Ratings14
Average rating3.8
An unforgettable coming-of-age novel that becomes a profound mediation on life, death, and lifelong friendship. Everyone has a Tully Dawson: the friend who defines your life. In the summer of 1986, in a small Scottish town, James and Tully ignite a brilliant friendship based on music, films and the rebel spirit. With school over and the locked world of their fathers before them, they rush towards the climax of their youth: a magical weekend in Manchester, the epicentre of everything that inspires them in working-class Britain. There, against the greatest soundtrack ever recorded, a vow is made: to go at life differently. Thirty years on, half a life away, the phone rings. Tully has news--news that forces the life-long friends to confront their own mortality head-on. What follows is an incredibly moving examination of the responsibilities and obligations we have to those we love. Mayflies is at once a finely-tuned drama about the delicacy and impermanence of human connection and an urgent inquiry into some of the most important questions of all: Who are we? What do we owe to our friends? And what does it mean to love another person amidst tragedy?
Reviews with the most likes.
It's marvellously written, the characters are fantastic, but I really can't cope with the rambling between friends. I get why it's there and it served its purpose, don't get me wrong, but it took a lot of wading through.
The first half of Mayflies set in the 80s is vibrant, funny, and exciting as a bunch of friends go to Manchester for a weekend to attend a concert. The second half of the novel set in the present day is extremely moving and thought provoking. It is well written throughout and is highly recommended.