Mr Starlight

The novel from the bestselling author of The Future Homemakers of America and The Unfortunates. The Boff brothers live at home with their Mam. They have a lav down the yard and a jerry under the bed and they play bookings at the Birmingham Welsh and the Rover Sports and Social. Cled tinkles on the piano and Sel is the crooner. 'Sel's the one who can lift people out of themselves and send them home feeling grand and you can't argue against that' says Cled. When Sel decides he must try his chances with the brights lights of New York City, he packs up his sequinned suits and enlists his brother as travel companion and accompanist. Things begin to roll and what follows is a tale of high jinx; of mirrored ceilings and heart-shaped tubs; of screaming girls, romancing and No Business Like Show Business. As jealousy starts encroaching on the brothers' relationship, Cled finds that there are more secrets in his family than he had bargained for. With her characteristic wit and wisdom, Laurie Graham brings us a touching celebration of the sparkle and the dust in family life. What if Liberace had been born in Saltley, Birmingham, England instead of Milwaukee, Wisc.? That's the premise of Laurie Graham's entertaining novel about Selwyn Boff, who parleys spangly jackets, candelabra, piety and public devotion to his mum into international stardom. Graham tells the story from the point of view of Selwyn's older brother Cledwyn, an aspiring musician and failed song-writer who plays second fiddle to Sel all his life. He doesn't know much about Sel's sex life, and casts a rosy light on even the most dysfunctional aspects of the Boff clan, but his memoir is also a running commentary on the changes in British and American mass culture after WWII The treacherous glitz of show business and the sublime madness of family relationships are brought to life in this hilarious and ultimately touching novel from the bestselling author of The Future Homemakers of America and The Unfortunates.