Getting on famously

  

I've just read my third Lloyd Jones book, The Book of Fame, and it is probably my favourite so far. Jones has taken real events and imagined the story around them, and the result, though short, has great 'presence' and power. In 1905 a group of young men from all walks of life set sail from New Zealand, bound for Britain.  They were the All Blacks, then little known, but their expertise on the rugby pitch soon brought them the sort of celebrity we associate with the present day.

    On the voyage, where the backs honed their passing skills with hard young pumpkins bought in Montevideo, they had no idea that their tour would see them virtually undefeated (only the Welsh would beat them). As they played round the country (and the Scots don't come out of this book very well, I must say!), the New Zealanders' unrivalled skill and excellence earned them enormous fame, with which, of course, they had to deal - hence the book's title.
    The book reads sometimes like an extended diary entry, at others a newsreel; its reportage is mixed with list-style facts, impressions, and details which stand out. It is a very vivid book, and one written with immense sympathy and empathy for its subject. I recommend it thoroughly, as does Mr. C. who read it after me, and you don't need to have an interest in rugby to enjoy it, though fans of the game (Rhys, I think it's definitely one for you!) will get even more out of it.    

And since we were talking about covers earlier, I couldn't not mention this book's one, which I think is superb, and put it alongside the other two Lloyd Jones novels I have, Mister Pip and Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance, all of which were designed by Petra Borner and are very attractive and distinctive.