The Afterglow by Anthony Cartwright

The Afterglow

Anthony Cartwright

The bold use of Black Country dialect sits so well with the mood of the depressed, post-industrial urban landscape central to this read. A story of adversity, loss and the depth of family feeling.

Extract
He sees himself walking across the yard outside the shed at Round Oak. Nineteen; a thin film of ice cracking beneath his safety boots and then the ice disappearing as he entered the shed. Suddenly, he's playing football. One of the bank holiday games against Ravenscraig, Glasgow. He heads the ball as it drops through a steel-grey sky and a horizon of buildings to the green and black hills.
'Well up, Ken.'
Parallels
  • What The Birds See by Sonya Hartnett
  • If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor