Tuesday 18 February 2014

Kamikaze Kangaroos! by Tony James Slater

Tony's back and this time he has kangaroos to contend with.  And falling in luuuurrve.  I'm not sure what's more scary for him.

This book does exactly what it says on the cover.  It's the tale of Tony, his sister Gill and Gill's best friend, Roo.  Roo is Australian, so Gill goes to stay with her and Tony tags along.  Problem is, Tony is 3 months late, so there's a bit of a rush for them to get some agricultural work done so they can extend their visas.  

Rusty the van is the 4th character in this book and I'm sure he'll be a popular one. I manged to track down some photos of him on facebook and he was even brighter than I imagined.

I think Tony's books should be read in the right order as I feel this one was more "for the fans".  There's less madcap animal antics, and a whole lot more of Tony "the man".  I did think at times the book was a bit long, although there was nothing I'd not want to read, nor did I want it to end.  The good thing about Tony is that he always has a story and so you know it won't end.

This book is Tony's time in Australia, from picking fruit, to laying paving slabs via setting up exhibition halls.  From living in and by the side of Rusty, to dorms to bedsits.  From walking the Bibbulmun trail (100km!!!) to just travelling because they wanted to. Armed with just a few clothes, unsuitable boots and trail mix, this is the life you think you might want to live if you just up sticks and go. At times I felt jealous of them, most of the time I was happy with my warm soft bed and large choice of food.

I feel I know Tony and Gill and Roo more than I should.  As I said, this is much more personal story of the trio.  Tony has a magic way of writing that is very readable and he is not afraid of telling the truth.  This was another very very enjoyable read.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IF8QFRG/?tag=jookuf-21


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