Scott Shane's outstanding work Flee North tells the little-known tale of an unlikely partnership ...

JULIETTA HENDERSON

Norman Foreman had never had a friend until Jax Fenton came into his life. The two were inseparable, more like brothers than best friends. They wanted to be comedians, a double act and as such they wrote a five-year plan at ten years old which included performing at the Edinburgh Fringe by the time they were fifteen. Norman is a loveable character. You instantly feel for him and want to take him under your wing. Leonard is another loveable character. He's the grandpa we all wish we had. Sadie has a lot going on in her head which doesn't help with her mothering. She has her own hangups with her father which has transferred to fear for her son.The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman is a delightful, quirky, poignant book about Sadie, Norman, Jax and Leonard. It’s about comedy, loss, and overcoming challenges. It is a journey, both physical and metaphoric, of acceptance. – Lisa, QLD, 4 Stars This is a wonderful book. A sweet and tender tale of friendship, love, family and learning to live for the moment. The characters are delightful and beautifully written. Norman is fragile but resilient and Sadie is a better mother than she thinks she is. Leonard is a surprisingly tech savvy octogenarian who is a pure delight with his use of computer graphics and google maps. Their road trip is full of pot holes and diversions, as they stay in some woeful accommodation, experience a local talent quest that erupts in violence, and befriend an unusual mix of characters along the way, and that's all before they even get to Edinburgh. A terrific debut novel - highly recommended! There are some twists in their adventures, som of which you don’t really expect. But the ending will turn your heart to mush.

The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman - BookBrowse The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman - BookBrowse

Julietta Henderson grew up in the rainforests of North Queensland, and developed her passion for the written word producing 'magazines' for school friends and neighbours with her sister. She has worked her way through jobs as diverse as bicycle tour guide in Tuscany, nanny in the Italian Alps and breakfast waitress in the wilds of Scotland. Like many Australians, her love affair with Europe began when she came to London and stayed for more than a decade. He's wheedled his way into my heart, and I suspect I'll have a Norman-shaped hole there forever' - Clare Pooley, author of The Authenticity ProjectI know it’s selfish to worry about myself when Mum has to look after me and go to work and cook dinners and wash our clothes and pay the leccy bill and all that other stuff. But with Jax gone it’s just so hard for me to stop thinking about how I don’t have a best mate any more. And how much I miss him every single second of every single hour of every single day.” (P. 37) So The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman is as much as how you chart a way out of grief, often haphazardly and with no real grace or elegance but hopefully a new lease on life, and how even as you do something crazy, as Norman does when he seeks to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe in memory of his beloved bestie Jax, you might be actually doing the sanest thing you can do for yourself.

The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman (Paperback) - Waterstones

Memories of Jax were pivotal to the story but the action was centred around Norman's quest to fulfill a dream he and his buddy had shared since they were ten. The boys had planned to perform as a comedy duo at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Norman was the straight man to the showy and comedic Jax, a-lá Abbott and Costello. Now Norman is determined to go solo even though he's terrified (and he knows he's not that funny), but the memory of Jax's words give him the courage he needs. The message being that when you’re scared to do something you should just think about the worst thing that could possibly happen and then get in there and have a go anyhow. Norman figures the worst thing has already happened so what does he have to lose.

BookBrowse Review

Norman’s quiet, lonely life gets a surge of excitement when a new student named Jax joins his class. Jax is loud, funny and a perpetual troublemaker—the yang to Norman’s yin. Their instant friendship is strengthened by their shared love for stand-up comedy. The two dream of performing as a comedic duo at Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe when they turn 15. It is heartwarming in the extreme and you can’t help but wish that Norman, who thinks his mum is the absolute best despite her doubts that she is anything at all approaching a decent mother, gets all the happiest of things in the world.