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Becoming Alfie: The Alfie Norrington Series-Book One
Becoming Alfie is the first of a quartet of books about a character called Alfie Norrington. Alfie was born just minutes into the twentieth century to an impoverished east end family that was squashed into a 2 roomed tenement in Mile End. His father Bernie was a violent alcoholic, his mother worked fourteen hours each day to cobble together enough to feed her brood. His siblings are Jack who is eight, Fred six and twin girls Rosie and Lily two, when Alfie was born. From an early age Alfie fought to survive in London’s East End. He became a proficient thief and an excellent pick pocket with most of his earnings supplementing the family’s meagre finances. Alfie attended school and was considered a bright student and a formidable boxer. WW1 began with Alfie volunteering to fight for King and Country by faking his age at sixteen. He left for the trenches of Ypres directly after his training. Alfie was severely injured by a trench bomb soon after his arrival and shipped back to hospital in England where he fought for his life. Whilst in hospital Alfie met an Australian soldier called Trevor, and a pretty nurse, Louisa. A short time later Trevor lost his fight to stay alive and on his deathbed, Alfie promised his friend that he would sail to Australia. There he would deliver to Trevor’s mother, both a letter and a biscuit tin of mementos from her dead son. Alfie fell deeply in love with Nurse Louisa, a love that was cut short by the prejudices of the British class system, his heart was shattered. Alfie was discharged in April 1917 and leads a life full of exciting adventures, both legal and illegal, overcoming the odds and growing into a decent person, with a strong moral compass to drive him.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 11, 2020
4☆ A Compelling and Poignant Historical Fiction set in 1900s
Becoming Alfie is a Compelling Historical Fiction that follows a young boy through youth, poverty, growing up in the East End then becoming a young man, then finding himself fighting for his country, only to suffer Injury and Trauma.
Alfie Norrington is a Charismatic individual and certainly has had a tough start. But he is a survivor, strong, smart, quick witted and determined.
Patterson's writing style was Authentic and Poignant and he definitely created an atmospheric read. I loved all the East End Drama and reality of the war and the effects made for an Engrossing read.
This book is the first book in a new series that follows Alfie's Journey. It does end on a kind of cliffhanger which I'm assuming will be continued with the next installment. Which I'm looking forward to reading.
Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
You can Find this Review and all my Other Reviews on My Blog :-
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2020/1...
Becoming Alfie is a Compelling Historical Fiction that follows a young boy through youth, poverty, growing up in the East End then becoming a young man, then finding himself fighting for his country, only to suffer Injury and Trauma.
Alfie Norrington is a Charismatic individual and certainly has had a tough start. But he is a survivor, strong, smart, quick witted and determined.
Patterson's writing style was Authentic and Poignant and he definitely created an atmospheric read. I loved all the East End Drama and reality of the war and the effects made for an Engrossing read.
This book is the first book in a new series that follows Alfie's Journey. It does end on a kind of cliffhanger which I'm assuming will be continued with the next installment. Which I'm looking forward to reading.
Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
You can Find this Review and all my Other Reviews on My Blog :-
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2020/1...
December 6, 2020
The first in a planned four book series, Becoming Alfie tells the story of Alfie from the very moment of his birth in a tenement in the East End of London to his departure for pastures new.
The Norringtons are an East End family typical of similar novels: the matriarch who’s a “diamond”, the feckless father, and the brother whose moneymaking schemes risk coming to the notice of the ‘Old Bill’ or unfriendly rivals. The author tells the story with gusto, creating a distinctive narrative voice for Alfie, complete with Cockney accent and liberal use of slang. This is a feature not only of the dialogue but also some of the descriptive passages; people visit one another’s “gaff” or get “dolled up” for a night out.
Alfie makes a plucky and resilient hero who has to overcome many challenges and setbacks. I did wonder if, even with the benefit of modern medicine, Alfie could have survived the sort of injury he suffers in Flanders and resumed his life with such energy. However, I placed my trust in the author’s research and that soldiers of the First World War did suffer injuries of that severity and still make a full recovery. I liked that the author incorporated into the storyline the psychological impact of war, the lack of recognition and understanding this received at the time, and the benefit of more enlightened therapies in aiding recovery. The book also recounts the up and downs of Alfie’s love life, although some of his amorous adventures were described a little too explicitly for my taste.
The end of the book sees Alfie setting off to fulfil a promise. “What next? What lay around the corner? Alfie didn’t know, but he did know that it would be exciting, that he would be successful, and that whatever life threw at him, he could handle it.” Writing a saga is an ambitious undertaking but, in Alfie Norrington, the author has created a character whose future exploits I’m sure many readers will wish to follow.
The Norringtons are an East End family typical of similar novels: the matriarch who’s a “diamond”, the feckless father, and the brother whose moneymaking schemes risk coming to the notice of the ‘Old Bill’ or unfriendly rivals. The author tells the story with gusto, creating a distinctive narrative voice for Alfie, complete with Cockney accent and liberal use of slang. This is a feature not only of the dialogue but also some of the descriptive passages; people visit one another’s “gaff” or get “dolled up” for a night out.
Alfie makes a plucky and resilient hero who has to overcome many challenges and setbacks. I did wonder if, even with the benefit of modern medicine, Alfie could have survived the sort of injury he suffers in Flanders and resumed his life with such energy. However, I placed my trust in the author’s research and that soldiers of the First World War did suffer injuries of that severity and still make a full recovery. I liked that the author incorporated into the storyline the psychological impact of war, the lack of recognition and understanding this received at the time, and the benefit of more enlightened therapies in aiding recovery. The book also recounts the up and downs of Alfie’s love life, although some of his amorous adventures were described a little too explicitly for my taste.
The end of the book sees Alfie setting off to fulfil a promise. “What next? What lay around the corner? Alfie didn’t know, but he did know that it would be exciting, that he would be successful, and that whatever life threw at him, he could handle it.” Writing a saga is an ambitious undertaking but, in Alfie Norrington, the author has created a character whose future exploits I’m sure many readers will wish to follow.
December 15, 2020
Becoming Alfie by Neil Patterson is a historical fiction story that takes us back to a time of extreme povery and hard times. The first in a planned series we meet Alfie Norrington as a baby. Born into the tough East End life in the first minute of the twentieth cenury.
We see the Norringtons, an East End family: a mother who runs the whole show, the father who is the useless one and his brother a 'wheeler dealer' of the time period. The one who is always on the edge of gaining a beating from his rivals or the Old Bill coming after him. Neil Patterson has written this story in such a way you are immersed in the old East End immediately. I envisioned the characters talking to each other in their cockney dialect and using all the slang. Alfie's narration is very individual and I pictured him as a cheekie chappie from the word go.
Alfie is not just a cheeky chappie, that would be underestimating this lad. He gets through his life overcoming more than just poverty he is a resilient one. His ups and downs are told in his own plucky way. His truly horrific experiences of Flanders and the First World War and the aftermath of such things are recounted with the pyschological impact for him of which he had no help as this wasn't recognised at all back then. On a funnier note we also get his love life, which had plenty of up and downs...in more than one way!
The book ends on Alfie embarking upon fulfilling a promise with the idea if he had no particular plans beyond that. We shall have to wait for the next instalment to see where life takes our Alfie Norrington.
I really got carried away with Alfie and his life. Enjoyed every trun of the page and was quite sad to finish this book as I got quute attached to him and his 'adventures' in life!
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Neil Patterson for my copy of becoming Alfie for my review today.
We see the Norringtons, an East End family: a mother who runs the whole show, the father who is the useless one and his brother a 'wheeler dealer' of the time period. The one who is always on the edge of gaining a beating from his rivals or the Old Bill coming after him. Neil Patterson has written this story in such a way you are immersed in the old East End immediately. I envisioned the characters talking to each other in their cockney dialect and using all the slang. Alfie's narration is very individual and I pictured him as a cheekie chappie from the word go.
Alfie is not just a cheeky chappie, that would be underestimating this lad. He gets through his life overcoming more than just poverty he is a resilient one. His ups and downs are told in his own plucky way. His truly horrific experiences of Flanders and the First World War and the aftermath of such things are recounted with the pyschological impact for him of which he had no help as this wasn't recognised at all back then. On a funnier note we also get his love life, which had plenty of up and downs...in more than one way!
The book ends on Alfie embarking upon fulfilling a promise with the idea if he had no particular plans beyond that. We shall have to wait for the next instalment to see where life takes our Alfie Norrington.
I really got carried away with Alfie and his life. Enjoyed every trun of the page and was quite sad to finish this book as I got quute attached to him and his 'adventures' in life!
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and Neil Patterson for my copy of becoming Alfie for my review today.
December 9, 2020
Wow! I thought I’d had a hard life, being born into a working class family but the poverty that Alfie and his family endured was definitely on another level!
This story was intriguing from the beginning and I loved the use of cockney rhyming words & slang throughout – such as, “Joanna” (aka Piano) and words like “gaff” (house).
The characters are well developed and felt real, as if I knew them personally, I didn’t particularly like Alfie’s dad, but his mum is amazing, like most mothers, try their best to make something out of nothing to provide for their offspring.
We follow Alfie through the challenges of normal life, growing up in poverty and also his time in the army during the first world war, it was refreshing to see the psychological side-effects of the war be a feature and not just the physical injuries & damage.
The ending of the book is very optimistic and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to be ready!
It’s a beautiful story of survival in it’s many forms.
More reviews at www.itgirlworld.co.uk
This story was intriguing from the beginning and I loved the use of cockney rhyming words & slang throughout – such as, “Joanna” (aka Piano) and words like “gaff” (house).
The characters are well developed and felt real, as if I knew them personally, I didn’t particularly like Alfie’s dad, but his mum is amazing, like most mothers, try their best to make something out of nothing to provide for their offspring.
We follow Alfie through the challenges of normal life, growing up in poverty and also his time in the army during the first world war, it was refreshing to see the psychological side-effects of the war be a feature and not just the physical injuries & damage.
The ending of the book is very optimistic and I can’t wait for the next book in the series to be ready!
It’s a beautiful story of survival in it’s many forms.
More reviews at www.itgirlworld.co.uk
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews