Newly revised and updated. March 2012.
My Life With Kate Bush is the story of the seventies through the eyes of a child and the eighties through the eyes of a teenager. Starting in the small town of Cwmbran in the Welsh valleys, it is a hugely affectionate and humorous romp, full of irreverence, zaniness and comedy. It is also a homage to the toys, games and products of that era, with mentions of Big Trak, Rentaghost, orange flavoured Jubbly’s and the ZX-81.
With references to Joni Mitchell, Pocketeers, Whizzer & Chips and of course, the Kate Bush fan scene of the late eighties, this book is a celebration of the golden years of our childhood.
This book is illustrated with photographs from the author's own collection.
This book is of full novel length and comes in at approximately 86,800 words.
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By Trevor Coote
Sep 4, 2012
The author himself describes his semi-fictionalised (I believe) autobiography as a ‘hugely affectionate and humorous romp...’ But in fact it is more than that. It is a gentle meditation on seventies/eighties British suburban life, an existence familiar to the many thousands who were cast adrift in bland, faceless provincial towns in the latter part of the twentieth century, just before the world went completely mental. MLWKB is an amiably peopled, humorous and touching work which describes how it was to grow up in a mixed race, broken family in a mediocre Welsh town in the 1970’s/80’s. The author uses a multitude of contemporary technological and cultural signposts and minutiae but does not attempt to weave the social upheaval (and clichés) of that period (the Winter of Discontent, inner city riots, the miners’ strike, unemployed millions, money men in red braces) - into the fabric of a very personal, candid and almost introspective take on young life. Yes, there are moments... More > where painful familial or cultural issues are broached but they are dealt with in a muted and delicate manner so as not to impinge on the general light-hearted tone of the work. The author portrays himself as a gauche, naive and sensitive youngster whose shyness is manifested in a quiet obsession with the singer Kate Bush. There is nothing creepy about his love and admiration of his heroine and her music. It is merely an innocent teenage crush which lingers into adulthood and which cleverly forms the backdrop to the story. The bottom line is that the author has created a lovely, warm and entertaining book that can be enjoyed by all but the most hardened cynics. Well done, Riaz!< Less
