Tony Parsons: Stories We Could Tell

"Stories we could tell is a novel about believing you'll be young forever, about sex and love and rock and roll, about the dreams of youth colliding head-on with the grown-up world. Tony Parsons goes back to his roots for this deeply personal book-the story he has been waiting to tell."

During our trip to Melbourne, April and I stopped at a bookstore in the DFO shopping center where I picked up Stories We Could Tell by Tony Parsons.

Set in 1977 in the UK, Stories We Could Tell depicts the lives of three young men; Terry, Ray and Leon who are music journalists for a weekly by the name of 'The Paper.' Terry is in love with his girlfriend Misty but by the end of the novel, he learns the reality of relationships. Ray has an affair with an older women but she refuses to leave her husband. Leon is left equally disheartened by the girl of his dreams.

Brutally honest, Parsons manages to capture the essence of growing up that is both painful and empowering.

Sex, love, jealousy, family dilemmas, friendship and dreams make up for an endearing story.

"Somehow sex with her had convinced him that he could find John Lennon. Sex with her made him feel like he could do anything." 

Two sentences. Powerful portraiture of the mentality of a 17 year old boy. Parsons depicts the smoke that clouds up the minds of young people when they are in love. Throughout the novel, we see how difficult situations in love force three naive young men to grow up quickly.

In any sense, this is a feel good book. The ending although not delirious is still hopeful. These are human beings who face everyday situations like the rest of us. Parsons uses one third of the novel introducing the characters but not at all in vain. Although the story itself is slow to progress, the protagonists are easy to sympathize with. There are elements in each character we can relate to.

By leaving the ending open to interpretation, Parsons informs us that no matter what happens, our story is never over. There will be more stories we can tell.







My love forever and always,

Krystina