I always look forward to every new book from Louise Walters Books, and today I’m delighted to be joining the blog tour for the latest, The Dig Street Festival by Chris Walsh, published today. Now available in paperback and digital formats, it’s available for purchase via Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones, Book Depository, and also on Kobo: but it’s also available both as a paperback and in a range of e-book formats direct from Louise Walters Books, which is a rather nice way of being able to thank her for all the wonderful books. My thanks to Emma at #damppebblesblogtours for the invitation and all her support.
I’ve reviewed every other book Louise Walters Books has published, but with massive apologies, this was one I reluctantly had to “pass” on and could only manage a spotlight – I’m just a little over-committed this month. But let’s take a closer look…
It’s 2006 in the fictional East London borough of Leytonstow. The UK’s pub smoking ban is about to happen, and thirty-eight-and-a-half year old John Torrington, a mopper and trolley collector at his local DIY store, is secretly in love with the stylish, beautiful, and middle-class barmaid Lois. John and his hapless, strange, and down-on-their-luck friends, Gabby Longfeather and Glyn Hopkins, live in Clements Markham House – a semi-derelict Edwardian villa divided into unsanitary bedsits, and (mis)managed by the shrewd, Dickensian business man, Mr Kapoor.
When Mr Kapoor, in a bizarre and criminal fluke, makes him fabulously credit-worthy, John surprises his friends and colleagues alike by announcing he will organise an amazing ‘urban love revolution’, aka the Dig Street Festival. But when he discovers dark secrets at the DIY store, and Mr Kapoor’s ruthless gentrification scheme for Clements Markham House, John’s plans take several unexpected and worrisome turns…
Funny, original, philosophical, and unexpectedly moving, The Dig Street Festival takes a long, hard, satirical look at modern British life, and asks of us all, how can we be better people?
About the author
Chris Walsh grew up in Middlesbrough and now lives in Kent. He writes both fiction and non-fiction, an example of which you can read here in May 2020’s Moxy Magazine. The Dig Street Festival is his first novel.
Chris’s favourite novel is Stoner by John Williams and his favourite novella is The Death of Ivan Illyich by Leo Tolstoy. His top poet is Philip Larkin. He is also a fan of Spike Milligan.
Thanks so much for being part of the blog tour x