Review: Barging In by Josephine Myles

I've put off writing this review for a few weeks now.  Not because I didn't like the book but at around the time I was thinking about reviewing there were several reviews of the book posted on other sites, many of which were saying exactly what I was going to say. So, I decided to hold off.  It's an interesting experience waiting a while to review a book because your perception of it changes the longer you leave it.  Some books fade into only a vague remembrance and others, like this one, remain strongly in your mind. These are always the best books, I think.

The story follows Dan who is a travel writer for a magazine. He's doing a story on narrowboat (or barge) holidays and as we first meet him he is struggling with working out how to steer the boat.  His eye is caught by a good looking man on the tow path and this, coupled with his ineptitude, almost causes him to crash.  The man on the tow path, Robin, is not impressed by Dan, labeling him a dangerous tourist, especially when Dan gets stuck trying to turn the boat.

There were lots of things to like about this story but the thing that interested me the most is the way that the narrowboat community is shown. I have to admit, I know next to nothing about this aspect of my culture, despite living not too far from the Leeds/Liverpool canal.  I hadn't realised that people who choose not to pay for expensive moorings are seen in the same light as those travellers who camp out in caravans and therefore either scorned as 'dirty' or treated with suspicion.  I thought the author had done a good job in showing the different types of people who live on narrowboats: From Robin whose boat is well maintained and very clean, to those don't have the funds to keep their boats as nice; from those who have families and well paid jobs to those with little or no income.  The various personalities of those living on the canal intertwined with the lives of Dan and Robin bring a freshness of colour to the book which I enjoyed a great deal.  I also liked how the difficulties of life on a narrowboat was shown without it overwhelming the story.  As the story progressed I found out all sorts of information from the difficulties the boat owners face from British Waterways to how to cope with little fresh water or no electricity.  Very interesting!

Dan and Robin were wonderful characters. Both are very flawed and at first seem to clash more than complement each other.  Dan is a bit of a slut who always has an eye out for the next opportunity to get laid.  He's not one for commitment, preferring to live in the now rather than look for long term.  On the other hand he's also very socialable, making friends easily and winning people round with his charm and enthusiasm.  he certainly won me round and I warmed to him almost straightaway.  Robin is very different to that. He's quite quiet, a thinker who keeps to himself and doesn't make friends so easily. Those he does make, he keeps. He's not interested in short term relationships but Dan wins him round to a holiday romance.  Robin's main flaw is his stubborn independence and also his inability to trust Dan.  His misplaced jealousy drives a wedge between them.  Both characters grow a lot in the story.  Dan has to learn to keep it in his pants but also to tone down his flirty nature and to be more considerate of Robin.  Robin has to learn to trust Dan and also to allow people to help him when he needs it.  It was delightful to watch these men struggle against their natures to come together and stay together. They both had to work hard to make the relationship work, even failing at times, and that made for a very rewarding reading experience for me.

I'm trying to think of anything that bothered me about this book, but actually I can't think of any really off-putting negatives about it.  I liked the flawed but likable characters; the setting was unusual and uniquely British (which is always a bonus for me); the sex scenes were raunchy at first but settled nicely into something more romantic by the end; and the plot moved quickly.  Even a slight separation and misunderstanding at the end wasn't enough to detract from the book's overall merits. I'm giving Barging In a grade of 'Excellent' and I can see it will be a book I read again in future.

Buy this book HERE.