Five Great Books set in NORTHERN ITALY
A gentle novel set in London and Lundy Island
16th August 2019
The Enduring Influence of Ken Potts by Paul Connolly, a gentle novel set in London and Lundy Island.
Connolly’s debut novel, The Fifth Voice, was highly praised and shortlisted for the Independent Book of the Year by Writing Magazine in 2015. The Enduring Influence of Ken Potts is the keenly awaited sequel and it returns the reader to the troubled and interesting lives of the four main protagonists, cappella singers, Vince, Danny, Henry and Neil.
Life has thrown quite a number of curve balls at the quartet since the end of the first novel. Their inspirational coach and mentor, Ken Potts, has died, leaving the group somewhat lost; Vince seems to be losing his battle with MS and would be finding mobility a real problem if it weren’t for the support of his beloved Angie; Danny’s wife has had a new baby and has been plunged into post-natal depression; Henry has embarked on a wonderful new relationship with the enigmatic Cat, which means that he disappears at regular intervals to join her on her beloved island of Lundy; and Neil, the youngest member of the group, looks set to make it in the film industry, having been engaged to produce the music for a new film, A Cappella Fellas. All in all, their lives seem to leave little opportunity for them to come together and work on their singing career. And then, a letter from Ken Potts arrives, urging them on.
Despite this novel being a sequel there is no need to have read the first one and this is principally because of the skill of the writer. The characterisation is so engaging and well differentiated that the reader is taken right to the heart of their lives within pages and it feels almost as if we had known them for ages. Connolly’s prose is a delight, full of wonderful descriptions of settings and weather and the dialogue is masterful, believable, lively and often very amusing.
The novel is set mainly around and about London and there are some wonderful descriptions of pubs (the characters do spend a fair amount of time in such establishments) that would encourage the reader to go off in quest of these hostelries and I’m certainly going to hunt out The Bounty in Cockmarsh next time I’m down that way. Henry’s visits to Lundy also give the reader a feel for that unspoiled island that contrasts nicely with the scenes in and around London.
As an added bonus, there are some wonderful, farcical passages in this novel, which cannot fail to delight, particularly when Connolly focuses on the foibles of the actors in the movie. I laughed out loud when reading the description of Brad, who is to play the part of a wheelchair bound alcoholic in the movie and decides, in aid of realism, to try it out, with disastrous results.
The Enduring Influence of Ken Potts is an unusual novel. It’s a beautifully written, gentle thing for the most part, that leaves the reader believing that anything is possible if you want it enough.
Ellen for the TripFiction Team
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