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The Illumination of Merton Browne Hardback book by

The Illumination of Merton Browne

by J.M. Shaw

(based on 1 review)
£11.69 £12.99
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The Illumination of Merton Browne

When he wants to get away from things, away from his mum and Uncle Tuck, away from the shouting and the sound of the TV, Merton Browne hides in his cupboard with a torch and a Tintin book and pretends he's going to space. As he gets older things don't change much. He thinks secondary school will be about learning, but mainly it's about staying out of trouble. Disenchanted and desperate to avoid the attentions of Savage and his posse, Merton finds refuge among the forgotten history books in a dusty basement, remnants of another regime. Inspired by what he reads he comes up with a plan to earn protection for him and his friend, and soon finds himself appointed consigliere by Savage's increasingly ambitious gang. Fifteen and fired up by the discovery of sex, drugs and power, Merton is convinced he's on the brink of causing a revolution. But the repercussions of one night present Merton with a choice. He needs to decide who he is, who he wants to be and where his loyalties lie.

Top reviews

  • 3 out of 5
    3-star review

    Picking up this book purely by accident, I scanned through the synopsis and thought I’d give it a go!

    The story follows an introverted teenagers’ journey through a tough inner-city high school and is peppered with literary references to writers old and new, due mainly to our protagonist Merton finding an old text book archive below his school.

    Being young myself I did find it easy to relate to the inner workings of a troubled yet intelligent teenagers mind, but worry that anyone above twenty five will cast it off as teen fiction - though I couldn’t disagree more.

    Drawing on influences from such works as the classic Lord Of The Flies, to modern cult fiction, a lá Perks Of Being A Wallflower, The Illumination…deals with rejection, drug addiction, the death of ‘proper’ English schooling and the fact that many kids get lost in the state system.

    Ideally read in a few sittings, it’s well worth experimenting with. You never know, you might learn something.

    Review by James Hall on 14:04, 04 Apr 2008

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ISBN

9780340933633

Published
August 9th 2007 by Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Category
Modern Fiction
Number of pages
304
County of origin
UNITED KINGDOM
Dimensions
215 x 133