Review of The Last Mad Surge of Youth in The Edinburgh Evening News
The Last Mad Surge Of Youth by Mark Hodkinson is available now from Pomona Books, priced £7.99.
Having written a number of sporting and music-related memoirs, The Last Mad Surge Of Youth is journalist Mark Hodkinson's debut novel. Not that you can tell from reading the beautifully mapped out, originally told tale of egocentric rock star John Barrett.
A split narrative, the story of Barrett as an idealistic, ambitious teen musician unfurls in one paragraph, while the next will show the flipside of such success and fill in the blanks as the alcoholic, out-of-favour New Wave icon reflects on his life.
It's a daring technique, and works most of the time. The characters are well-rounded. Barrett is selfish and self-indulgent to the last, while his partners and friends, notably the enduring Carey, provide the conscience he so sorely lacks.
They say you should write what you know, and Hodkinson clearly knows this world inside out, but it's his storytelling and knack for deft, unsentimental prose that's his real gift.
8/10 Review by Andy Welch.