A Boy's Guide to Track and Field

by Sabrina Broadbent

Lem Gulliver (25, maths teacher) can't seem to leave home. His mother (46, courtroom artist) and step-father (49, AA patrol man) make no secret of the fact that he's become a cuckoo in the nest, but since his girlfriend left him for a dog-trainer, Lem has returned to his natural state of emotional drift. He can't understand how the people around him manage the plot of a grown-up life.

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some lovely writing but the storyline let this book down: it didn’t go anywhere. I loved the start - getting to understand the life of Lem, a teacher living back wi his mother and stepfather after a breakup.

Lem and his colleague Devora’s conversations were always interrupted or cut short by the school bell and the novel overall echoed this. It jumped about between Lem’s train journey to work and other events/conversations, and I found this confusing. There was unnecessary description about a couple on the train which didn’t add to the story.

The relationship between Lem and basically every other character was somewhat confusing - teaching colleagues Devora and Steve and Ameena his boss, Dean, his butcher friend, his Dad, his ex Dawn, his Mum and stepfather Alan.

There was so much unresolved. Since the book started with the breakup with Dawn, and their relationship threaded throughout, I expected a clearer conclusion. I was left with questions.

[Alistair Pyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit of an underwhelming ending.