David F. Ross – There’s Only One Garvey

There’s Only One Danny Garvey by David F. Ross is one of those stories that you expect to be mainly about one thing, in this case, football, and are truly bowled over by the actual subject matter in hand. A truly different book than I expected and a brilliant addition to the Orenda Books stable.

Set in Barshaw in Scotland a small village that is as a lot of small places are these days shrinking into decline. Work is sparse and as is pretty usual the entertainment is nowhere to be found! The local football team was the biggest source of pride but, as things do, that has gone downhill as well and support is on it’s way out. Danny Garvey is a lad who had a rough childhood, his mum was what you call unstable and his brother was one who opened his mouth without first putting his brain into gear, so not at all helpful in Danny’s world. His one escape was football and he showed promise on the pitch so was scouted by many a club. The years went by and Danny finds himself right back in Barshaw managing the Junior side instead of being on the pitch itself. At the same time he is attempting to bring the main football team back to life as it is in imminent danger of disappearing altogether. He feels, on his return that it feels like time has stood still in Barshaw but at the same time it’s all different now. The people from his past begin to appear and he experiences his problems from the past again and this all effects how he views things now. Maybe it’s time for a change?

As I said, it is a book that seems to be about a football team, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is a touching story that deals with issues such as community, family, loss and poverty. If I mentioned all of them we would be here all day, so I have given you a few of them! I loved the dialect within the story, this made it really realistic and true to the story. As the story develops we see an incident from Danny’s past that unfolds as we go, which makes for a little mystery in this bittersweet tale.

The cast of characters are a varied lot, I thought they brought this story to life with their roughness and big hearts that we witness. Without his friends Danny may never have returned to Barshaw and his life may have turned a different corner then.
A book that doesn’t leave you after you have turned the last page and read the last word. A deep and satisfying read that I don’t think will ever totally leave me.

A massive Thank you to Orenda Books for allowing me to join another excellent Orenda Book Tour and gifting my copy of ‘There’s Only One Danny Garvey’, I loved it.