A Matter of Life and Death – Review

I’m fortunate in my life to have met and worked alongside so many talented people, many of whom write books.
On the one hand I always say that if you want to keep a secret put it in a middle of a book. Apparently, according to American research only 42% will read a book after graduation.
On the other I venerate and adore books. So, if someone I know writes a book I feel I owe it to them to read it. (And also knowing first-hand the exceptional commitment and dedication required to produce the manuscript. When someone asks me how do write a book? I say: “You don’t write a book, you give blood!”
When it comes to reviewing the books on review sites like Amazon, I tend to usually proffer a 4 star rating rather than a 5 star to avoid it looking like a contrivance of mates-of-the-author bigging-up and vacuously hyping the product.
However, I have no hesitation in bestowing a 5 star rating of an old mate’s first novel.
I first met Paul Carroll over 20 years ago at an industry awards do in Manchester where I think I’d been one of the judges. In those pre-internet days we didn’t have the potential for connectivity and pseudo intimacy that exists now.
Paul I knew had a reputation as a leading light, a doyen of the burgeoning Manchester PR scene and I was plugging away on the other side of the Pennines, trying to get a head of steam at the time behind the notion that Leeds was about to usurp Manchester as the Northern Capital of PR.
Paul is a consummate PR man (and I use that description as a compliment) and when introduced he said: “Andy Green, I’ve always wanted to meet you. You do some great work.” The conversation soon flowed on to football and how he was born in a pub in Leeds; Paul achieved lasting respect and affection.
So, here’s my review on Amazon and Waterstones and recommendation for your next holiday read.
Matter of Life and Death is a great must-read novel for anyone with the slightest connection in working in the world of media.
The book is like a multi-storey car park, in working on so many levels.
It’s a parody of our media-obsessed times and its celebration of nonebrity culture and to quote the book, ‘that prized vapid ostentation and indulgence over spirituality’.
On another level it’s a thriller with a can’t-put-down quality in its final third, as the devious twist of the main protagonist’s conspiracy neatly entwines the destiny of all its characters.
And it’s also a spur for admiring media savviness in our 21st century world of Twitter, personal brand media strategies, and 24/7 news, displaying an astuteness and authority that was characteristic of the author in his earlier professional career.
Do buy the book for a great holiday read, or as an antidote to the welterweight of content of blogs and informmercials that consume the life of the typical modern-day media professional.
A Matter of Life and Death’ would also make a brilliant television series or film in the vein of classics like ‘A Very British Coup.
I hope we see more from Mr. Carroll. The lad shows tremendous promise.