Now, where to start with this – apart from the obvious that this is simply the most uplifting and rewarding book that I have read in an awfully long time.
Initially, I thought “I’m not going to enjoy this” purely for the fact I don’t necessarily enjoy biographical books. I am pleased that I didn’t let my sub-conscience get the better of me this time round and the love for my furry feline friend took over. . .
Immediately the reader is lured in to the book and you can tell straight away that James is going to be a great character, you fall in love with his honestly, his charisma and his sense of neediness yet he is not always vulnerable – obviously working on the streets there will always be vulnerability but you get the feeling throughout of ‘this guy will be okay’. Then there is Bob and what a character he is – from sitting on James’ shoulder to weeing in the toilet, oh, and not to mention him allowing James to dress him up in Christmas outfits, scarves and knitted jumpers. I did sometimes think “is this true?” but of course it is, it’s Bob and Bob and James found one another at a time in their lives where they not only wanted to be together but needed to.
Bob helps James through some seriously harrowing times, he helps to ween him off the drugs for once and for all and enabled him to become the man he once was, or once dreamed of becoming. James can now see clearly, not through shaded, foggy eyes of an addict but through the eyes of someone who has beaten addiction and who is now on the road to a full recovery. Although, the story did get me wondering if/when the inevitable does happen what will James do? Will he relapse? Again, this is why this book is as compelling as it is because the reader feels as if they want to be a part of James and Bob’s lives.
James speaks of his time on the streets from busking to earning a living selling the Big Issue. These are the two subject matters throughout the story which made me open my eyes to the big wide world out there and the people within it. Yes, some buskers are earning to pay for their next fix, yes some Big Issue sellers are not nice people BUT, some are, and we simply cannot tar every person with the same brush nor can we judge as we do not know their backgrounds and the reasons for them living on the streets. James describes selling the Big Issue as a ‘self-employed job’ and this is true, he has to sort his own finances out, estimate his outgoings and his costings for buying the magazine from the vendor and then to work as hard as he damn well can in order to sell the amount in which he had bought. Again, not something that I had realised before, and not many of us reading the book could say ‘I could manage that myself’ as many of us cannot. It is a skill and for James it was also a requirement.
So, not only does this book give the reader a life lesson it also gives them a wake-up call – sit back and think about how lucky you are to be reading this in the comfort of your own home, or on the way to work in your nice warm coat, where you’ll have hot drinks readily available to you and a loving family to go home to at night.
Sophie Newton 