Cards on the table, the author, Mark Smith, is a member of our writing group and I’d read the first few chapters about a year ago and had been looking forward to the rest ever since. The finished book was beyond what I’d hoped for.
We meet Gavin at a pivotal point of his life: his job in social care isn’t going well, he has almost no friends, and he tries not to think about his family. One of Mark Smith’s talents is the ability to blend humour into what could become bleak pathos. For it’s clear that Gavin is a bit of pillock, albeit also kind and caring at heart. The reader definitely identifies with his difficulties, even if some are accidentally self-inflicted.
The first indication that Life is Poking Fun at Gavin is at a critical decision he needs to take at the beginning of the book. He has driven to a deserted beach to consider whether to end it all. To assist with the process he has brought a flip chart to list the pros and cons. His attempt to distil his existence into bulletpoints is undermined by a nosey kid whose pedantic intervention sets Gavin off on another path, choosing life. And running.
The running leads to another chance encounter, this time with a resident in an old people’s home. Ruth, a 93 year old with a sharp mind and an interest in Gavin’s back story, tells him of her past and losing her parents at an early age. This prods him into thinking about his relationship with his own mother, a part of the story that the author slowly teases out.
Meanwhile, the fall-out of one of Gavin’s antics have caused him to flee his house and job but with Ruth’s help he discovers an unlikely but welcome refuge. Gavin’s story arc is well-crafted and even though it’s possible to second-guess elements of it there are enough twists that you’re never sure how it will pan out in the end.
One of the great motifs in the book are Gavin’s Subbuteo games with his reclusive friend, Nap. They (specifically the teams they pick to play) reflect Gavin’s journey from triviality to home-truths and the last game brought a lump to my throat. Very much in the vein of Richard Roper’s wonderful Something To Live For, The Tomato Runner is a life-affirming joy to read. Quite possibly the best book I’ve read this year.
Available from Amazon in Paperback & Kindle versions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tomato-Runner-Mark-Smith/dp/B0C9SG1XSB/
N.K. Rowe 
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