Review – Page 2 – Middle Age Fanclub

Book Review: The Kingdom by Jo Nesbo.

If you’re into your crime thrillers then you’ll know that there are a number of reliable writers in what has fast become a bit of a saturated market. Jo Nesbo though, with his somewhat dark Scandinavian landscapes is undoubtedly one of the best and one of the world’s biggest selling crime writers.

The Kingdom is the tale of two brothers with a dark, mysterious past and more than a few secrets. Roy, the older brother still lives on the family smallholding in remote Norway while holding down a job in the village that they grew up in. Younger brother Carl has emigrated to Canada to make his fortune and perhaps to escape his past. However, when he returns in a blaze of glory, everything changes and a few skeletons begin to threaten to emerge from the cupboards.

The Kingdom is, as you’d expect from Nesbo, a well written thriller full of grisly death and with more than enough twists to keep the reader guessing as to what might happen next and what fate might hold for the two brothers. Dealing with issues like the intricacies of life in a small, insular town, brotherly love and even child abuse, this is much more than just your average crime thriller. Sure, the body count begins to rack up as the story unfolds. but there’s more than just gory mysterious death to this one.

Nesbo’s characters are, as usual, rather complex. In the case of older sibling Roy it felt like the surprises about his character just kept on coming and I never really felt that I’d got to grips with exactly who he was. Maybe this was to do with the conflict between his fierce loyalty to his younger brother and his growing attraction to his sister-in-law, Shannon. And Shannon herself is a pretty dark horse. But then there’s also the younger brother Carl and a whole host of either villagers or mysterious visitors to keep us on our toes.

Such is the sprawling timeline of the narrative that I never felt like I knew exactly what was coming next. And the unpredictability here acts as both a good thing and a bad thing. There was that delicious feeling that you get when the penny starts to drop about what’s going to happen or the time when something is revealed that you truly weren’t expecting, which can be fantastic, but also the distinct feeling that sometimes there might be one character or detail too many. So while I never really lost track, there were times when I hoped that things would move a little faster.

In the end Nesbo draws all of his strings together well, but the twists and turns just keep on coming, meaning that you’re never quite sure who’s going to survive. All this action, drama, blood and backstabbing in a sleepy mountain village. Who’d have thought?

The Kingdom is an epic tale and a hulking great book, but it’s well worth a chunk of your time. And while it can be a little slow at times, it remains an excellent page turner that’s chock full of surprises.

I give The Kingdom…

Theatre Review: ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ at the Leeds Playhouse.

Every once in a while you come across something that is so good you don’t really have the words to describe it. This however, is not a great deal of use when writing a review of said thing!

Afterwards, while walking across Leeds having watched ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, it struck me that I didn’t feel that I could accurately describe just what I’d seen and how much I’d enjoyed it. We exchanged superlatives – ‘fantastic’, ‘amazing’ – but the conversation didn’t exactly flow. It seemed we’d been stopped in our tracks. This would only get worse when we walked up the stairs to level 7 of the car park and the knees and thighs overtook the brain in terms of some kind of exhaustion. Still, there was a review to write!

‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ tells the tale of a rape trial in America’s deep south; a local black man is falsely accused of the crime and the story unfolds against the backdrop of horrific prejudice, the Great Depression and a distinct lack of hope or justice.

Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of this American classic, directed by Bartlett Sher, is particularly special. The story itself is, of course, incredibly well known and well loved but there’s something in the way that the tale is presented here that elevates things just that little bit more. While it’s impossible not to be moved by the events unfolding before you, Sorkin’s script allows for frequent lighter moments meaning that the audience is taken on a very emotive journey indeed across the course of the play.

The cast are superb. The narrative is driven mostly by the children – Scout, Jem and their friend Dill – and we’re taken back and forth between the fateful night when Mayella Ewell is attacked and the events before, during and after the trial. Anna Munden as Scout stands out here; a carefree child at times, yet vulnerable and shocked by what the world seems to be throwing her way in a heartbeat. The relationship between her and Jem (Gabriel Scott), juggling the onset of manhood during these troubled times with the fact that he’s just a boy trying to enjoy what feels like yet another endless summer, is a pleasure to watch. A word too for Dylan Malyn who is brilliantly cartoonish, displaying excellent comic timing as well as a genuine sadness and bewilderment, as Dill.

Aaron Shosanyo delivers an emotive shift as the accused Tom Robinson, displaying a calm frustration at his predicament, rather than the anger that would be so understandably justified.

Richard Coyle’s performance as town lawyer Atticus Finch allows no one to steal the show though. He is quite simply outstanding here. Coyle is superbly convincing, portraying Atticus’s struggle to remain calm, kind and understanding among the racial tension and tremendous injustices that have found their way to the quiet Alabama town of Maycomb. This really is a performance to shout from the rooftops about.

The set is used incredibly effectively too with different settings being rolled into place by the cast as we switch both times and places seamlessly. And while it’s quite sparse, there is no doubting the seriousness of the courtroom or the calm, homely feel of the Finch house’s porch.

Aaron Sorkin’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ is a must see. A simply outstanding piece of work that will take not only your breath away, but maybe even your ability to string sentences to together too. At least for a short while!

I give ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’…

Book Review: Forever Young by Oliver Kay.

As a football fan, one of the things I love about following the game so closely is when you unearth a player that you’d never previously heard of. I’ve followed football since being very young, I read a lot about the game, have played it for years and even coached for a while. So, I like to think I’ve got a bit of knowledge. And then, every so often something or someone enters my consciousness and there’s a mixture of thrills and sadness about finding them. Adrian Doherty was one such player.

Oliver Kay’s book is brilliantly encyclopaedic in its examination of Adrian Doherty. And it’s all the more remarkable because Doherty only ever made three senior appearances as a professional footballer. However, Kay’s book makes it abundantly clear that the game lost out when we lost the opportunity to watch Doherty on a regular basis.

Doherty is referred to in the book as a lost genius; a teenage prodigy blessed with a gift for the game and sadly, a career ruined by serious injury. Here, Kay follows his journey from the streets of Strabane in Northern Ireland and starring for Moorfield Boys’ Club to the bright lights and big time of Manchester United and Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson.

And this is where Adrian Doherty’s story begins to move away from the traditional biography of a footballer. Doherty’s story is at first the stuff of every boys’ dreams, but one that ultimately turns into something else entirely. Always a little different as a kid, Doherty continued to follow very much his own path into his youth. While he excelled on the football pitch, Doherty never allowed the sport to consume him and always had outside interests that would clash jarringly with what was maybe expected of him as a potential professional footballer.

As part of Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92, Doherty played with some of the game’s legendary figures such as Beckham, Giggs and Scholes and it was said that he was better than the lot of them! And yet, even that and the promise of a glittering career just didn’t seem to enough for him.

Doherty was very much a free spirit and football was never the be all and end all for him. And as he grew older, those differences left him more and more isolated in life. This wasn’t a state that bothered him though. Doherty seemed to be living happily with only his poetry and music for company, making his own way in life while somehow forging ahead with a burgeoning football career. And then tragically, injury intervened.

Kay’s book is a remarkable tale that is both tragic and heart warming at the same time. I read it feeling a certain sense of regret that this was a player that I never got to see, regardless of the team that he would have played for. But Kay is careful to convey the fact that Doherty derived a great deal of pleasure and fulfilment out of life and his chosen path. Even when injury ended a promising career, that’s all it was to Doherty; a career and not the only thing that he had in life. The free spirit was able to blossom, roam and pursue things like poetry, writing and music.

‘Forever Young’ is a must read for football fans. But don’t expect the traditional footballers’ tale. This is not a story that ends with riches, glory and the raising of any trophies. This is a story that gives us a completely different take on footballers and as a result is a really interesting read. Having Doherty as a team mate is described as being “like having Bob Dylan in a No 7 shirt”…and if that doesn’t add up to a book that intrigues you then I don’t know what will, especially if you’re a sports fan.

I give ‘Forever Young’…

Book Review: ‘Outrunning The Demons’ by Phil Hewitt.

Running is one of those subject that can be quite divisive. As runners, we’re sold on its many qualities. It can almost feel like a drug in its addictive nature and despite the pain and the exhaustion, we always come back for more. Worse still, it can also become all that we want to talk about and so, we become ‘running bores’ on top of everything else. Believe me, other people love a running bore!

‘Outrunning The Demons’ is a collection of real-life tales from various runners of all abilities about the reasons why they run and the reasons why running has saved them. There are stories of bereavement, addiction and mental health challenges and all of them highlight the importance of running to those involved. In fact, Hewitt himself turned to running after being mugged and left for dead in 2016, so he’s living proof of the healing qualities of getting out for a run.

Since rediscovering running in my forties I’ve realised its importance in helping me think things through and its values in terms of my mental health. Then, having had a major heart procedure when I hit 50, running has become even more important, giving me at first a recovery goal and since then a lot of the strength needed just to keep going at times.

So ‘Outrunning The Demons’ felt both pertinent and personal to me. There was lots to relate to in these tales, as well as the type of pain and running ‘journeys’ that I couldn’t hope to understand. Among the 34 stories there are elite runners and there are people who only took up running because of the loss of a runner who was close to them. Charlie is a recovering drug addict, Theresa lost her firefighter husband in 9/11 and ran to take his place in a marathon, James an army veteran recovering from trauma in Iraq and Sujan suffers with anxiety brought on by a troubled childhood. All of them looked to running to help them cope again with every day life.

And there are loads more amazing stories to read about here. This is a book that’s as full of inspiration as it is pain. And it’s a book where you can’t fail to care about the people that you read about. So, at times it’s an emotional read. If you’re a fellow runner, you’ll undoubtedly recognise many of the emotions and be able to empathise with the trauma that some of these ordinary folk have endured.

Hewitt’s own tale is startling and perhaps worthy of a book in itself. But instead, he spent time bringing together people from all corners of the globe who have sought out a similar solution when faced with the kind of problems that might otherwise have seen them go under.

‘Outrunning The Demons’ is at times an incredible read. It’s subtitled ‘lives transformed through running’ and is comprehensive in recounting what really are some remarkable transformations. Always interesting and always inspiring, it became hard for me to put down at times. A life affirming read, whether you’re a runner or not.

I give ‘Outrunning The Demons’…

Book Review: Half a World Away by Mike Gayle

Imagine living with a past that you could never shake off, regardless of how content you might be with life. Imagine living with the kind of secret that you had no idea how to address.

Kerry Hales is a single mum who does everything she can to provide for her young son and make the most of life on a south London estate. Meanwhile, across London her brother Jason lives a successful life with a wife and daughter. Now a top barrister, he knows nothing of the sister that he was once so close to. He’s not Jason anymore either; now he’s Noah. But Kerry has never forgotten him, whatever his name might be these days.

Kerry and Jason were separated as children when their mother admitted defeat in her quest to bring them up and had them taken into care. Kerry was ten and Jason almost two and while Kerry would go on to live through the system with chidlren’s homes and foster care, Jason was quickly adopted by a well to do family who not only saved him from what could well have been a troubled childhood, but change his name to something that they thought more fitting.

‘Half A World Away’ is in part the happy tale of how sister and brother are finally reunited. Sadly though, nothing of this magnitude could ever be simple and so there’s sure to be trouble and sadness along the way. I mean, being contacted by anyone out of the blue after 32 years without a word would be at the very least a little strange. But a sibling that you never knew you had? As Noah himself says, ‘it’s impossible to describe the range of emotions I felt upon reading the letter’.

Despite the fact that at first Noah believes that Kerry’s letter might be a scam of some sort, the two are eventually reunited. But it was never going to be straightforward.

What we end up with though, is just a brilliant story. I’ve read a few Mike Gayle books before but oddly not picked one up for years without really ever knowing how or why that had happened. In fact, this one was found in a box of books that I’d mislaid in the loft. I’m so glad I found it though. Gayle is a brilliant writer when it comes to relatable characters and emotions. And although nothing like this has ever happened to me, I found that not only could I just not put the book down, but that I was quickly invested in the relationships and the characters, which of course is always a good sign.

Covering themes such as love, family, race and class, ‘Half A World Away’ is a real page turner. It’s beautifully written with characters that you’ll instantly care about and feel like you almost know. Equal parts funny and heart warming, this is a story that is also gut-wrenchingly sad, so you might need a pack of tissues. Ultimately though, ‘Half A World Away’ is just a fantastic story and I’d urge you to give it a go.

I give ‘Half A World Away’…

Review: ‘Through It All Together’ at the Leeds Playhouse.

You’d think a play that tackles the story of a couple dealing with dementia would represent a bit of a tough watch. And in one sense, it does. But Howard and Sue are so devoted to their football club, Leeds United, as well as each other that the story takes us on a rather different and quite joyous journey. You’ll laugh just as much as you might cry.

Starring Reece Dinsdale and Shobna Gulati, the play is equal parts hilarious, heart wrenching and inspiring. So on Saturday afternoon, while I laughed a lot, I found myself fighting back not only a few tears but also the urge to join in with the Leeds United songs. A tricky headspace for this Newcastle United supporter who simply gritted his teeth and hoped that no one would notice that he may well have been the only person in the theatre not singing the Leeds anthem, ‘Marching On Together’!

Written by Chris O’Connor, ‘Through It All Together’ follows Howard, Sue and daughter Hazel as they try to come to terms with Howard’s dementia diagnosis. Set to a backdrop of Marcelo Bielsa’s first two years as Leeds manager, it makes for a powerful, yet touching piece. As a football fan and Leeds resident for nearly thirty years, I understood the references having lived through the dramatic uplift in the whole city while Bielsa was at the helm. And the play captured that feeling brilliantly while also pulling at the heart strings as Howard and Sue struggle to come to terms with the realities of dementia.

There are subplots too. Obviously there’s the drama of Bielsa’s first couple of years but also some of the heartbreak and tension of Covid and lockdown as well as daughter Hazel’s sexuality. But it’s Howard and Sue’s story that takes centre stage. It’s heart breaking to watch Howard’s fear for his future as well as his decline. And he and Sue’s devotion to each other is just beautiful, with Dinsdale and Gulati perfect as the couple. I certainly seemed to manage to get quite a few things in my eye over the course of the play, that’s for sure. But just as a rainy face may not be too far away, there’s always a laugh around the corner too and if it’s not Howard or Sue that make you chuckle, there are always Dean Smith and Everal A Walsh as a couple of Leeds fans and podcasters to help you swallow back the tears.

Football on stage or screen can be notoriously difficult to get right, but O’Connor”s play captures the depth of the love affair that Leeds fans had with Bielsa and his team perfectly. And the cast here are wonderfully on point too, meaning that there is nothing to grumble about for even the most devoted fan. The love for the team is clear, but the subtleties that come with loving your club are there too, meaning that you might well watch laughing knowingly at yourself a bit, as well as the cast.

Both Dinsdale and Gulati are utterly brilliant in their portrayal of Howard and Sue. The couple’s devotion to each other is simply lovely and both actors are a pleasure to watch as they portray the fear and uncertainty that dementia brings. The couple are completely convincing in both their love for each other and their love for Leeds and I couldn’t take my eyes off them…even as they sang those bloody Leeds songs!

‘Through It All Together’ is a powerful, but also absolutely hilarious play. It’s a brilliantly written story that deals with the ups and downs of both areas of its subject matter brilliantly. Described as a love letter to Marcelo Bielsa and football, it’s also a testament to the power of family and our devotion to those that we choose to spend our lives with. A genuine thing of beauty.

I loved every last second of ‘Through It All Together’, even the bits where I was struggling not to blub like a baby!

I give ‘Through It All Together’…

Review: ‘Pride and Prejudice’* (*Sort of) at the Leeds Grand Theatre.

Funny isn’t it? You think you know someone and then all of a sudden they do something that leaves you just completely and utterly taken aback. No matter how many people you meet and how well you know them, every so often there’s one of them that will do or say something that you would never have expected.

Well, the very same thing happened to me on Saturday. Not with a person I knew as such, but with the characters in a much loved piece of literature. Having first read it nearly forty years ago and then every so often since then, I thought I knew as much as was needed about Pride and Prejudice. I’d even read an updated version with added zombies not long ago, so surely nothing was going to come as a shock. Then, along came Pride and Prejudice (Sort of).

I’d been given tickets as a birthday present a few months ago and although I knew that this was a different take on the classic, I hadn’t really looked at how different the take might be, which made it all the more of a treat when the play started.

Pride and Prejudice (Sort of) tells the traditional tale of the Bennet sisters and their somewhat complicated suitors. Just with added pop classics often provided by a karaoke machine. And some swearing. Actually loads of swearing. As well as a great big lump of anarchic humour and a noticeably feminist outlook on that whole looking for love thing. And the best thing is that it works perfectly!

As well as following the young Bennet sisters and their love lives you can look forward to singing along to the likes of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re so Vain’, Candi Staton’s ‘Young Hearts Run Free and even ‘Something Changed’ by Pulp near the end. You’ll no doubt end up laughing like a drain as well, especially at Rhianna McGreevy’s Mrs Bennet who at times felt like equal parts Peggy Mitchell and Catherine Tate’s Nan, delivering unexpected pearls of wisdom such as “Being a fucking smartarse is unladylike” to her daughters!

There are five actors in the all female cast and all are superb, taking on what must have been the exhausting task of playing every character. Every character including the Bennet’s domestic servants who are sometime narrators of this tale, but excluding Mr Bennet who is simply an armchair with a newspaper attached that’s wheeled on and off the stage and mocked mercilessly for its obvious silence on all things matrimonial. The cast are incredibly talented though with all of them taking on some kind of pop classic as well as turning their hand to the odd instrument along the way. They add brilliant comic timing to Isobel McArthur’s pin sharp, clever script and come up with a riot of a performance.

Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort of) is without doubt an absolute triumph and I’d go as far to say that if you don’t enjoy it then it might just be you that’s the problem. The show is just really clever and a shedload of fun. If you get the chance, I’d definitely recommend that you go and see it!

I give Pride and Prejudice (Sort of)…

Middle Aged Gigging: Stereophonics at John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield.

A funny one this gig. Beforehand, I was slightly reticent about going and not for the usual reason of being middled aged and living life in an almost permanent state of tiredness. No, this was different. This was a stadium gig and I really couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to a gig in a stadium. In fact, if anything I’ve been going to gigs in smaller and smaller venues of late. I needn’t have worried so much though, as first Blossoms and then headliners Stereophonics served up a cracking night that may well have taken the roof off the place if it actually had one!

The first time I saw Stereophonics live was around 1996, before their first album came out in what was a glorified pub in Hanley, Stoke-on Trent and it still amazes me to see what they’ve become. Don’t get me wrong; they’ve always had the songs and talent to deserve to be selling out stadiums, but it’s a hell of a leap from those early days!

Tonight, we arrive (fashionably) later than planned and after a mix up over stage times, realise that we’ve missed the first support act. In fact, we’re still trying to get into the stadium as the night’s other support, Blossoms, take to the stage. So, while I’m a big fan of their song ‘Your Girlfriend’ it’s difficult to enjoy it while your being squeezed through a small gap to get into a stadium and then precariously edging down some stairs towards the pitch. Tricky to sing along to when you’re trying not to take an almighty tumble!

Blossoms look and sound great though. Singer Tom looks amazing in flared jeans, striped shirt a loose tie and there’s more than a little bit of Mick Jagger about him. Tonight, he also brings to mind Faces era Rod Stewart and even a little bit of Prince at times, which is surely no bad thing?

Their set is superb and songs like ‘Gary’, ‘I Like Your Look’ and ‘Charlemaine’ have the whole stadium grooving along. It’s a great start to our night and the perfect set up for the main event.

After a quick set change Stereophonics amble on to the stage to a great welcome. There’s the odd wave from the band, but it’s a pretty low key entrance. And before we know it we’re into opener ‘Vegas Two Times’ and it feels like the whole place is up and moving. It’s a great track to open with.

This being a ‘Stadium Anthems’ tour there’s plenty to enjoy. Lots of singalong anthems and lots to make even the most curmudgeonly and dancephobic music fan (that’s not me, by the way) shuffle their feet. And singer Kelly Jones looks the epitome of cool in shades, black jeans and a black leather jacket. Oh, to be a rock god!

Stereophonics prove themselves to be as tight as it gets and this is just a brilliant rock and roll show. The visual production – in the form of screens – is pretty good; videos accompanying some of the songs and the odd bit of pyrotechnics as well as some massive pink balloons sent out into the crowd later on in the set as night falls. However, it’s the music that counts here; a stand alone reason to come and see the band.

Singer Kelly Jones has always been renowned for his incredible voice and it doesn’t let him down tonight as he’s absolutely note perfect throughout. My fears about a stadium show are quickly allayed as Stereophonics fill the place with a great big dollop of good old rock and roll. There are the usual irritations about this kind of show – people barging through to get closer to the stage when ‘their song’ comes on, people chatting – but none of it manages to get in the way of this being an excellent gig. Stereophonics do indulge in the odd bit of rock posturing, the odd pose here, a showbiz point or wink there, but then maybe they’ve earned the right to call on the odd cliche having sold over 15m records! It certainly doesn’t spoil anything for me, anyway.

There’s barely a dull moment tonight. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a set of stadium anthems so you’d have to be a fairly miserable fan of the band to not be enjoying what’s on offer. For me though the standout tracks are ‘Geronimo’ complete with it’s enormous saxophone (a baritone sax, I think?), ‘I Wouldn’t Believe Your Radio’ with Kelly on ukelele, ‘Mr and Mrs Smith’ and ‘Mr. Writer’.

As we edge towards a close – and my knees and feet begin to grumble – we’re treated to the ever brilliant ‘Local Boy in The Photograph’ and ‘C’est La Vie’ before an encore comprising of blistering versions of ‘The Bartender and The Thief’ and ‘Dakota’. Stadium anthems indeed!

As they exit stage left, Stereophonics leave behind a very happy bunch of Yorkshire punters. It’s been a brilliant night and a gig and band well worth coming out for. Makes me think that I shouldn’t leave it as long between shows next time!

Book Review: ‘The Rise of The Ultra Runners’ by Adharanand Finn

For a while now, ultra running has both appalled and fascinated me. We’re talking ridiculous distances and conditions – running 100 mile races is fairly typical and often involving mountains and other such treacherous terrain. The idea of putting myself through such torture, despite my love of running, appalled me, but the idea that people chose to test themselves to the limits in such events absolutely fascinated me.

‘The Rise of The Ultra Runners’ had been on my ‘to read’ list for a while. It had sat there in one of my book boxes idle, occasionally popping its head up and briefly grabbing my attention before losing out to something shinier. And then one day, I decided that the time was right. It turned out that I really should have picked it up earlier!

The book plots the rise in popularity of ultra running; basically the pursuit of running ridiculous distances over many hours, sometimes days and often in ridiculous conditions. It would seem that there are now plenty of perfectly sane humans getting bored of the shorter distances, you know, like a marathon! For the uninitiated this means that ultra runners are taking on anything from 50k to 160k. In fact, the longest ultra is actually 3100 miles!

As with the last book of his that I read, ‘Running with the Kenyans’, Finn immerses himself in the world of endurance running. In order to write the book, he doesn’t just search out ultra runners, he becomes one and it’s an interesting read. Finn not only runs the races, at one point he even moves in with one of the world’s best ultra runners living in a cabin on a mountain, training with him and generally just trying to absorb everything he can about this world that he’s joined in with.

The adventures of ‘The Rise of the Ultra Runners’ take us all over the world in the pursuit of the ultimate test. Finn talks us through each agonising step in a world where things can change from one minute to the next. It seems that as an ultra runner you never quite know when disaster might strike.

However, these athletes, Finn included, are ridiculously dedicated to their craft. So whether, it’s an injury, the terrain, the weather or just the fact that the climb just doesn’t seem to want to end, these people just don’t seem to ever want to give up. Given that the distances can stretch into the hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles, this is an illuminating read, to say the least. And there was me congratulating myself on keeping going for the final mile of a particularly tough uphill 5k the other night!

‘The Rise of the Ultra Runners’ is a fantastic read whether you’re a runner or not. If you run, it’s about our world, but multiplied by 100 in most cases. If, like me, you often struggle to drag yourself around a 10k then you’ll be amazed at the physical and mental feats described here. The fact that not only can humans push themselves to their physical and mental limits over what feel like obscene distances, but also while they’re literally climbing mountains or battling with ridiculous extremes of temperature will never not fascinate me. But it’s not just that that’s so interesting. With this book, the devil is really in the detail in terms of exactly what we’re capable of.

The further I got through the book, the more fascinated I got. And the more fascinated I got, the more I thought about trying an ultra marathon myself. The reality is that I most likely won’t ever have the time, but it’s an idea that I still can’t shake and I’d love for there to be a time where I was able to train for one and make it happen.

And for me, that’s the genius of the book. It tackles something that will seem utterly ridiculous for the majority of us and yet, we’re still compelled by what we read. This reader, despite the onset of middle age, a pacemaker, asthma and a terrible habit of eating crisps and chocolate and drinking red wine read it and genuinely thought he’d be able to run a 50k race. And let’s not get started on my genuine fascination with a 100 miler in South Africa!

I give ‘The Rise of The Ultra Runners’

Film Review: Sisu

They say that it’s always the quiet ones you’ve got to watch, don’t they? Well, there’s never been a truer word spoken when it comes to Finnish film Sisu. The film’s hero is indeed quiet and you can’t help but watch. It’s just a shame the bad guys didn’t seem to hear what ‘they’ said!

Directed by Jalmari Helander, Sisu is set in rural Finland at the back end of World War 2 where the Germans have adopted a somewhat scorched earth policy to their retreat. They’re defeated and almost broken, but not quite finished with all that Nazi stuff. Determined to leave their mark and inflict just a little bit more pain, they trundle along looking for trouble as they head towards their extraction point.

Meanwhile, not too far away an old miner has finally found gold in them there hills and bagging up the bounty from a rich seam, he’s setting off for town to presumably trade it all in for a big bag full of cash. It feels like it’s inevitable that he’s about to be the next victim of this rag tag band of super villains. But, when they meet things don’t quite go to plan for the bad guys and their tank. This is not just any old miner; this is the legendary Finnish commando, Aatami, nicknamed ‘Immortal’ by the last army to cross his path and who doesn’t take the attempts to steal his gold too lightly.

What follows is brutal, entertaining mayhem and at times is thoroughly hilarious. There’s violence aplenty, much of it unbelievable, some of it ridiculous, but all of it the kind that will keep your eyes firmly on screen. Think Tarantino, think Rambo, think John Wick and think Clint Eastwood’s man with no name from the spaghetti westerns and you’ve got a fair idea of what to expect from Sisu. A film not to be taken too seriously that will seriously entertain.

The film seems heavily influenced by Sergio Leone’s work and the spaghetti westerns like Django that followed. The location is bleak, the dialogue minimal and the violence ferocious and gory. And as far fetched as it gets – and it really stretches the imagination here – you’ll find yourself willing Aatami on. You may well be laughing uproariously at times, but he’s not. Nor is he saying much and yet such is Jorma Tommila’s portrayal of our good guy, especially when set against the almost cartoonish Nazis, that you find yourself desperate to see him killing them in evermore brutal and unbelievable ways!

If you don’t mind a bit of gore and your after a thoroughly entertaining film to watch then I’d totally recommend Sisu. A captivating watch that will make you wince as much as it’ll make you laugh and cheer. Suspend that sense of disbelief and I promise you won’t be disappointed!

I give Sisu…