Description

Book Synopsis
“It’s wonderful, aggressively wise, and always—especially at its most serious—devastatingly funny.” —Geoff Dyer

For readers of Douglas Stuart and Nick Hornby comes an uproarious, tenderhearted memoir of growing up in working-class Dundee in the 1970s and 1980s.



Trade Review
"The prose is fizzing-brained, hyperbolic, and it has a hyperbolic effect: It makes you want to delete everything you’ve ever written and start again, this time telling the truth." -- James Parker - The Atlantic
"[S]hot through with sharp wit . . . Most enchanting are Paterson’s musings on music, from hilarious reminiscences of the Dundee folk scene . . . to gorgeous homages to obscure performers . . . The result is a raucously funny picaresque laced with hard-earned wisdom." -- Publishers Weekly
"As [Paterson] charts a path through the 1970s and ’80s, he deftly avoids the twin pitfalls of romanticism and nostalgia, instead describing the poverty, violence, and customs of his youth with evenhanded observation and often humor . . . A uniquely compelling, expressive memoir packed with explosive asides and raucous insight." -- Kirkus Reviews

Toy Fights A Boyhood

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    £21.59

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    RRP £23.99 – you save £2.40 (10%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 17 Aug 2026.

    A Hardback by Don Paterson

    10 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Toy Fights A Boyhood by Don Paterson

      Publisher: WW Norton & Co
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 22/08/2023
      ISBN13: 9781324093626, 978-1324093626
      ISBN10: 1324093625

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      “It’s wonderful, aggressively wise, and always—especially at its most serious—devastatingly funny.” —Geoff Dyer

      For readers of Douglas Stuart and Nick Hornby comes an uproarious, tenderhearted memoir of growing up in working-class Dundee in the 1970s and 1980s.



      Trade Review
      "The prose is fizzing-brained, hyperbolic, and it has a hyperbolic effect: It makes you want to delete everything you’ve ever written and start again, this time telling the truth." -- James Parker - The Atlantic
      "[S]hot through with sharp wit . . . Most enchanting are Paterson’s musings on music, from hilarious reminiscences of the Dundee folk scene . . . to gorgeous homages to obscure performers . . . The result is a raucously funny picaresque laced with hard-earned wisdom." -- Publishers Weekly
      "As [Paterson] charts a path through the 1970s and ’80s, he deftly avoids the twin pitfalls of romanticism and nostalgia, instead describing the poverty, violence, and customs of his youth with evenhanded observation and often humor . . . A uniquely compelling, expressive memoir packed with explosive asides and raucous insight." -- Kirkus Reviews

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