πολύ καλές κριτικές στο Goodreads και καταλαβαίνω τον λόγο, μιας και ούτε εμένα με ξετρέλανε.

Το θέμα το οποίο πραγματεύεται η ιστορία του βιβλίου είναι αρκετά σοβαρό και ενδιαφέρον, όμως η εκτέλεση είναι μάλλον μέτρια, με αρκετά προβλήματα. Έχουμε έναν πατέρα που μεγαλώνει μόνος του τον έφηβο γιο του, μετά τον θάνατο της γυναίκας του. Οι δυο τους μετακομίζουν σε άλλο σπίτι, μακριά από το Λονδίνο, έτσι ο μικρός αλλάζει αναγκαστικά σχολείο. Στο νέο σχολικό περιβάλλον ο μικρός γίνεται θύμα εκφοβισμού και κλείνεται στον εαυτό του και ο πατέρας του πρέπει να βρει μια λύση, πριν διαλυθεί ό,τι απέμεινε από την οικογένειά του... Λοιπόν, μου φάνηκε αρκετά κουραστικό σε γενικές γραμμές και χωρίς χαρακτήρες που να με κάνουν να ενδιαφερθώ ιδιαίτερα για τα προβλήματά τους, ενώ ήταν φλύαρο σε ασήμαντες λεπτομέρειες και εκεί που έπρεπε να επικεντρωθεί ο συγγραφέας, δυστυχώς δεν το έκανε (όχι όσο θα έπρεπε τουλάχιστον). Εδώ που τα λέμε δεν έγιναν και πολλά πράγματα στην πλοκή. Η γραφή μου φάνηκε αρκετά καλή και ευκολοδιάβαστη, τίποτα το ιδιαίτερο όμως. Η ατμόσφαιρα ήταν κάπως μουντή, σίγουρα όχι ευχάριστη, οπωσδήποτε ταιριαστή με το ύφος της ιστορίας.

Γενικά μέτριο βιβλίο που είχε όλα τα φόντα για κάτι καλύτερο. Κάποια επιμέρους κομμάτια της πλοκής μου άρεσαν, ο συγγραφέας όμως θα μπορούσε να δουλέψει περισσότερο και καλύτερα την πλοκή και τους χαρακτήρες. Το τέλος ήταν σίγουρα δυνατό και λίγο αναπάντεχο, όμως μου φάνηκε κάπως απότομο και όχι τόσο πειστικό. Μελλοντικά, πάντως, θα ρίξω μια ματιά στα θρίλερ του (Captured, Burial, Luther), γιατί φαίνονται ενδιαφέροντα και σίγουρα καλύτερα.

[Grim Tidings · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rating is a shame as I enjoyed the majority of the book but the final 50 (and particularly 10) pages were not well executed in my eyes and it sort of throws the whole book astray.

The initial enjoyment from this book was primarily from its writing, which just has a certain 'spark' to it. The way Cross describes things, quite accurately and succinctly, impressed me greatly. The setting is always obvious and well-explained without laying it on thick. The book in general is a super quick read, 300 pages but the majority of it is dialogue - probably a 4 hour job at most. Despite this it sets out what it's trying to do very quickly. The descriptions help to do this, the domestic quality to the novel comes out in the way ordinary things are described in interesting, immediately understandable ways.

The blurb on my copy of the book was far more vague than the summary on Goodreads, merely suggesting something horrible had happened to the son Jamie - a parent's worst nightmare - and that the father Sam has to reforge their relationship in light of it. So it sounded like the topic at hand could be very dark. Actually the thing in question is bullying, so a far more domestic tone, and the primary focus is the cast of character's lives and in particular the father-son relationship.

All good. The ending, then, completely threw me off balance. Some mild spoilers ahead, I will spoiler tag the major ones.

I liked Sam's characterisation in the book. He is, really, quite pathetic - in a very human and realistic way and that fits with the domestic tone of the book. For example, his reaction to finding out Jamie is being bullied is rash and over-involved. Then he meets with the bully's Dad. This is a fairly civil conversation but he afterwards says to his sister Mel that 'he thought he was going to die' (DRAMA QUEEN!). Then he gets punched in the face in the toilets by the bully after which the Dad comes in and laughs at him. He cries on the floor for a bit. To his sister again - 'there were just too many of them' to fight back (it was you versus one teenage boy to begin with, you wetwipe). The bully's family drunkenly mess around in Sam's garden, he can't possibly call the police as they won't do anything with the family being as popular in town as they are (is Hackney under some sort of Mugabe esque dictatorship? I'm sure they would have come) and fears they're going to burst the door down. Even small things like thinking the staff at a bed shop will think he is a sex pervert for going two days in a row, or everyone at work is judging him for occasionally being late, permeates the pages of the book with paranoia. None of this is an insult to the book or to its detriment, rather it was clearly on purpose to show the realism of the setting, and also to set up Sam's 'fall', however...

For me the book fundamentally failed at what it was trying to do - showing how dangerously a father's revengeful desire to protect his son can manifest - as Sam was *too* pathetic a character, and the setting was just *too* domestically drab to believe what then happened. First of all he STABS A DOG TO DEATH! This is unhinged behaviour. I could believe Sam is a slightly unhinged character and has flares of anger, but it just goes 0 to 100 in a minute. Actually I think a dog that mauls a child would've been put down pretty quickly, but sure... the dog is just left to it, so he has to stab it to death. Then... he hires, effectively, an assassin?! After his sister gets some prank calls and people make up rumours about them having an incestuous relationship (& it is implied this rumour is incredibly dangerous for them, despite it being based off absolutely nothing). At this point I'm going :o while reading, completely surprised at the turn the tale has taken. Sam observes completely unmoved as the bully's DAD (who really hasn't done all to much to him), is beaten to death. Mercifully he stops the beating before anyone dies. The torture and death is treated as a fairly run-of-the-mill affair. Sam is a nurse who is afraid of people in a bed shop thinking he is a pervert for going in twice in two days.

I just couldn't really get on board with the idea he would sanction this act, or that it was really in keeping with the theme of the book. Again I understand why it was done, to show the extent of a father's rage, and we had purposefully been set up to dislike Sam up to this point, but it was all just too fluffy up to this change. Plus, I wasn't really sold on Jamie's suffering in the book - in so far as we don't hear much about the bullying itself, just that he is supposedly being bulled and (so his friend says) it has something to do with this guy. Yet Sam just goes ape mode straight away, and decides to pursue the assassination route before I don't know... sending his son to another school?

All of this I was cynical about, AND THEN THE CHILD DIES ! In the last ten pages. Another surprising turn. The bluntness was effective in so far as it *was* surprising - and tragic - but because the story had already taken a weird turn, it didn't have the effect it could have. We must believe we have read a tragic tale of a father's revengeful, but well-meaning, act to protect his son ultimately leading to the son's suicide as a result of the shame of the act. But I did not believe the father would've done it, the act did not make sense, and the son's suicide was not justified within the book itself.

I've ripped into things a bit here, I'm not angry at the book though. It was decent until the end, and like so many novels (too many!) the ending just completely lets it down. Which is a shame. The writing was so enjoyable though, that I am hopeful there will be other books by this author that hit the mark. In fact that was the issue here really - the author has a very grandiose style and wants to take the plot in a grand, explosive place, but the setting was too domestic. I'm hopeful, then, that he has written something more dramatic to make use of his writing gift.

[Kingfan30 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became interested in reading this author because I love the TV series Luther and Neil Cross writes it. This is the second book I’ve read by him now, the first being quite religious and unexpected. This one started out quite slowly and I struggled to get inti it, there was almost too much background. Once Jamie started school things picked up, and really is about how far a parent will go when they find their child is being bullied. I didn’t agree with some of Sams decisions and the story did get far fetched at times but the ending was a bit od a shock and a let down, it really felt a bit rushed. Will persevere though and try another book.

[Sosi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok holy FUCK this is so far the second worst book I’ve read,
Ok so one of the reviews on the cover said it’s like vertigo on ketamine and it basically IS, not plot-wise but the vibe and how long you gotta wait for the interesting action and how it ends and how you (or at least I) don’t really care about the characters and just wanna find out what happens but anyway
It’s easy to read and well written but the plot is shittt

Spoilers now, just writing the plot for myself to go through if I ever forget and stoopedly decide to reread this

Ok so the mom of this kid Jamie dies and he and his dad Sam basically can’t function and the house is all messy, (I think they were in london?) they decide to move to a smaller city where Sam’s older sister Mel lives (she married frank when she was 18 and he was 35~ , that was 20 years ago, and they divorced 13 years later but still talk and he’s still part of the fam basically, frank is this biker dude~) Sam works at a psychiatric hospital as a nurse, Jamie is 13 and goes to a new school and skips class a lot and starts talking less and less to his dad, his teacher Ashford or smth talks to Sam about his absences and how a kid liam hooper that’s buff and 14-15 gives him a hard time (verbal bullying , calls Jamie “mommy’s boy”) and Sam is ANGY and asks what he can do, talk to the bully, his parents, the teacher basically says nono nothing can be done the school has a “no blame” policy shit
Sam goes to liam’s dad’s workplace (some butcher place) and confronts him about his son and dave hooper(the dad) is defensive and dry, when Sam comes home Mel tells him it’s cause he’s being confronted at his workplace publicly what else would he do? Let’s go to the bar he drinks at and buy him a beer and say sorry about that, sam agrees and they go and he gets a panic attack (he does that a lot), Mel also introduces him to one of her friends anna to get them flirty flirty, but anyway Sam buys Dave a beer and apologizes, and Dave’s with 4-5 other people talking laughing and he’s standing on the way to the bathroom, and Sam has another panic attack cause he doesn’t wanna go by Dave and his group to go to the bathroom but then he does, and then one of the people Dave was standing with comes in and apparently it’s liam (the bully), sam goes “stay away from my fuckin son” and Dave and his gang come in and he’s like “you wanna have a word have a word with me” and he hits sam, and sam’s wet on the floor and punched and he leaves, and Mel yells at them and calls them animals on the way out,
Then Mel starts getting silent calls tryna scare her so she moves in with Sam and Jamie, and the Hooper family show up around their house drunk yelling kicking the door and Mel yells at them from the window again then they’re gone and the next day sam’s car’s gone, he gets insurance and gets another really nice car or smth that wouldn’t arrive for a few weeks(??) but the insurance gave him another temp car(?) anyway christmas passes and for his birthday Sam gets a watch from Jamie and Mel makes him go on a date with Anna, and then Jamie and his friend apparently go near the hooper’s to possibly find the stolen car and notice one of the hooper kids(18~) and the dog is tied and they turn their bikes to leave and throw a pebble at the hooper and he falls back and the dog is set loose accidentally and attacks the kids and bites Jamie’s thigh and stuff, and his friend’s dad tells Sam and they go to the hospital, he’s ANGY again and goes to the camping shop and gets knives and stuff and goes and kills the dog and the hooper kid hugs the dog’s corpse all sad like “you didn’t have to hurt himmm” and Sam’s like “maybe train your next dog well” and leaves, and then Dave calls and threatens the whole family like “you’re dead and your son and sis, you didn’t have to do that but you did you could’ve told us and we’d have the dog put down” and sam’s like “yeah right”
And then remember how Mel moved in with them cause she was getting those silent calls and was scared? Ye well apparently Dave started a rumor about “the nature of Sam and Mel’s relationship” and Mel says he’s probably jealous (turns out Mel and Dave had an affair 3 years ago) and Mel decides to move back out
Sam goes “that’s it” and calls frank, mel’s ex husband that’s been in prison at least twice and has connections, and uses said connections to hella beat up Dave hooper and they were gonna kill him but at the last moment Sam stops them and leaves him just super beat up and the mafia dudes are like “don’t come close to sam or his family or we’ll kill yours”
And then Jamie goes to school and everyone;s scared of him and liam tells him his dad is at the hospital in intensive care and when he’s home he’s like “dad what did you DO” and then doesn’t talk to Sam and Sam responds to the “news” of dave being in the hospital near death with “anyway how was school”
And then Mel stops talking to him cause she definitely knows what he did, and she’s helping Dave now, and months pass and life;s good and Jamie’s in the 8th grade now
And then Jamie kills himself in the bath :)
And Sam tells Mel not to attend the funeral, Frank comes to keep him company, and then Dave comes to sam’s house and he’s crying and tells him liam didn’t do anything and he’s like “did you hear about me and Mel? You’re welcome to come if u want to” which I can only assume they’re getting married?
Anyway ye that’s the whole book
OH AND 80% of it is people going “all right Jamie?” “All right dad?” “All right Mel?” “All right phil?” I lost my mind

[Stephen Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was encouraged to read this book and whilst I read it quite quickly I was left feeling disappointed with it. The story was interesting to start with and felt credible, however the third part of the book started taking the storyline in an unexpected manner. The killing of the dog and the beating of the father were steps to far and not something I could relate to. Having said all that it was an engaging read and I kept with it and it was entertaining, apart from the brutality.

[Lois · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this is one of the few books to make me cry. It is the story of a father and son getting over the death of their wife/mother. This is heartwrenching stuff. I read the last part of this book whilst on the Northern Line Tube on my way home to Golders Green. I was visibly sobbing. All the "LubbyLoo Jews" were watching me very cautiously.

[Sajeev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top-drawer

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing book about bullyingand the knock on effects...

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started to read this book, and realised I have read it before! It is a bit of a depressing read really, but is one of theose books that makes a strong impact.

[Sam Milgate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit meh but the end makes up for it. Wow.

[Jodie Dickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh my goodness the most depressing book ever, just when you think it cant get sadder, it does in a really shocking way.

[Teresa D · Rating 4 out of 5]

A haunting and uncomfortable read.

[Marieclaire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never felt so sad and sick and down when finishing a book before. I'm not sure if the big impact is a sign of a good book or not? As a parent this was a little depressing.

[Yaz Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully written, a story that gets darker and darker and I just couldn't put it down

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't see the point to this story. concludes with so many loose ends

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depressing with a sad and surprising ending. Not the best read for good parenting tips.... but felt compelled to read to the bitter end :-(

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fucking great

[Sam Davison · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first three quarters of this book, I loved it. Cleverly simple visual writing, honest and with a dark beauty. The end, I thought let was a little contrived.

[Anj_1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. I didn't feel much was happening but wasn't bored. Then when something happened it felt like a gut punch and I wish it hadn't.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is very sad and upsetting. I would never recommend this book to anyone.

[Silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing of this book was both stunning and moving. It was a very well crafted tale, that ended up going into some extremely unlikely places, and explored some rather dark depths of human nature and the human psyche. One of the things I did enjoy about this book was how very “human” it was. There are no good guys, or bad guys, there are people who are living and struggling in various scales of gray. They are characters who have both moments of likability and moments of deplorability. There are situations which are badly handled because human emotion, and ideas relating to one’s pride, and dignity get in the way of logic, and rational thought and behavior. This does not forgive or excuse or justify their actions. But honestly shows how messy people can make their lives because of their flawed natures.

The book sets out as a tender, heart-breaking, sometimes humours, portrayal of a man and his son struggling to cope with the death of their wife/mother, and strive to make a new life for themselves, but as the story progresses it takes a darker turn. As Jamie a teenage boy enrolls into a new school, he becomes more aloof and distant from his father Sam, and we watch as Sam proves himself to be both rather incompetent as a father, and ineffective at managing his own life. While clearly both characters are not coping with their grief well, nor are they willing to admit that they need help, but both Jamie and Sam strive ahead, pulling apart from each other while determined to convince themselves and each other that they are fine, and do not need anyone else’s help.

From there the story only descends further into darkness and despair and takes a turn into become quite the psychological suspense thriller. Because of an implication that Jamie is being bullied, an all out bloody feud develops between Sam and a local, well known and well liked family in the neighborhood. Extreme measures are taken and Sam’s relationship with both his son and his sister are strained to their limits.

For those who do not mind the bleak this is a compelling, taut, family drama.