Monday, December 21, 2015

Book review - "A Pint of Beer, a Bag of Chips and Thou" by J. L. Merrow





Merrow’s short story is a fun tale of opposites attract and co-exist as well.  The main character, Liam, is a twenty-three year old punk with a Mohawk and piercings and plays saxophone for tips in the London Underground.  He’s cast his eye upon a silver fox, a commuter who passes by him every day without even looking in Liam’s direction.

Liam lives with his mother and two aunts, all witches.  A third aunt is an Anglican priest but all four sisters get along.  His aunts and mother are worried about his single status so they announce they will give him his Christmas presents early.  Liam is very afraid.  Although he is loathe to wear their hand-knitted, garishly-colored articles of clothing, the gifts seem to do the trick. 

Neil, who is older than Liam’s father, is as attracted to the punk as much as Liam is to him.  Neil finally gets the nerve to speak to him and Liam is happy to leave his post to have a coffee with Neil.  Thus begins the romance between two diametrically opposed opposites. 

What I liked about this story is the ease of the conversation between Neil and Liam. It’s a nice mix of getting-to-know-you with blatant innuendoes.  It’s no stretch of the imagination to hear two guys talking like that.  My favorite line:

“Neil,” he said.  Then he grinned.  “That’s my name, not an order.” 

This story will probably sit well with Dr. Who fans!  Just sayin'.

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