Millions

I have just noticed that I have not gushed about Millions by Frank Cottrel Boyce. I was introduced to the book via the film. It was a random choice at my local, awful Blockbusters video store (now I use Lovefilm and am extremely happy with the choice they offer). It turned out to be a gem, undiscovered by me or anyone I knew. It turns out that the order in which I discovered the book was satisfying. Who has ever seen a film that was better than the book, except maybe Lord of the Rings? The film was very true to the book. It had a few minor tweakings that would only have bothered you if you had read the book first. Instead we got to relive the joy and glory of the film by reading the book aloud.
In a nutshell, recent young widower relocated to a new housing development with his two young boys. One boy is spiritually Christian and believes he talks to saints. One boy is economically savvy and matter-of-fact. The spiritual one finds a giant bag of money on his cardboard clubhouse and thinks god has sent it. The Euro, in this story, is about to replace the Pound and the boys need to spend the money before it becomes unusable. There are burglars, Mormons, nativity plays and a love interest. The story is told with wit and emotion. The northern English accents take a little getting used to for the American film going ear. But it is well worth the struggle. The child acting is amazing as well. Cottrell Boyce has just come out with another novel, Framed, which we have just started. So, watch this space.