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The Pimlico Kid
One boy. One street. One summer he will never forget.
A powerful and poignant debut from a compelling and authentic voice in commercial fiction.
It’s 1963. Billy Driscoll and his best mate, Peter ‘Rooksy’ Rooker, have the run of their street. Whether it’s ogling sexy mum, Madge, as she pegs out her washing, or avoiding local bully Griggsy, the estates and bombsites of Pimlico have plenty to fire their fertile imagination.
Billy is growing up and after years of being the puny one, he’s finally filling out. He is also taking more than a passing interest in Sarah Richards, his pretty neighbour. But he isn’t her only admirer – local heartthrob and rotten cheat, Kenneth ‘Kirk’ Douglas, likes her too – something drastic must be done if Billy is to get his girl.
When Rooksy suggests a day out with Sarah and her shy friend, Josie, it seems like the perfect summer outing. Little do they know that it will be a day of declarations and revelations; of secrets and terrifying encounters – and that it will change them all forever…
A powerful and poignant debut from a compelling and authentic voice in commercial fiction.
It’s 1963. Billy Driscoll and his best mate, Peter ‘Rooksy’ Rooker, have the run of their street. Whether it’s ogling sexy mum, Madge, as she pegs out her washing, or avoiding local bully Griggsy, the estates and bombsites of Pimlico have plenty to fire their fertile imagination.
Billy is growing up and after years of being the puny one, he’s finally filling out. He is also taking more than a passing interest in Sarah Richards, his pretty neighbour. But he isn’t her only admirer – local heartthrob and rotten cheat, Kenneth ‘Kirk’ Douglas, likes her too – something drastic must be done if Billy is to get his girl.
When Rooksy suggests a day out with Sarah and her shy friend, Josie, it seems like the perfect summer outing. Little do they know that it will be a day of declarations and revelations; of secrets and terrifying encounters – and that it will change them all forever…
370 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
34 people want to read
About the author
Barry Walsh
3 books23 followersI was born and grew up in central London, and went to school in the East End.
After dropping out of university, I worked at the Mermaid Theatre where a very tolerant Lord Miles allowed me to work in publicity. Later, I left to live in Greece where I’d planned, among other things, to write a novel. I didn't. I subsequently spent a career in corporate communications.
I came late to writing and my first novel, The Pimlico Kid – a story of first love – was published in July 2013 by HarperCollins. My second novel, Danny Boy, publishes on 5 January 2023.
When not writing, I enjoy the theatre, reading, watching Arsenal, being in France, listening to classical music and Neil Young, as well as occasionally looking at Audrey Hepburn’s face.
I’m a proud vice-president of the world’s oldest youth club, St Andrew’s, Westminster and I believe that on a good day London might just be the centre of the universe – and that Pimlico is its finest village. I live with my wife in south west London, and we have two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 13, 2015
The Pimlico Kid is set in the sixties, a decade I felt I was living in from the very first page, even though I wasn’t born until the eighties. Billy Driscoll and his best mate, Peter Rooker, have the run of the street and, when Billy takes an interest in the pretty girl next door, he must do something drastic if he’s to beat his greatest rival, a rotten cheat, to her heart. It’s a summer that will change them all forever. At first the story seems to be about a few boys and their lustful small talk but there turns out to be much more emotion brewing under the surface and it becomes, by the end, sentimental, yet profound.
The voice is athletic and daring. It feels so authentic that I had to ask Barry if the novel is, in part, autobiographical. He says he’s fortunate to have vivid memories of his childhood in Pimlico and could recall even the finest details about the time, the slang and the street which he only discovered was known as a slum after it was bulldozed years later. Despite this, he says Pimlico is home to him. He feels stronger and younger just being there.
The characters are completely fictional but nonetheless very much alive. Even minor cast members are characterised, in little more than a line, such that they and the culture in which they live are so vivid. There is, for example, a short neighbor with a “potbelly over which braces hoist his trousers to within an inch of his armpits,”, the nit nurse who “calls as often as the rent man” and a kid who Billy had witnessed “pull the front bumper off a Ford Anglia.”
Dialogue jumps off the page in the same way. Although some sections are almost spelled out, they’re not lengthy so ultimately add authenticity without become tiresome. I found this also an effective way of getting across the class differences from a woman who asks for “ten Weights and a tanner’s worth of whiting please, ducks’ to a Jaguar driver who passes through and calls: “I say, you…You there. Do you know this boy?” Some crass language is to be expected in a novel like this but it isn’t overdone and fits to the occasion.
I loved the short chapters and their intriguing titles from “Fish, Fags and the Devil Cat” to “Kissing Khrushchev”. Pacing is great throughout and this is helped further by the punctuated writing style. There are some great pauses, which just escape the dreaded saggy territory, used in contrast to action so that it feels almost explosive by the time it reaches the climax.
Read the full Literary Lightbox review here: www.literarylightbox.com/the-pimlico-...
The voice is athletic and daring. It feels so authentic that I had to ask Barry if the novel is, in part, autobiographical. He says he’s fortunate to have vivid memories of his childhood in Pimlico and could recall even the finest details about the time, the slang and the street which he only discovered was known as a slum after it was bulldozed years later. Despite this, he says Pimlico is home to him. He feels stronger and younger just being there.
The characters are completely fictional but nonetheless very much alive. Even minor cast members are characterised, in little more than a line, such that they and the culture in which they live are so vivid. There is, for example, a short neighbor with a “potbelly over which braces hoist his trousers to within an inch of his armpits,”, the nit nurse who “calls as often as the rent man” and a kid who Billy had witnessed “pull the front bumper off a Ford Anglia.”
Dialogue jumps off the page in the same way. Although some sections are almost spelled out, they’re not lengthy so ultimately add authenticity without become tiresome. I found this also an effective way of getting across the class differences from a woman who asks for “ten Weights and a tanner’s worth of whiting please, ducks’ to a Jaguar driver who passes through and calls: “I say, you…You there. Do you know this boy?” Some crass language is to be expected in a novel like this but it isn’t overdone and fits to the occasion.
I loved the short chapters and their intriguing titles from “Fish, Fags and the Devil Cat” to “Kissing Khrushchev”. Pacing is great throughout and this is helped further by the punctuated writing style. There are some great pauses, which just escape the dreaded saggy territory, used in contrast to action so that it feels almost explosive by the time it reaches the climax.
Read the full Literary Lightbox review here: www.literarylightbox.com/the-pimlico-...
January 8, 2014
Thank you to the publisher and author for the review copy.
It’s 1963. Billy Driscoll and his best mate, Peter ‘Rooksy’ Rooker, have the run of their street. Whether it’s ogling sexy mum, Madge, as she pegs out her washing, or avoiding local bully Griggsy, the estates and bombsites of Pimlico have plenty to fire their fertile imagination.
Do you remember when you were 13? I have vague memories of that time of my life when the world was opening up and everything felt important. Barry Walsh has captured the sense of that perfectly here, as we follow Billy Driscoll through life, friendship, love and a growing understanding of the fallibility of adults.
This is a "coming of age" tale but it is so much more than that. This is a witty and heartfelt look at one boy facing the world head on and is beautifully written. Set in the evocative 60's, a sense of that time and place is ingrained in the pages. Nostalgic, fascinating and compelling I loved this one.
Recommended for fans of well written drama with heart.
Happy Reading Folks!
It’s 1963. Billy Driscoll and his best mate, Peter ‘Rooksy’ Rooker, have the run of their street. Whether it’s ogling sexy mum, Madge, as she pegs out her washing, or avoiding local bully Griggsy, the estates and bombsites of Pimlico have plenty to fire their fertile imagination.
Do you remember when you were 13? I have vague memories of that time of my life when the world was opening up and everything felt important. Barry Walsh has captured the sense of that perfectly here, as we follow Billy Driscoll through life, friendship, love and a growing understanding of the fallibility of adults.
This is a "coming of age" tale but it is so much more than that. This is a witty and heartfelt look at one boy facing the world head on and is beautifully written. Set in the evocative 60's, a sense of that time and place is ingrained in the pages. Nostalgic, fascinating and compelling I loved this one.
Recommended for fans of well written drama with heart.
Happy Reading Folks!
December 16, 2013
When I first got to know Pimlico, in the 1980s, the world of 'The Pimlico Kid' was already lost. In the 80s, Pimllico, with its proximity to Sloane Square, was already part of that gentrified SW London that included "Batterse-a" and "Claa'ham" as well as Chelsea itself. So it was a fascinating experience to be taken 50 years back in time to a London of bomb sites, where not every home had a telephone or an indoor toilet.
I'm not a great fan of novels written in the present tense, but Billy's narrative in 'The Pimlico Kid' was an exception that worked for me. The present tense gave a sense of immediacy, of events just as they unfold. Of course a 13 year old has a past, and a future, but the majority of a young teenager's precarious living is done in the moment, for the moment, so this worked well.
The story itself is told in a series of chapter scenes or snapshots - you can imagine each starting as a black and white shot, or in faded hipstamatic-style colour as Billy starts to relate the surroundings, the characters, the action. I made the comparison when reviewing David Mitchell's 'Black Swan Green' with Dylan Thomas's (semi) autobiography, 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog', and 'The Pimlico Kid' employs a similar structure, used to very good effect.
As well as the excellent social commentary - I'd not realised quite how strongly Westerns influenced juvenile culture in the UK in the 60s, although I now remember the mattress of my first bunk bed had a pattern of cowboys (!) - the novel captures that excitingly unstable state of being thirteen with its mishmash of childhood remnants that you simultaneously want to chuck out and treasure, self-doubt, wanting to fit in, wanting to stand out, wanting to discover who you are - and maybe not wanting to confront the truth. Billy has been dealt a mixed hand - the bad card of his asthma, but the good cards of his intelligence and sensitivity, and a supportive, stable and present family.
My only slight criticism is actually the same one I had for Black Swan Green. Occasionally, the period detail gets a little self-conscious so that the authenticity is lost. We hear the middle-aged Billy speaking in retrospect, rather than the 13-year-old.
'The Pimlico Kid' is a vibrant slice of recent history, full of memorable character and incident, as well as being an authentic and believable portrait of a boy on the turn to manhood.
I'm not a great fan of novels written in the present tense, but Billy's narrative in 'The Pimlico Kid' was an exception that worked for me. The present tense gave a sense of immediacy, of events just as they unfold. Of course a 13 year old has a past, and a future, but the majority of a young teenager's precarious living is done in the moment, for the moment, so this worked well.
The story itself is told in a series of chapter scenes or snapshots - you can imagine each starting as a black and white shot, or in faded hipstamatic-style colour as Billy starts to relate the surroundings, the characters, the action. I made the comparison when reviewing David Mitchell's 'Black Swan Green' with Dylan Thomas's (semi) autobiography, 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog', and 'The Pimlico Kid' employs a similar structure, used to very good effect.
As well as the excellent social commentary - I'd not realised quite how strongly Westerns influenced juvenile culture in the UK in the 60s, although I now remember the mattress of my first bunk bed had a pattern of cowboys (!) - the novel captures that excitingly unstable state of being thirteen with its mishmash of childhood remnants that you simultaneously want to chuck out and treasure, self-doubt, wanting to fit in, wanting to stand out, wanting to discover who you are - and maybe not wanting to confront the truth. Billy has been dealt a mixed hand - the bad card of his asthma, but the good cards of his intelligence and sensitivity, and a supportive, stable and present family.
My only slight criticism is actually the same one I had for Black Swan Green. Occasionally, the period detail gets a little self-conscious so that the authenticity is lost. We hear the middle-aged Billy speaking in retrospect, rather than the 13-year-old.
'The Pimlico Kid' is a vibrant slice of recent history, full of memorable character and incident, as well as being an authentic and believable portrait of a boy on the turn to manhood.
February 3, 2015
Huge thanks to Barry for allowing us a copy of his book The Pimlico Kid in exchange for review – we were thrilled to meet you back at the book launch for Amanda Jenning’s The Judas Scar and have been looking forward to getting stuck into this book!
The Pimlico kid tells the story of Billy and his friends over the one summer in the 1960s, Billy is a good kid who suffers from asthma which leaves him sometimes left out from others but he does find solace in the library. The story follows his adventures with his friends, Josie who is also left out some what owing to a birth mark on her face and a bad leg. His best friend Roosky has a bad habit of acting without thinking and this leads to lots of trouble not least from the husband of the woman he has taken a fascination to watching sunbathe – but Rooksy to is different, while Billy is developing thoughts about women Rooksy seems to want to be closer to Billy.
Billy’s brother John we learn has a temper and this flares as he battles the bullying Griggsy who seems determined to ruin their fun at every opportunity. Then there is Sarah the object of Billy’s affections, where he was the smallest of the boys girls tended not to pay him attention but this summer he has got a lot a little older and it seems Sarah has finally noticed him.
The turning point of this book is the trip that the 4 friends Billy, Rooksy, Sarah and Josie take together, breaking into a chalet for a game of truth they make promises to each other and reveal who they love along with their plans for the future. Returning home things are different, a piece of innocence is lost and they find that the adults around them aren’t always in the right. In particular the angry Mr Dunn who is found beating his child.
This is a real coming of age novel with a strong central character base that you want to follow and will for things to turn out ok, but as with any good coming of age plot things don’t run smoothly and friendships and relationships are challenged along the way. I loved following Billy and seeing his point of view. This was a real good read that drew me in and through the pages right to the end! A story of young love, friendship & acceptance.
The Pimlico kid tells the story of Billy and his friends over the one summer in the 1960s, Billy is a good kid who suffers from asthma which leaves him sometimes left out from others but he does find solace in the library. The story follows his adventures with his friends, Josie who is also left out some what owing to a birth mark on her face and a bad leg. His best friend Roosky has a bad habit of acting without thinking and this leads to lots of trouble not least from the husband of the woman he has taken a fascination to watching sunbathe – but Rooksy to is different, while Billy is developing thoughts about women Rooksy seems to want to be closer to Billy.
Billy’s brother John we learn has a temper and this flares as he battles the bullying Griggsy who seems determined to ruin their fun at every opportunity. Then there is Sarah the object of Billy’s affections, where he was the smallest of the boys girls tended not to pay him attention but this summer he has got a lot a little older and it seems Sarah has finally noticed him.
The turning point of this book is the trip that the 4 friends Billy, Rooksy, Sarah and Josie take together, breaking into a chalet for a game of truth they make promises to each other and reveal who they love along with their plans for the future. Returning home things are different, a piece of innocence is lost and they find that the adults around them aren’t always in the right. In particular the angry Mr Dunn who is found beating his child.
This is a real coming of age novel with a strong central character base that you want to follow and will for things to turn out ok, but as with any good coming of age plot things don’t run smoothly and friendships and relationships are challenged along the way. I loved following Billy and seeing his point of view. This was a real good read that drew me in and through the pages right to the end! A story of young love, friendship & acceptance.
April 7, 2014
'The Pimlico Kid' was chosen for our reading group. One of us had met the author and was intrigued - as we all were. I was particularly interested as I, too, have just published a book set back in 'history'. One definition of a 'historical novel' is that it's set 50 or more years ago, so 'The Pimlico Kid' fits that category - just.
It's all the more intriguing when one has 'lived' history and can look back on it. We thought it gave this book more immediacy. If we weren't there, we certainly knew others who were. I recall seeing the cream-coloured bowl that my mother had used to mix cakes in a museum! I used to hang around, waiting for her to offer me a 'scrape' of the delicious mixture.A shiver of fear, yes, because it marked time passing, but fascination too, that her past, and mine, were worth remembering.
That's what we all thought about 'The Pimlico Kid'. There seem to be so many books about young girls growing up, but boys living in a London street in the Sixties was a revelation to most of us in the all-female group, particularly if we had grown up without a brother. There was enough description to be able to picture the street, the library, the homes and to place the people described in it and to recreate the events like a film in one's mind. The joy of a novel is that you can get inside the people described and explore their feelings and fears, particularly of the boy recounting the story.
It's all the more intriguing when one has 'lived' history and can look back on it. We thought it gave this book more immediacy. If we weren't there, we certainly knew others who were. I recall seeing the cream-coloured bowl that my mother had used to mix cakes in a museum! I used to hang around, waiting for her to offer me a 'scrape' of the delicious mixture.A shiver of fear, yes, because it marked time passing, but fascination too, that her past, and mine, were worth remembering.
That's what we all thought about 'The Pimlico Kid'. There seem to be so many books about young girls growing up, but boys living in a London street in the Sixties was a revelation to most of us in the all-female group, particularly if we had grown up without a brother. There was enough description to be able to picture the street, the library, the homes and to place the people described in it and to recreate the events like a film in one's mind. The joy of a novel is that you can get inside the people described and explore their feelings and fears, particularly of the boy recounting the story.
July 28, 2014
Set in Pimlico, London in the 1960s, The Pimlico Kid is narrated by Billy Driscoll. Billy and his mates live on a street inhabited by a bunch of vibrant characters who have been drawn so authentically by Barry Walsh. This is a story that is clearly written from the heart and I'd guess that it also part-memoir, as the novel buzzes with authenticity.
Billy and his friend Rooksy are normal adolescent boys who have discovered the joy of the female form, in the main, they are obsessed with breasts, and find themselves in many scrapes due to their increasing curiosity and the availability of places in the street where they can spy on their female neighbours - young and old.
However, Billy is at heart, a gentle and sensitive boy who loves to read. He has suffered with asthma for many years and this has meant that instead of taking part in all the rough and tumble games, he often has to stay indoors and rest. He loves the library and has a special friend in the librarian there.
Barry Walsh has structured The Pimlico Kid perfectly. Each chapter is a snapshot into Billy's life. Whether it is the joyous and light hearted street party, or the quite dark and more serious issue of domestic violence and abuse, the writing is incredibly perceptive and although it is very nostalgic, it is never sentimental.
The story of a summer in London. A coming of age story and a look back at recent history. The Pimlico Kid is engaging and vivid.
Billy and his friend Rooksy are normal adolescent boys who have discovered the joy of the female form, in the main, they are obsessed with breasts, and find themselves in many scrapes due to their increasing curiosity and the availability of places in the street where they can spy on their female neighbours - young and old.
However, Billy is at heart, a gentle and sensitive boy who loves to read. He has suffered with asthma for many years and this has meant that instead of taking part in all the rough and tumble games, he often has to stay indoors and rest. He loves the library and has a special friend in the librarian there.
Barry Walsh has structured The Pimlico Kid perfectly. Each chapter is a snapshot into Billy's life. Whether it is the joyous and light hearted street party, or the quite dark and more serious issue of domestic violence and abuse, the writing is incredibly perceptive and although it is very nostalgic, it is never sentimental.
The story of a summer in London. A coming of age story and a look back at recent history. The Pimlico Kid is engaging and vivid.
May 28, 2014
An evocative story of adolescence and a 'puppy love' that is threatened by parental disapproval and, of course, the attentions of another boy. Though a work of fiction I suspect that The Pimlico Kid is largely autobiographical.
A refreshing read in that though I got more of an insight into a pubescent boys thoughts on breasts than was perhaps necessary (the author tending to dwell on this but then maybe this is realistic of all boys the age of Billy and Rooksy) it was good to find such a nostalgic and heartfelt novel written by a man so obviously capable of recreating his early teenage years without being overly introspective.
And its not just teenage lives the author does so well. Whilst the asthmatic (a condition which by the way is portrayed here so realistically), book devouring Billy is the obvious hero of the story Barry Walsh is also more than proficient at drawing the reader into the lives of his adult characters.
Definitely an author to look out for as I'd love to see what else he is capable of.
Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.
A refreshing read in that though I got more of an insight into a pubescent boys thoughts on breasts than was perhaps necessary (the author tending to dwell on this but then maybe this is realistic of all boys the age of Billy and Rooksy) it was good to find such a nostalgic and heartfelt novel written by a man so obviously capable of recreating his early teenage years without being overly introspective.
And its not just teenage lives the author does so well. Whilst the asthmatic (a condition which by the way is portrayed here so realistically), book devouring Billy is the obvious hero of the story Barry Walsh is also more than proficient at drawing the reader into the lives of his adult characters.
Definitely an author to look out for as I'd love to see what else he is capable of.
Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper.
February 3, 2014
I picked the book up because of the title. I lived in Pimlico for several years and live close by now. It's certainly fascinating to read about Pimlico 50 years ago . It feels a lot closer to the thirties than to now in the descriptions of the housing but also the cockney characters pretty much all displaced now. The novel also contains an engaging and actually rather moving description of growing up and loss and is a great read and one that's hard to put down . Recommended. Even for those who don't or haven't lived in Pimlico.
August 13, 2013
A wonderful story which managed somehow to evoke both an era a decade before I was born and my own adolescence. The Pimlico Kid steers confidently between the golden perfection of childhood experiences and the gutwrenching complications of real life. This is a warts-and-all tale of life in 1960s London which never slips into mawkishness but will nevertheless have you wiping away a tear for the loss experienced by the characters and smiling at their triumphs. I look forward to the follow-up.
August 1, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It grew slowly on me and revealed fantastic prose. It is very well observed, there is beauty in detail here. It's a well crafted book.
The only negative for me was the ending. There seemed to be 3 different endings, one after another when just one would have done.
Definitely keeping it and shall read it again some day. Would recommend to others. Escapist read, one of those ones where you're wondering how the characters are getting on after you've finished it.
The only negative for me was the ending. There seemed to be 3 different endings, one after another when just one would have done.
Definitely keeping it and shall read it again some day. Would recommend to others. Escapist read, one of those ones where you're wondering how the characters are getting on after you've finished it.
October 28, 2013
This poignant first-person tale of a boy's awkward transformation from childhood to early adolescence in a poor part of central London in the 1960s had me spellbound. The scenes of budding romance and violence, laced through with the everyday minuaeta of the time, are told in words that are brave, tender and true. Beautifully-written, vivid to the point of technicolour and moving beyond words.
July 10, 2013
Rich dose of nostalgia, far from sugar-sweet, perfectly capturing the uncertainty of knowing what you're not while never appreciating the merits of what you are. Early teenage in 1963 and the scene well-set with lots of things I well remember.
July 28, 2013
I enjoyed this read. It tingles with innocence and nostalgia. Would recommend!
February 6, 2014
An engaging and absorbing book that vividly depicts those bitter-sweet times of childhood and adolescence.
January 8, 2015
I loved this book, really evoked memories of people and how things were when I was a kid too
The relationships of the friends, and how they all altered etc... fantastic.
The relationships of the friends, and how they all altered etc... fantastic.
February 21, 2024
A story of young love and friendship.I liked the story, it not the way it was written. Perhaps if I were male, I could relate to the themes better. Looking at women’s breasts and the envy of a friend’s large penis. I did like the story of Billy and young Sarah. I did feel sympathy for young Josie who felt no one would ever love her because of the red birthmark on her face.
July 14, 2017
Not gripping, kept reading hoping it was as good as the cover looked but no couldnt get into it at all.
November 8, 2016
Exellent!
March 21, 2016
This book is one of the god books that I read in a long time. This simple book teaches you so many things. so simple and yet so complex. How a boy discovers himself and learns from his friends, brother and most importantly himself. how he is trying to be somebody he is not and then later realises that there was absolutely no need of that because people who love you, love you are and they love your imperfections also because they are not concerned with fixing you or making things right. With them things are right.
February 29, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. It read like an autobiography, but probably just a semi-fictionalised one? Being the same age as Billy, I found myself identifying with him and the relationships he had with his friends. Warm-hearted stuff, sure, but there are lots of real issues that the author deals with here too. His relationships were very well painted, especially that with Sarah.
November 5, 2016
The Pimlico Kid blew me away, stunning. I have been in a reading rut lately. I read 2-3 books a week, but nothing has really impressed me. I love coming of age novels, though nothing prepared me for the emotional rollercoaster I went through during this. I laughed out loud and I shed a few tears. I can't wait for Mr. Walsh's next book.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews