Bobby's Boy

by Mark Wilson

Warning: Contains strong language and adult themes throughout.

Gritty, Fast-Paced, Character-Driven Fiction. "A coming of age story for the dysfunctional generation." - Amazon Reader

Orphan, son, brother, friend, husband, father, workaholic, alcoholic, music journalist and occasional hero; Tom Kinsella lives life to the full despite a tragic past.

In Bobby's Boy Tom travels the length and breadth of Europe and the USA on tour with one of the world's greatest ever rock bands, documenting their support act's every move and generally having the time of his life. Along the way Tom walks in his father's shoes, puts a few old ghosts to rest and learns to accept that he's not all bad. With a few twists and turns, plenty of Scottish humour, some romance, a few tears and some fun along the way, Bobby's Boy explores the limits of what a person can achieve with the power of determination and how love can make all the difference in a person's life.
Set in the 1970s through to the early twenty-first century and in Paris, London, LA, New York and Bellshill, Bobby's Boy is the tale of one young man's determination to rise above loss and tragedy to build a successful life for himself.


Revised 2nd Edition

What the readers say:

"Mark Wilson has done a fantastic job with his debut novel. You feel like you are with Tom on this rollercoaster ride through the ups and the downs. You will laugh, you will cry, you will not want to put this book down. I was gripped from start to finish with a few twists and turns along the way. I cannot wait to read the next installment from this very talented writer. " - Lynne B

"Mark writes with feeling and imagination with a few twists along the way" - JLD

" I couldn't put the book down and through tears of joy and heartbreak I carried on reading." - Kim

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Coming Of Age

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2012

About the author

Mark Wilson is the Amazon-bestselling author of ten works of fiction and one non-fiction memoir.
He also writes Psychological Thrillers under the pseudonym, CP Wilson.

Mark's short story 'Glass Ceiling' won first prize in May, 2015 on Spinetingler's Short story competition and will be included in Ryan Bracha's Twelve Nights at Table Six. dEaDINBURGH reached the quarter finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in 2014 and is a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, 2015.

Mark's works include:

Coming of Age - Bobby's Boy (Lanarkshire Strays).
Pyschological Thriller (Novella) - Head Boy (Lanarkshire Strays).
International Thriller - Naebody's Hero (Lanarkshire Strays).
Science Fiction Thriller - The Man Who Sold His Son (Lanarkshire Strays).
Horror novels - dEaDINBURGH: Vantage, dEaDINBURGH: Alliances, dEaDINBURGH: Origins, dEaDINBURGH: Hunted.
Satire: On The Seventh Day
Psychological Satire: Wake Up And Smell The Coffin
Autobiography - Paddy's Daddy

Mark also writes Crime Thrillers under the pseudonym, CP Wilson.

Mark's acclaimed Lanarkshire Strays series are standalone novels and feature Mark's home county. Lanarkshire Strays is also available as an omnibus edition.

His novels have been well received and feature Scottish characters and locations.

Mark has several other stories in progress:


Alice - A Psychological Crime Thriller - Due February, 2017
The Headnet - Sci-Fi Dystopic Nightmare - Due Easter, 2017
AMSTERDAMned - Horror - Due 2017

Mark currently teaches Biology in a Fife secondary school and is founder of Paddy's Daddy Publishing, a company he set up to assist Scottish authors. He writes in his spare time, in lieu of sleep.

You can visit Mark at markwilsonbooks.com or facebook.com/markwilsonbooks
You can also connect with Mark on twitter: @markwilsonbooks

Reviews

[Phil Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobby's Boy

Having read a number of books by Mark Wilson (the Deadinburgh Trilogy, and Head Boy spring immediately to mind, and knowing that Bobby’s Boy was part of the Lanarkshire strays collection I was expecting Bobby’s boy to carry on where Head Boy left off. (A Scottish gangster tale telling the rise of a young upcoming pyscho, taking on the established old school gangster family).
I was wrong.

Mark Wilson is nothing if not undefinable. He changes genre like I change my undies and he appears to do it with consummate ease.

Nothing Gangster about this book..and no ringed / zombies..this is a coming of age tale of love and loss, drink and drugs and rock n roll.

As usual I’ll try to summarise without the review turning into a plot spoiler.

The story revolves around a young boy’s (Tom Kinsella) sometimes tragic upbringing. Having to be moved into his Uncles care following the deaths of his father and later of his mother and stepfather.

Under the care of his, delightfully charismatic, Uncle Alec, Tom discovers his penchant for reading writing and Music and of how he has inherited these traits from his father (Bobby).

After building a reputation as a creative and honest music reviewer he is offered a long term job touring America and Europe with Rage Against the Machine and their support act Anal Seepage. Its Tom’s dream job. Unfortunately the job offer coincides with the flowering of his first true romance with his soulmate, Cathy.

After much soul searching and with Cathy’s full blessing he takes on the job and is taken from his humble background in Bellshill, Scotland to the big wide world. He becomes close friends with the members of Anal Seepage, in particularly with the understated, likeable Donny. At first Tom is understandably naïve and overawed but his penchant for the drink soon helps him bed in to the Rock n roll lifestyle and all the other temptations that a rock n roll tour would bring.

As with most people, the drink and drugs take their toll and Tom changes drastically, physically and mentally and this in turn has a destructive effect on his relationship with Cathy, who has moved on with her life adding new skills and new friends to her life (something Tom has great difficulty accepting in his then state).

Rather than deal with the situation in the way one would hope, Tom instead immerses himself even more into the rock n roll lifestyle and exacerbates the problems greatly. The situation with Cathy becomes drastic and she gives him an ultimatum to clean up his act of ship out for good. The good times with the band become dangerously violent and untenable and its hard to figure out how he will turn things round until he meets an unexpected old friend on the streets of Paris, whose wise words and compassion help Tom finally figure out the demons that are causing his destructive behaviour.

There are parts of this story that are unexplainable right to the end, where we have a customary Mark Wilson-esque twist.

It turns out that this was the authors first ever novel and given the other titles I have read by Mark Wilson I could imagine that if he wrote this tale now, it would take on a some slight changes of direction and the end would be slightly different ( I was actually slightly disappointed with the ending paragraph where he meets a stager on a bus) and this as well as some other slightly unconvincing coincidences (Toms sister meeting and marrying the son of a New York publisher his father had met and considered working for in his youth decades earlier), but that and any other coincidence is dealt with when we get to the end and discover the twist, but they did irk me a little as I went through.

Having been through quite a few of the problems Tom went through in this story (losing a father at an early age, suffering with consequential insecurities as a result, resorting to drink and drugs through my late teens and half of my twenties) I found the book incredibly moving and at times painful. It got to the point where I bought into the story so much, I wondered whether it really was autobiographical. (A point a raised with the Author after I finished…but that conversation remains under wraps). That’s what Mark Wilson does. He creates worlds where you really buy into the characters and the worlds they live in. I would highly recommend this book to all. For a first novel it is outstanding. I can’t wait to read more by Mark Wilson.

[Cathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I want to thank the author, Mark Wilson, for gifting me with a copy of "Bobby's Boy".

It is such an interesting read. I must admit to having some issues with reading in the beginning as a lot of Scottish dialect was used. Once I had some understanding of what the characters were saying, I enjoyed this read so much.

At times, it is such a gritty story with a lot of emotional trauma. There is also lots of love, humor and human growth. I laughed so hard at the description of the teen boy and the vacuum hose. Brought to mind the movie "American Pie". I became sad at how Tommy deteriorated into drink and dark depression while touring the US and Europe as a band journalist.

I was so happy when he overcame his demons and become a better man. He becomes the author his father should have been and marries the love of his life and they have a family together. When his wife dies suddenly, Tommy once again gets lost in depression. His Uncle gets him to pull himself together for his twin daughters. Tommy decides to make a new life for himself and his daughters in America while pursuing his literary career.

What a wonderful story, though the story is sad at times it ultimately has a happy ending.

Thanks Mark for providing me with a copy. I am so happy to have read this story. I look forward to reading more of your work.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first word that comes to mind after finishing Mark Wilson's debut novel is, "Wow," for several reasons. The book is incredibly fast-paced and very difficult to put down. It reads at the pace of the ultimate 90s Alternative/Grunge playlist: loud, in-your-face, and always evolving. But at the very same time, I'm thinking "Wow" because of how many things the book just missed by an inch. 90% of the book's dialogue is fresh, witty, and completely absorbing. However, there are several moments throughout the novel where characters start speaking like narrators in an effort to explain their situations to each other, and it pulls you out of the otherwise powerful scenes. Additionally, the book manages to cover such a wide and varied cast of topics, but occasionally struggles to deal with them all at once. The discussions of early Scottish homophobia and alcoholism were explosive and moving, but by the end of the book it begins to feel overwhelming as issue upon issue is introduced and dissected.
Overall, Mr. Wilson has created an uneven but nonetheless absorbing and powerful first novel that, more than anything, leaves me waiting with bated breath for what he'll have to offer us next. Recommended.

Final Grade: B+

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fuckin good read

Very emotive no bolox just honest prose that tells me wot I wanna know about the characters involved so I can live wot they live

[Grammar*Kitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was delighted to receive a review copy of Bobby's Boy from the author after being unsuccessful in my attempt to win a Goodreads First Reads Copy.

I'm sincerely glad I did; this novel is a little special. Sure, it has it's typos and grammatical/spelling mistakes like most books (and although this usually really irks me, it didn't so much, this time), and even as someone from the UK I find the Scottish dialect as difficult to read as to understand sometimes, but the remarkable way that Mark Wilson has written the characters shines through and distracts the reader from any minor niggles that they may have with the narrative.

A few of the references went straight over my head (as a younger reader that was only born in 1989) but this also didn't do anything to detract from what a wonderfully written story Mark Wilson had put to the page. I would most definitely recommend it.

[Fiona Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without a doubt this one needs to be on the "read" list not "to read". A truly original & wonderful book with characters to love and a story to lose yourself in only to be blown away by the ending. I loved it!!!

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in a whole day as could not put it down, it is both funny and sad at times. I enjoyed it.

[Kez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, made me cry at parts, some of it was so sad!

[Karen Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written but disappointed with the ending

[Ryan Bracha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first novel by Mark Wilson, but as I came to his work late, it's the third of his that I've read. I'm a big fan of his stuff. Head Boy was (is) graphically and unashamedly nasty, Naebody's Hero was (is) a post modern and surprisingly down to Earth superhero tale, and Bobby's Boy is, well, I'll tell you.

Tom Kinsella is a friendly, intelligent and creative step-son in a family where his widowed mother allows herself to be downtrodden by her new husband Mel, after Tom's dad, the eponymous Bobby, dies in an accident at work. Tom is always told that he resembles his dad in so many ways, both physically and characteristically. He loves to write, to create, and to absorb popular culture at an incredible rate.
Every weekend his mum and stepdad will take his baby step sister out, leaving Tom to sit on the back step until they return (Mel will not allow the boy in the house for fear of having his house and personal possessions tampered with). One day, however, they don't return, having perished in a freak traffic accident, and Tom is sent to live with his foul mouthed, but affectionate uncle Alec. From here on in Tom is allowed to grow as a person, to let his creative streak loose, and to fantastic ends for the kid. He finds himself a familiar face around the Glasgow music scene, reviewing gigs and the like, meeting what would appear to be his soul mate, Cathy, along the way. Eventually as his work becomes notorious, the wider world beckons, as he embarks upon a worldwide tour with an unknown American band, who are supporting a more illustrious Rage Against The Machine. What comes next is a rollercoaster of emotions, fights, drinking, smoking, and soul searching, as Tom attempts to figure out once and for all who he is, and why he is.

Okay, let's get one thing clear. Mark Wilson paints great literary pictures. Every scene, every location, every conversation, and every emotion is visualised and deeply felt by you as the reader. He has this knack of giving each and every one of his characters an unashamed way of saying it like it is, of feeling things we have all felt at some point or another, and you can't help but feel for them with each peak and trough they encounter upon life's path. That's what he does best, he writes great people. He writes people that you care for, root for, and ultimately feel disappointed with if they let you down.

Bobby's Boy is no different. It has an obvious comparison to Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's (in my opinion) masterpiece of cinema. It's a tale of little boy lost in the big bad world of rock and roll, who earns his stripes and finds his balls as he evolves from naïve small town teenager to world weary, wiser than his years teenager in only a short time. His long distance relationship feels the strains of jealousy and paranoia, and send him on a downward spiral, until a familiar face comes to the rescue (which, having read Mark's books backwards, I saw coming a mile off!).

Having read all of Mark Wilson's fictional work now, I really enjoy seeing what he's doing with his work. The peripheral characters that pop in and out of each other's story to give a sweet kick up the behind when things aren't going their way. The obvious affection for people like Uncle Alec, who will undoubtedly make reappearances in his future stuff. If he doesn't I'll go nuts.

The reason that this is a 4, and not a 5 star piece of work, and I sincerely hope the author will forgive me for saying so, is the centrepiece conversations. The ones where Tom is feeling so low that he might as well just end it all. Although they are well timed and well meant, I think that by the third or fourth one, it seemed everybody that Tom knew had an emotional anecdote which just so happened to relate to exactly how he was feeling, and made him reassess his life, leading on to another discovery about his personality. Individually, I loved them, as a collection it bordered on too many.

Overall then, Bobby's Boy is yet another literary triumph from Mark Wilson as far as this reader goes. I know it's his debut novel, and saying 'another' is a contradiction in terms, but I told you earlier on that this is the third of his books that I've read. Pay attention.
From this book to the second and third Mark's writing has evolved, which can only be a very good thing if you're picking Bobby's Boy up as an introduction to his work, because to be honest, this novel is pretty damned excellent. You have some shit hot reading ahead of you.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another book I won through the wonderful first-reads program.

I was a bit torn in my rating of this book. Originally, I had intended to give it three stars - not from any complaint in regards to the story or quality of writing, but rather due to some distracting typos that I found throughout the text. My nitpicky urge to rate three stars was then summarily destroyed by the truly fantastic end of the story. All thoughts of the minor errors was erased from my mind.

Bobby's Boy is Mark Wilson's second book. The story is that of a young boy in Scotland, chasing his dream and trying to deal with all of the hardships that come along with such a daring life choice. The boy is driven, but scarred from his rather dysfunctional past. That is the basic plot, but there is a hell of a lot more going on this book. The book blends short stories, and plays with time - throughout the book there are stories told, memories of past family members, of friends, of the town he was born in. All of this is told in a distinctly Scots voice that gives the feeling you're sharing a cuppa tay (half a cup) with Mark Wilson rather than reading a book.

To call the book charming is at once accurate, but also doing the book an injustice - it's a lot more than that. This book has more heart in it than ten 'coming of age' novels and an almost mythical power behind the manner in which the story is told. For all of Tom's (the protagonist) faults, and there are many, he is an incredibly relateable character. He touches something, and he's easy to love.

If you take one thing away from the review, let it be this Read. This. Book. You'll not only get a fantastic read out of this bargain, but also a brilliant look into the way memorable stories are told. Read it, you'll love it.

[Allen Renfro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bobby's Boy is an exceptional character driven story. One of the first thoughts of describing this novel as I read it was that through each page I felt a quiet about it. Sort of like the quiet in the woods when snow is falling. It is a story of a life that anyone of us could have and Wilson tells it with such an easy, almost biographical, manner that you don't realize how wrapped up in the story you are until you are at the end and wanting more. It was the "quiet" of this novel, the normality of the characters that make this novel work. As in real life it is the twists that we don't see coming that make this story compelling and sometimes heartbreaking.

I must confess some of the Scottish dialect had me running to Google to make sure I understood clearly what the characters sometimes were saying. But make no mistake, instead of this being a distraction it only gave the characters more depth and made me more interested. Tommy's career may be boring to some readers and the detail that Wilson goes into could be a distraction to some, but for me Tommy is a character that truly loves what he is doing and that joy is reflected in a flourishing life that I increasingly grew jealous of and then grew thankful that it wasn't me.

I could not post a review of this novel without mentioning the character of Uncle Alec, a hard edged, tough talking man. I found myself totally in love with him and the honesty that he maintained throughout the story. Through the toughness Wilson gives you a glimpse of the love this character has for family, friends and loving life in general and you realize there is a gentle man underneath who only wishes happiness for those he loves.

The more I read the more I fell in love with this novel, a novel of characters we all know in a world in which life is the unknown. I will definitely be reading this novel again. Job well done.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bobby's Boy was great. While it did quite a bit of telling rather than showing, the subject matter was continually interesting and relied heavily on the plot to remain so. I particularly enjoyed this because there wasn't any over emphasis on descriptions or unnecessary details. Instead, we were only privy to the important details that spanned over a decade. It was a long history to cover in a small amount of pages. Yet, I didn't feel as if it was rushed.

It hit some really heavy subjects, and at the end especially I got emotional. The book's tone never got dark or depressing despite this, though. It dealt with major issues: death, homophobia, drugs/alcoholism, disease, etc. At some points I had a hard time figuring out how Tommy could continue without having some kind of breakdown (although I suppose this did happen). All of the things he was forced to experience was tough, to say the least.

The bad luck started young. But the good luck always followed the bad, which I thought was a unique trend. He experienced some severe lows, only for them to be followed by some of the greatest events he experienced. It was rewarding in an odd way.

Another thing I really loved was the reference to Naebody's Hero. I think it's awesome that Rob Hamilton was in the story, and we got to see the opposite end of what Rob saw in Naebody's Hero. It was super cool and I got ridiculously excited about it, like I was in on some kind of secret.

Bobby's Boy is equal parts sad and uplifting.

[Soo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes I pick up a book and slip into the story with no effort at all; this is one of those books and I really enjoyed it. The characters quickly became people I wanted to know more about and the style of writing made me feel like I was actually listening to someone telling me about their life.
I particularly liked the way the author didn't let the settings take precedence over the characters; especially during the touring stages. It was very refreshing not to be confronted with the explicit off-stage rock star antics that so many books have.
This was a book about people, their histories and deepest emotions and Mark has written it beautifully. I care about these people and would like to know more about them; especially Tommy's best friend Rob, who is still a loose end needing to be connected.

[Book-shelf Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I didn't know what to expect from this book as Mark is a very new author... especially to us and what i can say is WOW!!! A journey not to be short changed is what this book is, it literally blew my mind. There are parts where the story starts to feel like it should of ended already; then wham, Mark hits you with a bit more and you are tied to staying where you are until you finish.
The descriptions of every place are brilliant, not so much of they would place you there, more it rips you heart out and puts it in the place. You think you know where the story is going and every time proved wrong. Mark takes you on so many twists and turns you feel like you have lived in the book! Pure brilliance and one that i would love to see on the shelves in every book store. Thank you Mark for allowing me the pleasure of this book.

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it had an entertaining mix of drama and humour. It is quite a dark story in the beginning. The main character Tommy has an unhappy childhood, his father dies when he is very young and his mother, step father and half sister are killed in an RTA. This tragedy probably saves Tommy, he goes to live with his uncle where he is loved and supported.

As an adult Tommy becomes a music writer/reviewer and is head hunted to follow a band on tour. Much mahem and adventures ensue.

The book has very sad moments, some harrowing moments but is balanced with 'laugh out loud moments'. The West of Scotland sense of humour is there in abundance. The writing style is reminiscent of Christopher Brookmyre, which is a massive compliment from a huge Brookmyre fan like myself. Read 'Bobby's Boy' it won't dissapoint.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bobby's boy was funny and heartwarming as well as deep at points, growing up in Bellshill i could relate to the setting for this story. However the author manages to tell it in such away that i felt i was with Tom throughout even when he visited places i had never been. It delves into his heart and his emotions and shows a great bond with his uncle who becomes his friend . Alec is a great character I'm sure we all knew one like him.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracking read from Wilson. I read this straight after Head Boy so I was expecting (and wanting) more of the same. It couldn't have been more different and at first I was a little disappointed. That disappointment only lasted a few pages. What a touching and absorbing tale of family history, missed chances, second chances and relationships. The music angle certainly helped as I love the indie and rock scene. A beautiful novel.

[Donna Peake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the books that will stick with you after you've finished reading it. Really did not want it to come to an end. Great cast of characters. Love Alec, the funeral was very surprising, did not expect that person to die. Reminds me a bit of a Pat Conroy story. Will read this author again.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recived this book through Goodreads First Reads.


Such a great book! I instantly fell in love with the main character and even wanted to scoop up and rescue his younger self. It's full of heartbreak and happiness, I even cried near the end...which, although I do cry easily, not often while reading a book! It's one of those great books that you wish could be turned into a movie.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a real tale of a boy from Bellshill with such a rotten start, yet still manages to be a good guy! His uncle was a brilliant character that I could relate to. So many tales that made me laugh and cry equally. Fantastic read. Only one problem I have with the author HE HASN'T FINISHED HIS NEW BOOK YET!!! get your finger out!!!

[Gillian Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absorbing read. The well defined characters drew me into the story from the first page,it was compelling reading. Mark Wilson is an excellent author, sensitive with an insight into human emotions to which I readily connected. His portrayal of life in Glasgow is gritty and packed with emotion and more than a few surprises!

[Robert Cowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who has lived in both Bellshill and Blackwood, it was always going to have some interest. But its not a book about places, but of the people who live there and the author conveys a real melancholic warmth about his young subject.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book, ending was totally unexpected but fab! A definite must for any Scot!

[Angela C Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprising

If you can read over some of the language and hold out it is a twist in the end that will leave the reader shaking their head.

[April Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a couple of pages towards the end of the book, I really thought the author had spoiled the story, but fear not, he does not.
Excellent story telling!